Last year, my friend Mario Guerrero sent me the coordinates of a hill near San Juan de los Arcos – located 35 kilometers west of Guadalajara – where he thought there might be archaeological ruins.
I passed those coordinates on to the recognized expert on the area, Dr. Chris Beekman.
From far-off Denver, Colorado, Beekman commented: “Using Google Earth I can clearly see an unregistered Guachimontón on top of that hill ... cool!”
Guachimontones or circular pyramids are emblematic of the Teuchitlán Tradition and well over 1,000 years old. Hundreds of them have been found in Jalisco, Colima and Nayarit and it was surprising that this one, overlooking the well-known archaeological ruins at San Juan de los Arcos, had never been registered with INAH (National Institute for Anthropology and History).
In July 2016, I joined Mario and several other adventure addicts on an epic quest to reach Cool Guachi Hill from Selva Negra Nature Reserve.
After many false starts, a hair-raising climb down a steep slope and a GPS-guided slog through maleza as high as an elephant’s eye, we finally did set foot on the circular patio or walkway around Cool Guachi. However, we were so exhausted by our battle just to get there and so overwhelmed by the army of mosquitoes which immediately descended upon us, that we didn’t even make a sketch of our find, much less take measurements of it.
So things stood until recently, when Mario called me. “John, let’s go back to Cool Guachi. I think I’ve figured out an easier way to get there.”
So it was I found myself once again on the muddy road heading northwest from the little town of Ahuisculco, located 30 kilometers southwest of Guadalajara. So muddy was that brecha, in fact, that we pulled over to the side of the road and loaded the back of Mario’s pickup with heavy rocks – for traction.
After slipsliding through several kilometers of deep mud and long puddles, we finally reached the entrance to Corredor Biológico de la Sierra Ahuisculco-Bosque la Primavera, more commonly known as Bosque Selva Negra, a nature reserve linking two huge protected areas and funded by Maná, a Guadalajara rock group trying to reduce its carbon footprint by supporting ecologically sound projects.
Just as we began walking, along came a truck full of local workers. “Look,” said Mario, “see that hill over there? Is there a trail to the top of it?”
“Sorry, there are no trails up there,” they replied. “Está fea. (it’s ugly, meaning impenetrable), but there is a vereda (path) that goes around the bottom of the hill.”
We took that path and, lo and behold, we soon found a trail heading up the hill. To our amazement, this led us right to a nice track wide enough for a truck to drive – and heading in the direction we wanted to go. A few minutes later, we were at the top of the hill, where we found a beautiful green meadow with a magnificent view.
“It’s neither ugly nor impenetrable,” I told Mario. “I bet not one of those guys have ever been here.”
To our joy, we discovered that the north side of this hill gave us a magnificent view of Cool Guachi Hill, and of a promising trail we could take to get there.
“Time to celebrate with our traditional rum-and-coke,” we said, heading for some nicely shaded rocks.
No sooner had we opened our packs to take out snacks, than there was a rustling in the brush behind Mario and out popped two long ears followed by a big, grinning mouth.
It was a burro, obviously very curious about what we were eating, especially the apple I was about to bite into. “Horses love apples,” said Mario, “and I bet burros do too.”
Now I know they do. I gave that burro half my apple and made a friend for life.
Every step of the way back, our new amigo was right beside us, frequently giving me a nudge that seemed to say, “Isn’t it time for another apple break?”
So, if you have some time left over after visiting the obsidian workshops at Selva Negra, consider taking a hike to what we are now calling El Cerro del Burro. It’s only 1.4 kilometers from the Selva Negra gate and takes you through a shady arroyo up to a natural mirador (lookout) with a great view in every direction. As for the final link from Cerro del Burro to Cool Guachi Hill: I hope it will be the topic of a column in the very near future.
How to get there
From the Guadalajara Periférico, take Highway 15 (Nogales and Tepic) 25 kilometers to Highway 70 which heads southwest towards Ameca. Now go about 18 kilometers and, just past the Tala sugar refinery, turn left. Go past Tala 11 kilometers to an easy-to-miss cobblestone road (N20.57755 W103.70241) on your right. From here follow the route to Selva Negra, which you will find on Wikiloc.com under “GuadHikes - Ahuisculco to Selva Negra Woods.” The Selva Negra iron gate and parking area is located at N20.58147 W103.72590. From here follow the Wikiloc route named “Cerro del Burro.” Your final destination, the hill with a great view, is located at N20.58334 W103.73529. Driving time from Guadalajara to the parking spot is about an hour.