Day 5 - Poza Obscura to the Sea / La Ribera - 17.4 miles
We were up early to meet Rogelio and hit the trail. Passing the first ranch there were tons of goats and puppies and we soon split off of the well-trodden path and followed him through a seemingly invisible trail. We got to an abandoned brick building which he told us was the first home in the canyon many years ago. Then we popped out into the flat arroyo like it was easy peasy. We saw some birds, enjoyed the scenes, and Rogelio found a tiny pine tree sapling sprouting in the sand. He carefully dug it up and placed it in a baggie to transplant further up in the mountains as it would not survive down here. We met another friend of Citlali’s, Ruth, who gave us water and snacks, took our camping gear so we could slackpack the final miles, and also gave Rogelio a ride back to his place.
We kept on trucking in the wide arroyo and a few times got lost in foliage after following cow trails to a dead end. The cows made the path to get to shade, not to get to the ocean, but they didn’t label any of their streets. Cows would be poor city planners. We took a break next to some palm trees, passed under the Highway 1 bridge, and soon took our shoes off to hike barefoot in the shallow water. Further down, when all the water had absorbed into the sand, we were in quite an apocolyptic Mad Max scene so I flew the drone to get some photos of us. Just two weary hikers in the middle of a vast desert and under the blazing sun.
We could see the construction cranes on the horizon that were building the controversial Four Seasons hotel in La Ribera. We kept hiking and for awhile they never seemed to get closer. But eventually we got to Playa El Resurgidero and ran into the water to celebrate the end of our epic journey across the Baja Peninsula. Five days of hiking to cover 65.5 miles (105 km) from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of California.
