A lot has happened in Mexico's Copper Canyon area since its pyroclastic origin some twenty five million years ago. Great mountains rose in a fiery display of smoke and ash. Torrents of rain and wind, cut deep slashes in the raising igneous colossus that we now know as the Sierra Madre, to form immense canyons. Some eleven or twelve thousand years ago, the first humans arrived, migrating bands of nomadic hunters seeking fate and fortune in dangerous unknown lands.

During the ensuing millennia multitudes of unknown peoples passed through, some eventually staying to take up residence in the many sheltered caves to practice simple farming.

And so it was in the spring of 1541 when a detachment of Conquistadores from Coronado's expedition in search of the seven golden cities of Cebola first encountered a group of naturales, they called Tarahumara.

More time passed, the Tarahumara — or Rarámuri as they call themselves — planted maize and warred with their southern neighbors, the Tepahuanes. In 1607 an event took place that would change life forever in the canyon country. Jesuit missionaries arrived with mandates from the Spanish Crown to Christianize and civilize the Sierra Madre natives.

The story of the survival and adaptation of the Tarahumara, during the colonial years and later under the Mexican Republic, is a fascinating, complex epic that I leave for a long evening around the campfire.

Mysteries abound in a multitude of inaccessible, forgotten arroyos and cerros that climb and plunge in rugged highlands separating the great canyons. Who built the Mogollon style houses that occupy several cliff sites? Who built the carefully made stone terraces? What early people lived in round houses? These are a few of many enigmas that capture our imagination.

Balderrama will tell you everything you need to know about accommodations and will offer to make all of your travel arrangements, including all associated plane, train and car reservations.

If you choose to make your own plane reservations, you'll need to get yourself first to Los Angeles, Phoenix, Tucson, Tijuana or Las Vegas.

Bring along clothing appropriate for both Fall and Summer. This means you'll want everything from a jacket for cool evenings to shorts for hot days — including a bathing suit for the hot springs.

As for gear, make sure you bring hiking boots, a daypack, water bottles, a sun hat, plenty of suntan lotion, and more camera film/memory than you think you could ever use in eight days!