Mexican long-distance thru-hiker Zelzín Aketzalli has an all-consuming goal she’s been working on for seven years.
Her mission: to connect the Pacific Crest Trail with the new National Trail of Baja California, “empowering the region’s most iconic mountain ranges and its native communities.”
Aketzalli vows it will be “a world-class trail” running the entire length of Baja California, over 2,000 kilometers in length.
“Those who walk it will discover that Baja is much more than beach, that it has snow-capped mountains, volcanoes, canyons, pine forests, salt flats and desert. In fact, they will find it has plants, trees and animal life that exist nowhere else.”
Although she had considered aligning the trail with the historic Camino Real, Aketzalli’s chosen route follows mountain paths, avoiding highways while bringing hikers closer to indigenous communities that can provide food, shelter and guidance.
Bushwhacking in B.C.
Aketzalli started her odyssey on October 19 from Tecate, where she was given a big send-off by Baja California community leaders. Since then, she has been bushwhacking: visiting remote mountains, valleys and canyons, and plotting routes that will be interesting, challenging and satisfying to future generations of long-distance hikers.
“I spend a few days planning my strategy for the next section of the route, most nights camping in the mountains,” she said. “Then I spend a few more days meeting and talking with the people in the nearby pueblitos and ranchos. This has become my routine. It’s a different and deeply enriching way to experience thru-hiking.”
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