The California Rock Art Foundation (CRAF) is pleased to announce limited openings on three trips scheduled for March 2020 in Baja California, Mexico.

In collaboration with their partners at Saddling South, the California Rock Art Foundation has organized three extraordinary trips into the Sierra San Francisco in the heart of the Great Mural Rock Painting Tradition

In collaboration with their partners at Saddling South, the California Rock Art Foundation has organized three extraordinary trips into the Sierra San Francisco in the heart of the Great Mural Rock Painting Tradition.

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Around the campfire in the Sierra San Francisco

Each trip will visit a different canyon system within the Sierra San Francisco, and each trip will offer guests a unique experience with separate itineraries. Santa Teresa hosts some of the most famous and intact Great Murals sites such as Cueva Pintada and Las Flechas, while the excursions in Santa Marta area into the Arroyo de Parral will bring you to remote sites including Serpiente and Supernova. The trip into San Gregorio offers a unique rancho experience with some lesser known painted sites in the Sierra de San Francisco.

Dates

1. Santa Marta – March 1-8

2. Santa Teresa – March 12-19

3. San Gregorio – March 22-29

(Dates & itinerary are subject to change)

The unique Great Mural Rock Painting Tradition

A word about the expeditions from the California Rock Art Foundation:

We travel to these remote locations riding on mules, while a pack train of burros carry our gear into the canyon. Each trip involves visits to the nearby ranchos and visits to some of the most spectacular rock art in the world - incredible painted rock shelters in the rugged mountain wilderness – known to some as the Grand Canyon of Baja, Mexico. Each trip has a space for just six people and so we are looking for 18 fellow travelers to fill these limited space, once-in-a-lifetime tours.

Bring a friend or come solo! These trips are tons of fun, very social, and offer a unique and remarkable experience of spectacular rock art, world class vistas and scenery, exceptional archaeology, and local vaquero culture.

All trips depart from Loreto, a coastal town located on the Sea of Cortez. Travel to the canyon sites requires riding astride mules and walking on steep, rocky terrain, along exposed canyon trails. Participants should be in good physical condition to attend. First time rider? No problem! The mules are sure footed and not easily spooked. This is truly an extraordinary adventure!

Deep within the Sierra San Francisco, in the heart of the Great Mural Rock Painting Tradition

The trips are run by our partners at Saddling South, a guiding company in Loreto and is directed by Trudi Angell, and her daughter, Olivia. Trudi was a graduate of one of the first National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), Baja courses in 1976, and subsequently worked for the school and kayaked the coast for the next 7 years. Trudi developed Saddling South in order to offer extraordinary tours into very remote regions throughout the Baja peninsula. Each trip is led by local vaqueros (cowboys) who are very knowledgeable and intimately acquainted with the landforms, geography, flora, and fauna of the Sierra.

All trips will be accompanied by a California Rock Art Foundation Liaison who will field discussions regarding archaeology, photography, Native Baja Cochimi ethnography and history, Spanish contact, indigenous religion, interpretations and the age of the paintings. This trip is open to adventure seekers, history enthusiasts, photographers, archaeologists, explorers and those looking for a truly remarkable excursions into some one the most beautiful and dramatic country in all Mexico.

Experiencing the paintings firsthand is both captivating and overwhelming - leaving one with more questions than answers. After the trip, we recommend whale-watching in San Ignacio; or a stay in Loreto to explore the town and shop, and take a short boat trip out to the beautiful volcanic island of Coronado for a snorkel tour or visit mission San Javier.

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