Though we know that Lupton traveled to Copalquin in l884, we don't know the mule trails he took to get there. He may have gone the more northerly route as did Killebrew from Parral through Guadalupe y Calvo, though we think it likely that he would have traveled a more direct route from Parral to Copalquin, and/or from Copalquin back to Parral, thereby saving 2 or more days of travel each way. The distinction is important because a more direct southerly route to Copalquin would have taken Lupton through high mountain headwater tributaries of the Balleza (Rio Conchos watershed), and possibly tributaries of the Rio Florido or the Rio Sextin.
There are several existing narratives of the trail from Parral to Guadalupe y Calvo. See map. One account is from Killebrew who described his trip over the mountains in l883. Killebrew describes his group as leaving from Parral on the 11th of April. The group traveled up the east bank of the Rio Balleza, camping one night near the Pablo hot spring; then continued upstream another "2 or 3 miles when we turned abruptly to the right from it ascending a very steep mountain." This was somewhere to the south of modern day town of El Vergel, where the trail along the Rio Balleza joined another overland route from Parral. The overland route had no water except during the rainy season, so was typically used only during the wet summer months, as the "cargadores" had to be near water for their mules. Whether there might have been trout in the Rio Balleza is unknown, but Killebrew's altitude on that stream would have been just under 6000 feet, hence probably marginal trout habitat for this part of Mexico. There are also several headwater tributaries that feed the Balleza from the north/northwest, and pack trains may also have crossed these waters. Killebrew's trail later crosses the continental divide, and fords the Rio Verde and several other tributaries of the Rio Fuerte, including the Turuachi. These streams are known to contain native Mexican golden trout. Killebrew arrived in Guadalupe y Calvo on the 19th of April, after 8 days on the trail.
A more detailed account is from December, l900, by geologist Walter Harvey Reed, published in Griggs' book, Chihuahua Mines. After outfitting at Parral, Reed takes the trail leading "direct from the city to the town of Guadalupe y Calvo." He remarks:
"A narrow-gauge railroad runs some 20 miles west of Parral; and at the time of my visit, was being rapidly pushed west of the summit of the mountains. This road will carry great quantities of firewood and mill-material to Parral. Before it was built all of the firewood of the city was packed on burros. On the first day of my trip at least 1,500 burros were passed."
Outside of Parral, Reed says the trail follows a clear headwater branch of the Parral River, just north of Santa Barbara. Turning west, Reed first crossed the "Arroyo Hondo," a deep trench and tributary to the Rio Balleza, containing the "only water for many miles about." He then crossed the "Rio Nivarra," [Rio Navarro] an eastern tributary of the Rio Balleza, [note: Reed calls the Balleza the "Rio Riparra"] which drains the highest peak in all the Conchos - Puerto la Reina, some 10,800 feet high. The trail then follows the eastern margin of the valley of the Rio Balleza, [noting an altitude of 5700 feet] passing the hot springs, crossing the river and eventually ascending the steep slopes of the west side. Reed then crossed a series of deeply-incised gulches and arrived at Rosario spring. Again, this is somewhere to the south of present-day El Vergel. The trail later passed Laguna Grande, an interesting natural lake in basalt hollows northwest of El Vergel, then crossed the Arroyo de Cuevo Blanco (another Balleza trib) shortly before entering the valley of the Rio Verde. Reed's trail also crossed the Rio Verde at 7200 feet in altitude and the Arroyo Turuache at 6,800 feet, both known to hold Mexican golden trout.
Most of the water that Reed encounters in the Conchos watershed is currently not good habitat for trout. There are however, a number of headwater tributaries of the Balleza further south which rise between 9,000 and 10,000 feet. The common trail from Parral to Guadalupe y Calvo did not cross these streams. There is a cross-section map in Griggs' Chihuahua Mines of this common route, and another short narrative of the trail by W.H. Seamon who traveled the trail in l905. Seamon wrote that he usually followed the "dry" upland section of trail along the telegraph line because the Rio Riparo route was a little longer (both trails joining again near present day El Vergel). But he also states that the Rio Riparo route was more well-traveled because there was ample water for horses and mules. Seamon notes that the altitude of the Rio Navarro at the trail crossing is 6,400 feet, and that of the Rio Riparo [now called Rio Balleza] is about 5850 feet. According to Seamon, there were two routes to the crossing of the Rio Riparo; one through Ojito, and the other from Sandia, the Sandia route also crossing the Rio Navarro, just to the east of theRio Riparo. He also fished for "salmon trout" [Mexican golden trout] in the Rio Verde, remarking that they were easily caught with bait, and would not otherwise rise to the fly. In our experience, the lower limit of trout distribution in this area of the Sierra Madre is probably between 5,500 and 6000 feet; this under the best of conditions. It is a feasible assumption that the Navarro could have supported trout at that altitude in the late 1800's; and the "Arroyo de Cuevo Blanco" is also high enough (over 8000 feet); however the Rio Balleza now cannot support trout where the trail would have accessed it, and may even have been too warm in Lupton's time. Killebrew noted that at least near the hot springs, there was a healthy growth of algae in the waters of the Rio Balleza.
Lupton's collection of trout was probably made on his trips between Parral and Copalquin in l884. We do not know if Lupton traveled to Mexico in l885, but suspect he did not. He had taken a teaching position at the Auburn Agricultural and Mechanical School in Alabama, and had to move his family and belongings at the end of the 1884-85 school year. Lupton also attended the American Association for the Advancement of Science meetings in August in l885, having been the acting chair of the chemistry section. E.D. Cope too attended this meeting, and it's possible that the two exchanged information about Mexico, and/or the specimens at this time; Cope also having traveled extensively in Mexico between 1882-1884. Cope was typically quick to publish, was the editor of American Naturalist in which the article appeared, and could easily have published the note by 1886 if he had received the trout the previous year. Next