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Walking With Ben

     Benjamin Dawes, a diminutive 30 year old "Brit" is determined to walk the 1,000 mile journey from San Jose del Cabo to Tijuana. In fact, he's still walking and is probably half-way up the Baja peninsula by now.  

"Why would he do this?" you ask. Most of us would find this activity daunting at best. But then Ben is a very unusual guy.

     Ben was born and raised in London. He describes himself as, "a bit of a troubled youth". Then, he got into sports and other activities. He began an adventurous life traveling through Asia, Europe, South America and Mexico after he went to film school. He met Steve Mills, a fellow Brit on a visit to Cabo San Lucas and agreed to volunteer with Steve's soccer program.  One day, Ben got an idea. He had always wanted to go to the United States but didn't have the money to fly there. Even though he could have purchased a bus ticket, he decided to walk from Los Cabos to San Diego. This would help purify his mind, body and spirit as well as  raise money for the children of the world.  Being an experienced film maker, Ben felt it would be great to create a documentary of his experience. This would bring more publicity and support for programs in Mexico and the Baja peninsula, the U. S. and the U.K. It would help people see that Baja is a lot safer than other places in the world and would help promote tourism.  Ben set to work creating a team of people from around the world to help with the walk itself.  Film makers were recruited. They were even willing to volunteer their services to support the project.

     The trip is projected to take three months. Although Ben feels he could walk the entire way on Highway #1 faster, he plans on taking several side trips. He wants to see, film and photograph more of the smaller towns, and lesser known areas of the Baja peninsula. One of his ideas is to walk the Rural Route from Villa Insurgentes on BCS #53 to Misión San Javier and Loreto. Ben's walk will directly benefit the following non-profit groups:  GART a  non-profit Mexican organization founded by Ray Thomas which provides sports, breakfast and anti-graffiti programs for children in BCS;  YES, a U.S. based  organization, (also founded by Ray Thomas) which stands for Youth Educational Sports to help poorer children in the U.S. obtain sports equipment and opportunities in sports programs;  and the Great Ormond Street Hospital founded in 1852 in London England and one of the largest and oldest Children's Hospitals in the world.

     Thanks to one of our alert Board Members, the Asociación de Artes was able to provide support to Ben and his crew on their visit to Los Barriles in April. Patricia Morrison, owner of Hotel Los Pescadores, donated a three night stay at her hotel.  Members of the Board put together a BBQ at Colina del Sol complete with Arrachera, Chicken, Ranch Beans, Oriental Cole Slaw and homemade Brownies. When Ben hit the road again, headed for La Paz,  he promised to keep in touch with us along the way. If you want to "Walk with Ben", you can visit the Their Shoes web site at www.theirshoes.org ,  follow him on twitter at http://twitter.com/their shoes or on podcast http://soundcloud.com/their shoes.   JAH 

To Walk or to Ride ?

     Here's a little hike you might enjoy. It's taken from Carl Dreisbach's booklet, "50 Hikes in the Cape Region - Baja Sur", and, it is NOT as challenging as Benjamin Dawes 1,000 mile walk from Los Cabos to Tijuana.

     On this hike, we'll be looking for the signature tree of the Cape Region - the Brandegee Poplar...

a cottonwood locally known as the güeribo.  This poplar grows in the wild, and only in Baja California Sur. It's easily spotted by its bright white trunk and remarkable height.  It has reached its greatest development in the Sierra de la Laguna  mountains. They're always near water and usually found in hard to reach places.  Arroyo El Aguajó is one of the few places you can see them in abundance. .

     The greatest challenge is to find the road that leads to Arroyo El Aguajó.  It was easy years ago when the sign north of the bridge near the km 148 marker pointed to "Rcho.San Antonio de la Sierra".  Unfortunately, the highway "gurus" have put signs up that say, "San Antonio" (4 of them for good measure...all wrong!) Nevertheless, if you're traveling north from East Cape, it's OK to turn left on this road.

     After your turn, you will be on a reasonably well-graded dirt road.  In about 6 miles you will come to a few houses and the road begins to climb. Near Rancho San Antonio de la Sierra, you come to a stretch of high, rolling country dotted with oak trees - one or more of the endemic oaks*

of the Cape Region; the Encino Roble, the Encino Negro  or the Encino Bellotero. 

    After your descent to Arroyo El Aguajó. The road  winds in and out of ravines that are progressively more verdant and heavily grown with trees draped with hanging vines. You will reach Arroyo El Aguajó about 11 miles from the highway where you will find ample places to picnic or camp overnight under the shade of the tall güeribos.  To see more of these local poplars, walk downstream following the boulder-filled arroyo. You will also see ranches along the way.

     If hiking is not your thing, the road easily accommodates a 2-wheel drive passenger car.