Sierra de Juarez

My first campsite was in Sierra de Juarez, at the very eastern edge of the plateau, where it drops down 4600 feet to Laguna Salada – a usually dry lakebed at sea level. I had picked out a spot from my research on Google Earth that I thought likely to have a good view. This location is four miles west of (and almost a mile above) "Cantú Palms" where I would go exploring the next day.

I love this high country, with its pines and junipers interspersed with giant boulder fields.

I passed a couple towers that I assumed to be antennas, but I found they were marked "wind measurement". I later read that they are part of an investigation for a plan to consider installing wind turbines in the area (the "Rumorosa Wind Project"). It certainly was windy!

I also passed one of the old airstrips I had noted in the satellite imagery. These have been destroyed by the Mexican military, using trenches to make life difficult for the drug runners who used them. 32.3614, -115.9034

Here's the campsite, with its view east over Laguna Salada, where I would be exploring for the next few days. 32.3732, -115.8812

Looking northeast towards the Mexicali sprawl: