The Conquest of Copper Canyon: Cam Honan’s 613-kilometer odyssey
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- Published on Friday, 21 February 2014 10:43
- Written by John Pint
On November 19 of last year, Jalisco expat Cam Honan descended into Mexico’s Barrancas de Cobre to begin an epic trek which lasted for over 20 days, during which he and fellow hiker Justin Lichter walked more than 600 kilometers – the first “through trip” of the Copper Canyon region ever recorded.
This canyon system is located in the southwestern part of the state of Chihuahua, 800 kilometers north of Guadalajara and is said to be deeper and longer than the famed Grand Canyon of the United States.
“In my opinion,” Honan told me, “the Copper Canyon is one of the ten best places in the world to hike.” He should know. This tall Australian has trekked all over the world from Andorra to Wales and recently completed the Triple Crown of American hiking (the Pacific Crest Trail, the Continental Divide Trail and the Appalachian Trail) in 236 days, the fastest time ever recorded and only the third time it’s ever been done within a calendar year. All in all, Honan has hiked more than 80,000 kilometers during his life, perhaps more than any other living person today.
Cam “Swami” Honan and Justin “Trauma” Lichter began their adventure on November 19, 2013 at Basaseachi Falls, Mexico’s second highest cascade (at 453 meters). On his fascinating website, TheHikingLife.com, Honan paints a colorful picture of stage one of that trek, from the falls to Creel, which took just over a week and covered 230 kilometers:
