The Sierra Madre Oriental

Into the Sierra Madre, Part II

During one of my ridiculous road trips, I decided to head south from Houston instead of continuing west to the Guadalupe or Chisos Mountains. I wasn’t sure where I was going, but thought I could at least check out some of the coastal areas along the Texas Gulf Coast or maybe even try out Mexico, which is surprisingly near. Upon closer inspection, I realized that Monterrey, the largest city in northern Mexico, was on the cusp of the Sierra Madre Oriental which, though the easternmost range of Mexico, are geologically related to the Rockies of the United States and Canada, not the Appalachian Mountains. In fact, the total distance to these mountains was only 750 miles, just 100 miles more than the trip to the Smokies, and 200 less than to the Guadalupe and Chisos Mountains, which are actually the northernmost extension of Sierra Madre Oriental. I was fortunate enough to spend a few days in the area around New Year’s Day 2007, and I was impressed by the relative height, ruggedness, and biodiversity of these mountains.

1. Relative Height: The Sierra Madre Oriental seem higher than they actually are due to the relatively low plateau from which they rise. With an average elevation of 7,000 feet above sea level, the Sierra Madre Oriental skyrocket about a mile up from Monterrey, less than 1,800 feet above sea level. This makes them seem even taller than they actually are compared to the Smokies, which average 5,000 feet but rise above a plateau already about 2,000 feet above sea level, and not as short compared to the Rockies, which average 11,000 feet above sea level in Rocky Mountain National Park, just 3,500 feet higher than the nearby Estes Park.
2. Ruggedness: The Sierra Madre Oriental are more rugged than the Smokies and are perhaps comparable with the Rockies in this regard. I wish I knew more about geology so I could articulate this second component of my argument more clearly. The Smokies are an ancient mountain range, so erosion has worn down whatever rugged peaks they used to possess over millions of years. The Rockies and the Sierra Madre Oriental are, to my understanding, of relatively similar age, their primary difference lying instead in the nature of the underlying rock of which they are made. The Sierra Madre are primarily limestone, generally the most resistant to erosion, while the Rockies in Rocky Mountain National Park are made of granite. While the Sierra Madre cannot compare with the sheer grandeur of the glacier-carved Rockies, their limestone peaks still feel craggier in a way. One need only visit Huasteca Canyon to see what I mean.
3. Biodiversity: Again, I am not an expert in this area, and I do appreciate the flora and fauna I experience in any natural setting, regardless of how it compares to other areas. However, I am impressed by the biodiversity of the Sierra Madre Oriental, where the highland altitude permits pine forest growth that you can find in the Rockies and Smokies; in fact, if it weren’t for the Potosi Pine, a pine found nowhere else in the world, my drive up 12,000 foot Cerro del Potosi could have been in Colorado somewhere. However, you won’t find cactus or tropical ferns in Colorado, but I saw both on the lush path up to Horsetail Falls in the Sierra Madre. This comparision is probably tough with the Smokies, recognized as one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world, which you can feel as you hike through its extraordinarily lush environment.

Thus, in these three respects, the Sierra Madre Oriental compares quite nicely with the Rockies and the Smokies. They are taller than the Smokies, and, in terms of relative height, they seem taller than the Rockies. Although it is probably tough to say the Sierra Madre Oriental are more “rugged” than the Rockies or have more “diversity” than the Smokies, they do seem to capture the best of both worlds, filling the valleys between there craggy peaks with a plethora of wildlife from alpine, desert, and tropical zones. In contrast, the rough alpine terrain of the Rockies can hardly be called “lush” and the ancient, mist-enshrouded domes of the Smokies are not generally known for their craggy peaks or dramatic bluffs. Of course, if I lived in Denver or Knoxville, these comparisons would be rather moot, but from my vantage point in Baton Rouge these qualities of the Sierra Madre Oriental make me feel fortunate to live here, “only” 750 miles away.

Mountain Hiking from Southeast Louisiana

Into the Sierra Madre, Part I

I have been on a quest to find the perfect mountain hiking area for extended weekends ever since I moved to Baton Rouge about a year ago. Trips to quality mountains used to take days to make from my former home in Philadelphia, but now, though considerably further south from great parks like Glacier or Yellowstone, I am generally a timezone closer to the great mountain ranges of the west while being about equidistant from the best parts of the Appalachians. Surely, trips that I used to do just once a year for the need to find a week off from work for the laborious drive could now be done more frequently in three or four-day weekends. I generally have found the quality of the experience to be roughly proportional to the distance travelled.

1. The closest “mountains” to Baton Rouge are the Ozarks. I hurried up there one weekend and found some nice hills, but nothing quite like what I was looking for: sweeping vistas of craggy mountain peaks, spectacular waterfalls, or awe-inspiring bluffs. I did not really expect any of that and of course might not have been looking in the right places, but if all I am going to get out of a trip is an up-and-down hikes through the woods, there are plenty of options closer to home than 500 miles.
2. For just a couple hours more of driving (650 miles), I can reach the completely unique nearly-rainforest environment of the Great Smoky Mountains. Here, the mountains actually reach over a mile high, and the frequent rainfall creates a wonderfully lush forest. Moreover, as the highest mountains on the eastern seaboard, the Smokies have flora found nowhere else in the world and is recognized internationally for its extraordinary biodiversity. Having grown up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, I visited the Smokies several times in high school and am reminded of home when I go there. However, not a trip has gone by without at least some rainfall if not outright downpours, as the ever-present mist that gives the mountains their name must come from somewhere. The rain and the fog, though they can add a mystical quality to any trip to the Smokies, enshroud any views at the end of hikes and “dampen” the overall hiking experience. Therefore, some of the features I look forward to the most at the end of a rigorous hike are lost.
3. The Guadalupe and Chisos Mountains (in Big Bend National Park) on the other side of Texas offer 8,000 foot peaks in dry, desert-born climates and, both about 950 miles away, are just on the cusp of sanity for a long-weekend trip from Baton Rouge. Both parks offer interesting intersections of multiple ecological zones, particularly the Chihuahuan Desert adjacent to wooded alpine terrain, as well as fascinating geological features, including canyons and incredible rock formations. Big Bend of course is bound by the Rio Grande, which has created the shape of the land over millions of years and today waters a beautiful oasis on its banks. The Guadalupe Mountains used to lie under a sea in the Permian Era, and thus have driven to the surface fossils of sea creatures from millions of years ago. Although considerably farther than the Smokies, both parks are preferable to me and worth the trip from Baton Rouge.
   
4. The Rockies, whether by way of Denver or southwestern Colorado (both ~1300 miles), offer the spectacular scenery I love, with peaks over 12,000 everywhere, and a relatively dry climate to enjoy the outdoors. However, they are so far that a three or four day weekend would be almost entirely wasted on driving.
   

While the Rockies seem too far for a long-weekend jaunt and the Ozarks simply not “satisfying” enough to make the trip, albeit short, I certainly have little problem making repeated journeys to the Smoky, Guadalupe, and Chisos Mountains when the road trip/hiking bug hits me. However, all this has changed in the past week, because I have stumbled upon an option that trumps them all, “only” 750 miles away. While I love all three mountain ranges, I am not entirely sure when any of the three will be preferable to this new option from my vantage in Baton Rouge.