by Ron Jones
The three day weekend of February 21-23 was chosen by seven Sierra Clubbers for a second attempt on Cerro de la Encantada, highest peak in Baja California. Arky Erb, Ruth Karimi, Gordon MacLeod, Milke McNicholas, and I had decided to renew our acquaintance with Canyon del Diablo and we had two newcomers to the area along, Pat Donegan and Jim Powers. In this account of our trip, time on the trail will be mentioned when deemed important, in order that others who might follow the route can adjust their climbing times and know where they are in the canyon.
Because of mechanical difficulties with one car, we did not begin our climb until 10:00 A.M. of the 21st. The waterfall near the mouth of Canyon del Diablo was reached in 35 minutes. During the time since the scheduled Club trip last November, three bolts have been placed up the left side of the falls, but we weren't able to use them because we didn't have hangers. One man without his pack made a detour over the ridge to the north and was at the upper end of the falls in 20 minutes. After leaving a fixed rope over the falls we were soon on our way.
One hour later we reached a point where the canyon makes a sharp turn to the south. Look for ducks at this point which lead away from the stream and up the canyon wall to the left. We crossed a low ridge and descended several hundred yards upstream. An hour and a half more climbing found us at the junction with a large canyon to our right, at about 3600 feet elevation. We went left and in another hour of climbing reached what appeared to us to be the largest side canyon leading into Canyon del Diablo. This canyon was to our right and had no water in it. One half hour later we reached the second largest fork in the canyon, also to the right but with a small stream. In both instances we stayed to the left. Just beyond this side canyon one finds the first cedar trees. After another thirty minutes of climbing, at about 4800 feet elevation, the canyon walls narrow and one must scramble up the water-worn rock slopes to the left of the stream. The overnight camp of our November attempt on the peak was passed one hour and 16 minutes later, and 25 minutes beyond we made our camp at about 5850 feet.
