It was a busy day, finish cleaning the inside of the boat, laundry, picking up rental car, filling diesel jerry cans and dropping Mike off at the airport. Whew. And with Mike on his way I waited for my new crewmate, Julia, to clear customs. Next up, enjoying good beer and lunch at El Zopilote Brewing. Provisioning followed and then it was time to shuttle the food, jerry cans of fuel, and people to Strikhedonia. Thankfully it was only two trips given the longish distance from the Puerto Escondido dinghy dock to the boat.
The wind was supposed to kick up for a few days so rather than hunker down in an anchorage we kept to a mooring ball and enjoyed a few days of nice hikes. David (SV Jean Butler) mentioned a fun hike up to the radio towers overlooking Tripui and the marina. This was a perfect length as we wanted to be back to the boat before the afternoon wind. Julia and I hustled up, looking out for rattlesnakes, and the pay off was a great view. Julia could see part of the sailing ground we would be exploring in the coming weeks and picked out the pool at Tripui – new afternoon plans were solidified…
Once down to Tripui we had a drink and shared a lunch dish. Feeling good we drifted to the pool for another drink. I was to wimpy to swim in the cold water but Julia made up for me by swimming laps and dodging kayaks. Oops, did I forget to mention that there was a sea kayaking group using the pool to practice? The winds were too high to be on the ocean so they made the best of the situation. We enjoyed some good entertainment as the students worked on open water recovery. But thoughts of a wet dinghy ride back to Strikhedonia ultimately pried us from the lounge chairs and onto our feet.
The following day the wind was ripping. This pinned us to the boat for the day. Not to worry we played some games, watched some TV and I took care of a few boat projects. The following morning the wind was still in the mid to upper teens and rather than rush to Agua Verde we choose to hike Steinbeck canyon. This is a hike I have wanted to do for a few years and I was pumped that Julia was up for it. A lunch, snacks, and plenty of water was packed and off we went hiking. It didn’t take long before the beautiful pools of water and lush surrounding hills confirmed that we made the right decision. Somewhere along the way Julia exclaimed this was the most beautiful hike of her life. Music to my ears.
A few details for anyone looking to do this hike – from the marina hike to the highway, take the dirt road directly across (past the power distribution equipment) until hitting the wash, go to the right along the concrete barrier and then drop down into the wash (trailhead), and follow it up, up up the canyon.
From Puerto Escondido to the trailhead is about 40 minutes (without stops)
From the trailhead to the where we stopped is about 75 minutes (without stops)
My suggestion is to budget 5 to 6 hours
This trail has a lot of bouldering, climbing up chimney rock formations with rope, and sketchy sections. Wear good shoes and be smart when choosing a route (or deciding to turn around)
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