Two visitors to Oaxaca from the U.S. — David from Pennsylvania and Jeff from California — were in town and eager to sample the excellent trails in these parts. They hooked up with some Norte Americano mountain bikers who call Oaxaca home and who were happy to act as local guides. As the weather had been hot in the Valles Centrales in recent weeks, a ride in the high country seemed in order. So it was that five gringos set out this Tuesday, 19 April, to ride the El Carrizal Loop, described elsewhere on the “Rides” page of this web site.
We stopped at the ecotourism office in San Miguel del Valle to register and pay the 50 pesos per person admission fee to use communal lands. We did not hire a guide, as we planned to ride well marked roads rather than footpaths through the woods. Then began the long, sinuous ascent to El Carrizal. We parked our van at the trucha restaurant below El Carrizal, geared up and began the climb into the village and then on up the mountainside, following the logging road that wends through La Neveria and La Ventosa, eventually reconnecting with the road from San Miguel. Recent overnight rains left puddles along the route, but the trail tread was in excellent condition, with a minimum of mud. It took almost exactly four hours to make the circuit, with time out for a sack lunch along the way. The group logged 12.2 miles (19.6 kms) on the loop, with an elevation gain and loss of 2219 feet (676 meters). The municipal building at El Carrizal sits at an elevation of 8951 feet (2728 meters). The highest point on the route was 10,213 feet (3113 meters). A creek crossing just outside San Miguel was the low point at an altitude of 5972 feet (1820 meters).
Three of our party elected to ride down the mountain to San Miguel del Valle, rather than returning to the van parked at El Carrizal. This deviation added 8.3 miles (13.3 kms) of downhill fun to the day’s adventure, with the guys dropping an additional 3983 feet (1214 meters) on the descent.
