Our small party had been hiking for hours through Mexico's Barranca del Cobre - the Copper Canyon — without seeing a trace of any other human being. Now, in the heart of a canyon even deeper than the Grand Canyon, we heard the echoes of Tarahumara drums. Their simple beats were faint at first, but soon gathered strength. Echoing off stony ridges, it was impossible to tell their number or location. We looked to our guide for direction. «Quien sabe?» he said. "Who knows? The Tarahumara can't be seen unless they want to be seen."

Just 300 miles from the US border, we are in another world, a world unknown to most Mexicans, let alone Americans. In the heart of the Sierra Madre, the Copper Canyon is really seven major canyons, four of which are deeper than the Grand Canyon. This is where the US Army hunted Pancho Villa for ten years, without success. Not surprising, given the expanse. Only the Tarahumara know this land.

The Tarahumara are probably the most isolated and primitive Native American tribe in North America. Scattered over 10,000 miles of mountains and canyons — a family here, another there — the Tarahumara may be invisible, but they're everywhere.

The world's strongest long distance runners, running up to 125 miles non-stop, the Tarahumara can live just about anywhere in the canyon system, and they do. Though there's a Tarahumara 'ranchito' wherever there is a flat patch of land, that's not saying much, since flat patches are few and far between.

Extremely shy, most Tarahumara want little contact with the trickle of adventurers who make it to the canyon. The best place from which to explore their land, though, is through the Posada Barrancas Mirador, just south of the town of Creel.

Poised like an eagle's nest at the canyon's edge, the Posada Barrancas Mirador stands near the highest point of the canyon. Here you will meet some of the Tarahumara people, you might take a horesback or jeep excursion to a Tarahumara village, wander down a path to an inhabited Tarahumaran cave dwelling or hike down to the canyon floor.

Here you will meet some of the Tarahumara people, you might take a horesback or jeep excursion to a Tarahumara village, wander down a path to an inhabited Tarahumaran cave dwelling or hike down to the canyon floor.

Early the next morning, Luis led us out of town. For two hours we followed the Rio Batopilas as it twisted and turned through a rocky, arid landscape. Then, rounding a bend, we saw the Mission gleaming like a pearl in a lush, green garden. The Mission is the great mystery of Batopilas. No one knows when it was built or who, exactly, built it. But as long ago as 1700, the imposing brick structure was topped with a domed roof and a bell tower.

Abandoned now for decades, the local Tarahumara keep the Mission minimally maintained, and the desert climate has helped preserve some of the original murals and icons, including a life-size black Madonna, thought to have come from Spain two centuries ago.

On our last full day in Batopilas, we hiked up into the mountains. Our goal was a mesa near the tiny hamlet of Yerba Anise. The path upward is surrounded by wildflowers and 35 foot high cactus plants. The higher we climbed, the more magnificent the views became.

Though we hadn't seen a soul since we'd left town five hours earlier, it seemed probable that we'd been under constant observation. I looked at Luis. «Quien sabe?», he said. "The Tarahumara are invisible, but they're everywhere."

Remote, rugged and hard to get to, Copper Canyon is not for everyone. But if you can forego the homogenized pleasures of the beaten path, you may find yourself on the adventure of a lifetime.

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!