First a Robbery
“Fellas! Could you please hurry along? There’s a man with an AK-47 behind you!” I urged the two straggling hikers in our group, trying to not panic them.
Our guide heard me, turned to face the gun man, then yelled to the guide in front, “Marco!”
The gunman and his sidekick, having been caught in their surprise attack, started yelling in Spanish. But it didn’t take an interpreter to understand the demands.
The eight of us quickly circled, sat down, and quietly prayed. Our guides told us to be calm and do what we were asked.
The robbers, gun pointed in our faces, demanded our jewelery, cash, watches, cameras and phones. They ignored our credit cards and passports. In less than five minutes, they stuffed their backpack then ran away to a waiting motorcycle.
We were stunned.
All I could think about was how glad I was that the two wives of the two trailing men hadn’t come. Their screams and panic could have turned our robbery into a murder scene.
Our two local guides regrouped us. With just a half mile to our destination at Monte Alban just six miles southwest of Oaxaca City, they chauferred us up the trail to the police to report the crime.
Despite doing everything right as a trip leader, hiking with local guides in well-known areas and staying on well-known trails, it’d all gone wrong.
The good news: no one hurt. The cache? $3000. 8 phones. 3 cameras, 2 wedding rings. 4 watches.
Then an Evacuation
The next year on a return trip to Oaxaca to try again, I hiked the sweep position as a good trip leader should. We’d had a glorious two days of stunning hiking in the Sierra Norte, and we’d reach the exact middle of our trip.
Half-way between here and there. Exactly in the middle of nowhere. Maize fields spread out over undulating mountains, donkeys standing ready to haul the day’s thrashings.
She fell in slow motion.
First she leaned to the right, her hiking pole suddenly taking on the whole weight of her body. Her right foot folded under her as her knee buckled out to the right. Her right hip slipped to the ground, then her elbow, the back of her wrist, her back, and then her head lightly touched the ground.
But her scream echoed down the mountainside into the valley.
I was right behind her and simply couldn’t comprehend what had happened. Why had a small fall generated such a big scream?
Then I noticed her right thigh didn’t look exactly right, and her right calf was twisted opposite of her leg. A broken femur.
In the middle of the middle of no where Mexico. Cell phones not receiving. Sun, high noon.
Once again, our guides gathered the group. I hatched a rescue plan. We’d straighten her leg, splint it with poles, and somehow gurney her down the mountain to the local village.
Problem 1: she couldn’t straighten her leg, we couldn’t splint it, we didn’t have a guerney.
Fortunately, our guide’s cell phone chimed with a signal. He reached the local Roja Cruz, who sent a donkey and a team of locals that we’d use to get her to the ambulance at the top of the mountain.
It took 8 hours to get her there. A black panther, who sniffed the injured, hunted past us as we arrived to flashing red lights.
And Last, a Guide Goes Down
I returned a third year to try again, convinced that an 8-day hiking trip in Oaxaca’s Sierra Norte mountains that ended with a few days of the Day of the Dead celebration had to be a fantastic trip. After all, I’d already tried twice.
For this iteration of the trip, we started with an urban hike through downtown Oaxaca. Our guides shared the stories of all the little vecinos that make up Oaxaca, how majordomos control the festivities, and why Oaxacas celebrate their dead.
As we meandered the street, we embraced the local vibe. A Zapotecan lady sold cold tejate from the street corner, quenching our thirst. Locals, dressed in pink and blue and gold and red and green and sparkles, gathered for neighborhood parties, pigs roasting on spits at every block.
Just a mile from the end of the urban hike, a parking lot marker grabbed the toe of our guide.
He went down fast, cracking his kneecap, incapacitating him. Fortunately, we were within meters of the hospital, and we helped hobble him there for surgery the next day.
Why Hiking Oaxaca Is Fabulous
Despite these three terrible incidents, which frankly could have happened anywhere, Oaxaca is a fanatastic hiking destination. Just outside the capital city of Oaxaca City lies the mountain range of the Sierra Norte. Within it is a fabulous organization invested in eco-tourism, providing local experiences led by locals.
I’ve hiked hundreds of miles through Mancomunados. I’ve learned to make tortillas and mole. I’ve weaved carpets. I’ve dined on whatever the local cooks in the local cabanas were cooking. I’ve seen wild orchids that haven’t even been identified yet. I’ve heard tales of the return of Nahuatl, the ancient language of the ancient tribes of Mexico. I’ve named a local burro.
It’s best to hike the Sierra Norte in October when the temps hover in the 70s and it’s prior to the Day of the Dead celebrations in Oaxaca. After a week of hiking, we’ve returned to Oaxaca City to dance with Katrina in the many Dead parades. We’ve collected marigolds to place on graves. We’ve asked families waiting by their familial tombs drinking mezcal at midnight, “Quien espera?”
And despite the disasters that happened on all three tips to Oaxaca, I’d hike it again in a heartbeat. Would you?
If you want more info about the actual treks, hikes, and people I hired, please see these blog posts that contain all the details.
Hiking and Trekking Oaxaca Sierra Norte Mancomunados in Mexico, Comprehensive
An Authentic Oaxaca Hiking Vacation Sierra Norte and Day of the Dead, Part 1
What a story Chris! Wow. Incredible calm and tenacity. Much respect.
This is a phenominal testament to resiliance in adventure travel. Your willingness to return after each incedent shows something most people miss about risk, that isolated events dont actually compound into systemic danger. I've had similar expereinces where one bad trip made me reconsider entire regions, but you're right that the Sierra Norte itself remains incredible despite these random moments.