Baja Amigos Jan. 2015 Trip Report (From TMW)

Baja Amigos January 2015 Trip Report...

Scroll down to see report from Tom with photos now included!

 

Rather than add the pictures here they are in the report posted on Baja Nomads at
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=77391

 

This is it:



[rquote=960643&tid=77391&author=TMW]Baja Amigos January 2015 Trip Report

In planning this trip we were going to do the No Wimp Trail (NWT) and from San Ignacio head over to the pacific coast and up to Punta Eugenia and back to Malarrimo Beach then home. That changed to doing a trail from San Ignacio to Mulege after the NWT, then down to San Isidro/La Purisima and the Comondus out to Loreto and home. After Nomad John M exchanged messages with Nomad Baja Blanca and some of her rancher friends the route from San Ignacio to Mulege was not passable. So we reverted back to the original plan. But as you will see things dont always work out as planned.

Maps of where we actually went




Thursday morning January 15th we arrive at Rudys place south of San Felipe. He is not there but soon arrives and tells us to follow him to Rons place close by. There are five 4x4 vehicles in our group.

Rudy (Nomad El Comadante Loco ) and Robert (our personal chef) in a Nissan.
Roy (Nomad The squarecircle) and Blanche in a Land Rover.
John (Nomad John M) and Bob in a 2nd Gen. Tacoma.
Richard and Gari in a 1st Gen. 4Runner, more on it later.
Ron and Tom (Nomad TMW, that is me) in a 1st Gen. Tacoma.

We all greet each other and after some small talk and last minute checks we are off to Cocos. He is not there but in Ensenada. We leave the supplies with the couple taking care of his place and move on. We hit Hwy 1 and air up then head down to Jesus Maria.

From Jesus Maria we go east taking a dirt road toward El Arco. Parts of the road were used by NORRA last year for the motorcycle route. John has a large GPS display mounted to his dash with the route programmed in it. John and Bob will lead our jolly group, hopefully we wont get lost. Along the way we see an open area where we set up camp. Never mind the sand burrs, theyre not too bad. Our plan is to find a camp between 3-4pm while its still daylight and leave in the morning by 9am.



The first night after the tents are setup, beds are ready and Robert provides us with the first of many excellent meals we gather around the camp fire. We get to know each other as some in the group are new to others. We discuss the trip plans and what to expect. As usual we venture into all kinds of other subjects like high-speed rail, football etc. and as the time p a s s e s its bed time.

Friday morning is another beautiful day in Baja. While it was cool thru the night the morning sunshine warms us. Before breakfast I make a run back to town for ice which we forgot to get when we gassed up. I am soon back and Robert saved me a couple of breakfast burritos, perfect.

On the road we pass a couple of ranches and a very interesting water tower. Its good to see the warm smiles on their faces and a friendly wave as we pass by. We make our way to El Arco. The military facility is empty of solders so I guess it was abandoned.






The water tank on top, the bottom 2/3 is the support structure


Someone set up a trash can just for us


On the road from El Arco to San Francisquito we are amazed by what the hurricane rain did to the arroyos. They are much bigger. Large sections of deep sand that was not there a year ago. I would not want to be in the way of all that water. The road crosses the arroyos and some sections are 1/4 mile or longer. At San Francisquito the wind is blowing hard. There is only one hut available and the palapas are too damaged to be of any use. The large covered structure near the restaurant that had tables no longer has a roof. We decide to leave and find a place without the wind. Along the road behind a hill line we find a wash that is just right. We setup camp, have dinner and another evening around the fire.



Saturday morning Richard tells us of ancient seashells cast in rock on the coast about 8 miles from where we are. This is an area about 4 miles NW of San Francisquito on the Sea of Cortez. So off we go. As we get closer to the water we see the beautiful coast line and soft sandy beaches. But Richard goes inland and up and around a mining area. Upon stopping there are lots of rocks with the shapes of sea shells. This place was under water many years ago. We continue on and out to the coast and the mud hills overlooking the water. An interesting site for sure especially with the large crabs dancing on the side of the rocks. But its time to go.





Out to the road and on to El Barril where we find our way to Rancho La Iluson. There is no one there to ask about the road to the coast. We move on making references to my trip notes and GPS readings. All were close enough. As we crossed the arroyos we could see that a lot of damage was done by the hurricane rains and as we approached the turn off for the coast it got worse. At the junction where there use to be a sign saying Rancho Santa Barbara right and Rancho San Miguel left there was no left turn. The road was gone, only large rocks in the way. I assume the people at Santa Barbara cleared the way to their ranch. I also believe that San Miguel is abandoned and therefore no one to clear a road to it.

Pin 7 is the jct for R. Santa Barbara and R. San Miguel on this GE view


The sign as it use to be, gone now



Nothing to do but turn around, but not until we walked it on foot to make sure there was no path. Motorcycle tracks would have been welcome. But we did not see anything but what the rains damaged. Richard went down another arroyo but was again blocked by rocks. It was getting late in the day so we decide to set up camp. The fire was a warm welcome as it was getting cold with the darkness of night sweeping over us.

Sunday morning I awoke to ice in the water bottles in my cooler. I also had a half empty drink and the ice did not melt thru the night. At breakfast we discussed what to do. There was no way we could go forward as planned. There was talk about a road along the coast from El Barril down by the water but Richard and Roy tried that several years ago on ATVs without luck. We will go back.




