Matomi - Baja 2012

Ron Bartell, Mark Adrian, and I climbed Pico Matomi (5460 feet) on December 2, 2012. Our route was up Canyon Matomi on the Northeast side of the peak. We drove in from San Felipe via Valley Chico on 64 miles of dirt road. 4WD was required for the section at the end where you drop into Canyon Matomi from the North and for a portion of the 5-mile stretch in the canyon that ends at Rancho Matomi (2470 feet). Most of the road was in good shape and required only a high clearance. The hiking route up Canyon Matomi was slow with a lot of bushwhacking. It took us 6 hours to backpack 3 miles to a camp at the end of flowing water. The last half of the hike took about 4 hours. There was serious brush and we had to climb up and around cliff bands through cactus and loose rock. The following day, we hiked to the summit with day packs. After hiking for 10 minutes up the canyon from our camp, we climbed left out of the canyon to a saddle. From the saddle, we continued up the ridge until we reached Mesa Matomi. Here we found an old dirt road. There were roads all over the mesa coming in from the West. They came to within 1/4 mile of the summit. There were also large antennas on the summit. We contoured to the East after reaching the dirt road to head several canyons coming in from the West. The last 100 feet to the summit required some class 2 boulder scrambling. The climb went very well and we had no problems. The round trip hike to the summit and back to our camp was about 12 miles and took about 10 hours. The next day, we found the hike back to Rancho Matomi to be easier than when we came in. We reached our cars in 5 hours and didn't rush. This time, we knew where to go. The drive out to San Felipe also went well. We parted with Mark part way as he had some other peaks to climb. Ron and I made it to Highway 5 just north of San Felipe by dark and had dinner at Restaurant El Colorado, the same place we ate lunch on the way in. We drove to Mexicali, crossed the border and camped near Ocotillo. We drove back to LA the following day. To summarize:
Day 1 - Ron and Rich drive to Ocotillo and camp.
Day 2 - Meet Mark in Calexico, cross the border, drive to near San Felipe on Highway 5, and then drive dirt to within 3 miles of the trailhead at Rancho Matomi.
Day 3 - Backpack 3 miles in 6 hours and camp at the last water.
Day 4 - Hike 12 miles round trip to the summit and back to our camp.
Day 5 - Hike out to Rancho Matomi, drive out the dirt road, cross the border, and camp at Ocotillo.
Day 6 - Drive to LA