These little Mexican villages where located in Mesa and Chandler. I believe they still survive to this day. Here is a photo taken between Papago Wells and Tule on the Camino Del Diablo when we drove our jeeps through a few years ago. I giving a couple of gallons of water to some really dehydrated illegals who had been abandoned by their "coyote. Thank goodness it was winter time in the Cabeza Prieta. They had been without water for three days. They thought I was John Wayne....LOL. Terry these guys were not drug smugglers. Hope this works. Tom K.
That's a good shot!
I'm looking forward to the hike, hoping not to meet any Illegals. But if I do, and they need water and I have it to spare, it's theirs.
Until then, does anyone know of a parallel route, just a few (or a few more) yards to the south of the main trail?
It's been mentioned a couple times in material I've read, but when driving a vehicle, a person doesn't notice, or look for those things. I hadn't looked for one in my journeys down the road, but apparently it's there.
My wife and I have been in the CBNWR on several occasions over the years. yes, we have often run into illegals. One year we found two unfortunate illegals that perished near Tinaja Altas. As far as I know there is the old trail that parallels the FWD road. There are a couple places the foot path crosses the border into Mexico. Especially in the area around the Pinacate Lava Flow and Pinta Sands. In some areas it is right beside the road and in other areas it is one to two miles away. All vehicles must stay in a roadway corridor because the entire region is considered a wilderness area. My wife and I have stayed at Tule Well, Papago Wells, Tinaja Alta and also at the site of the old Fortuna Mine. I am by no means a knowledgeable person on the region. We always take two to three vehicles on the trip and rent a satellite phone. It is the only device you can communicate with in that region. These new GPS beckons might work down there. You can rent a satellite phone for around $150 which is a good investment. We are planning another trip this fall. I have already sent in our applications for November. If all is well in November we will be headed for Ajo and then the long drive down to Bates Well.
By the way we never had a problem with illegals. For the most part they avoided us unless they were desperate for water or food. I am a humanitarian and I will never denied somebody water in an emergency. Yes, I don't agree with the illegal immigration situation we are dealing with here in the Southwest. I am old dog and it is difficult to change my ways. I will always help another human in despair.
LDMGold,
You mentioned having applied for a permit.
I've always just gone to the Ajo CPNWR office, filled out papers and walked out. Is an 'application' something new? I've corresponded with the office people several times regarding my hike, and nothing was mentioned about that.
I understand portions of the "old" trail are more visible in the area of Papago Well, and less so to the west of that point. Sound about right?
You can obtain a permit either way. I have always mailed in a request since they started that service. I have a paper I wrote about a trip into the CBNWF in December of 1966. I don't know exactly how to post it. If you would be interested in reading send me your email address to goodluckjoe@yahoo.com.