As we head back toward El Arco we stop at Rancho El Progresso for lunch. A nice young couple were there running the place. We looked it over and it seems like a nice place to stay. Along the way we also stopped at Rancho Piedra Blanca, they too cater to guest. Before El Arco we pull over to a mountain that has rock paintings that David K told us about. Since they are high up Ron and Richard were the only ones to hike up there. After El Arco we take the main gravel road to Hwy 1 then down to Vizcaino for a hotel and shower. A welcome relief.



The paintings are up high



Monday morning John and Bob head home as time was running out for them. The trip to Malarrimo would have taken too long for them. We say our goodbyes. Soon we are moving west looking for the Malarrimo turnoff. The road is paved most of the way and in OK condition. But the pavement ends and we are on a graded road that goes from OK to bad to OK many times. We find the turnoff and check out the remains of what was a house etc. Richard found some nice drinking g l a s s e s.



Road Guards, beware


The road is not hard to follow, actually we followed a wash and it appears to have been the road too. After a while we come to a mesa with several ditches of various depths and widths, too much to drive across. We crisscross the area looking for a way and finally found it. Its down into an arroyo and after a 1/4 mile or so we are up and out the other side and on the trail again.

We follow a finger to the west then back to the east and along a canyon. Its like a small Grand Canyon. Its a beautiful site to see. We then travel down into a narrow section with walls on both side before exiting out in an arroyo that will lead us to the ocean.




WE will go down and follow the the arroyo to the right toward the ocean


Richard takes the lead in his 4Runner. I should explain his 4Runner a little more. Its an older 4Runner, I think about 1988 but maybe newer. It has a 3L V6 and manual tranny. But what makes it really work is the dual transfer cases. This thing is a rock crawler with 35 inch tires. If it can not get thru, nothing can. I should add that Roy was the one that built it and Richard bought it from him.

Richard picks his way thru the rocks etc and after 27.3 miles on my truck we are at the ocean or close as the last 100 yards or so are very difficult with very soft sand and possible mud under the crust to the side. So we stop short and walk. The hurricane has made a pond up the arroyo that high tide does not reach. What was a wide area of sand on the east side (15 years ago) is now maybe a car width and narrows from that toward the beach. There is a lot of junk all over the area. Ron finds fishing lures, Robert finds an expensive camera in a locked camera case, Rudy finds a new wet suite with the tags still attached, mens size large. We also get a lot of good firewood.





Rudy surveys the area along the beach


That long lonely beach, nobody here but us


To set up camp we travel back up the arroyo and around a bend to keep out of the wind. Its another beautiful night with the stars shining bright. Robert cooks a full on chicken dinner with all the trimmings, including salad. Around the fire Roy brings out his 1.75L bottle of top shelf tequila to warm us up. All will agree it was a fun filled evening we will not soon forget. Sorry John and Bob are not with us.




Tuesday morning Rudy and Ron walk back to the beach area and look for more stuff. We run a little later than normal this morning as we really did not want to leave. I think it was about 11 am before we left. Going out was easier since we could follow the trail we made coming in, except Rudy got a sidewall tear. Ron was on it in a second and we had the tire changed and back running again. We stop at the canyon area again for pictures.



Oops poor Rudy. Yes DK it was a BFG TA/KO



On the road we turn toward Bahia Tortugas. The graded road turns to paved road. In town its gas and ice. We then head over to Punta Eugenia. The road is graded. In town we look around and stop where the fishing boats come in. They were loading a boat that takes supplies out to Isla Natividad. An interesting place for sure. We head back toward Bahia Tortugas. Along the way we lost radio contact with Roy and Richard. We wait at the PEMEX station and after sometime I go back to see what happened.



Where the boats come in


A diesel powered winch to help pull the boats in

On the road I stop a truck coming toward me and when I asked if he spoke English he started telling me in Spanish my friends were back about a mile. I thanked him and move on. I soon was upon the vehicles. They had pulled over and were in the process of changing Richards left rear tire. He had gotten a rock thru the tread. They were going to be a while so I told them we were going on to the hotel where we stayed before in Vizcaino and would tell the hotel they were coming. I met Rudy, Robert and Ron and explained what happened. We then proceeded back to the hotel for the night. Later Roy and Richard showed up. They decided to stay at another hotel on the way into town to check it out. I told them we were headed north in the morning. Since they may sleep in we said our goodbyes.

Wednesday morning its north bound. We stop by Cocos and he still is not there. We go on to Gonzaga Bay where Rudy was going to put in a supply order for the people taking care of Cocos place. Since it was still early I said my goodbyes to Rudy and Robert and off I went. I dropped Ron off at his place then I proceeded to Tecate. I arrive at the gate and no cars were there. I pull up and he asked how long I was in Baja and I told him a week. He has me go to Secondary for an Ag check. The lady asked me several questions and since I didnt have anything Im off and gone in a few minutes.

I had to add this. Notice the KM numbers to San Felipe on both signs. It's at the airport jct.


It was another fun and interesting trip to Baja.

Edited to add maps










[Edited on 1-30-2015 by TMW][/rquote]