8 nights in Baja

My father first started taking me to Baja when I was 6 in '90. We got as far south as LA Bay, which then was accessed via an unpaved road off the MX1, but spent most of our time on the Pacific side. In December of '17 I went back with 2 good friends on motos for the first time since '95 and it reaffirmed my love for the area. I decided to bring my now 7 1/2 year old son and my lady on a trip and it went stunningly well. We left San Diego and headed for the Tecate crossing.

Going in El Compadre (dirt road that runs north/south between Tecate and MX3 which connects Ensenada to San Felipe was muddy. There had been near record rains all over SoCal and Northern Baja over the past couple of weeks and it showed.





The forecast for the next 8 nights was or 40s to low 60s and rain. We were lucky to get Baja as green as it's ever been but were also constantly trying to stay warm. The Vagabond Drifter (the tent shell I have) was great in the driving rain and high winds at night.





We had some water crossings. Lots of em. The road, normally high speed and sandy, had been stripped away to the rock and hard pack. Once we made it to the MX3 we booked it on the highway to San Felipe to get setup for camp for the night. Took this the next morning.





The sleeping setup. My partner and I slept up top while my 7 1/2 year old son slept below (plus sleeping pad and bag and pillow). She and I both spent one night on the lower platform and found it to work out well. We used this as a test run for our planned bed interior build out and our idea looks like it should work well.





We got on the road pretty late on the 16th after a morning spent getting food and supplies for the next week and made it to Bahia de Los Angeles that evening. The morning of the 17th we set off for San Francisquito.

 

We headed down the coast of the Sea of Cortez on a dirt route that goes to San Rafael, our first stop of the day then down to Punta San Francisquito where we would camp at a pretty much abandoned beach "town" for 2 nights before heading across the peninsula to connect with the MX1 in El Arco on our way to Laguna San Ignacio to whale watch.


On a beach near San Rafael, first beach driving in Baja on this trip.





We stopped by San Rafael but it was sad without Poncho. His house was boarded up. I'm glad to have shared a beer with him.





Then we covered ground on our way down to San Francisquito for 2 nights. It was excellent to have a mile long beach with deep sand on the Sea of Cortez to ourselves.





Our spot for the next 2 nights.




















There is a cliff range at the end of the beach that we hiked up the 2nd day we were there. Massive views all around.

 

Then it was on to Laguna San Ignacio and my first time driving south of the B.C.S. line.






We came from LA Bay and went to San Francisquito. Now we are headed west south west on the road out to El Arco. It is in a word, beautiful. We had the super bloom in full effect due to all of the rain and the desert was full off colors. It covers good elevation change and takes you ~125km west south west so the climate changes drastically as well.








Road traffic




Lots of this.




Before a ~100km road drive to San Ignacio then a 15km fast drive to the Lagoon where we set up camp for 2 nights.

 

We had two beautiful Pacific sunsets at Laguna San Ignacio. While there we went whale watching and saw at least 20 individual grey whales and two babies over the course of 90 minutes. I got to touch one of the adult grey whales and it was a pretty spectacular experience. Additionally there were whales breaching and bottle nose dolphin jumping around, it was great. A short video of that to come.












Dem whales doe

https://streamable.com/lmsy8

Then it was time to head north again for our longest road day of the year. There were some spectacular cactus along the way.




The MX3 highway




Our final sunrise in Baja in San Felipe. I couldn't have asked for a better day to come.

 

After leaving San Felipe we headed out on the Laguna del Diablo dry lake bed per my son's request. I took this photo there in Dec '17 and my son wanted to see where that was.





Unlike in '17 those bare mountains were covered with snow. Sea of Cortez to the east and the tallest mountains in Baja, going just over 10.6k', to our west.








Truly a beautiful day in the desert.




Finally out on Laguna del Diablo.It's truly a sight to behold set against the rising mountains, it's also easy to touch 85mph going across the northern expanses. Then it was on to the MX3 to head for Ojos Negros and El Compadre Trail, where we had driven in 7 mornings before.

 

There was snow down to 2900' on the MX3 at ~1130 am on Friday and we figured we would get a bit of consistent snow at the highest points on El Compadre but we got 8-10" while making tracks in the area north of Ojos Negros. That might not be much for some but this is northern Baja in an area that usually gets a light dusting at those elevations. It was rad af.













We cut fresh trail most of the way north from Ojos Negros until a turn off for an off-road camp more than half way over the mountains.




Ran into a local rancher who had got himself badly stuck and gave him a quick hand getting unstuck







Took a hike in the snow before pushing on to San Diego for the night.

 

Super cool experience. Thank you for Sharing. I really want to explorer Baja more. It can be difficult to convince others to do the same

@YumaTRD @Prayn4surf @eccracer104 @Tombiology70

 

Very nice! My dad took my friends and I down the Baja a few times on surfing trips in 89 and 90. We'd go down to Quatro Casas, and this was way before it was popularized and we'd be the only ones in the water there and everywhere else we went. Good times and some epic waves. I'd like to go again sometime and take my kids. Thanks for sharing the inspiration!

 

You won't run into any issues on the Sea of Cortez side our south of there along the 1 all the way down to Todos Santos. Everything is VERY safe.

 

I did a 5ish day trip down to Bay of LA two years ago for the Baja 1000. Felt very safe the entire trip but I was with a larger group with guys who had been going for years.

We also werent there to hit dirt. I really want to go explorer the trails down there

 

Such a rad trip! I live in SD and have been dreaming of doing something like this when I have the time. Thanks for the inspiration!

 

Inspirational
Thanks for sharing

 

Thanks for the trip report! I so much enjoy seeing how Baja is captured with other people' cameras and stories!

Did I also see some of your photos on Baja Nomad???

Great... Viva Baja... where our TRD Off Road Tacomas were developed, with Ivan Stewart's help ... and the four-door Tacomas are made, at Toyota de Baja California, just outside of Tijuana on Hwy. 2.

 

Awesome! Thanks for sharing.

 

There is no excuse with living in SD. Head to Tecate and then make to San Felipe via whatever route you want. You'll have a great time.

 

We spent some time with Coco. I helped him install a "new" cabinet style freezer/fridge. He seemed to be in quite good spirits and was staying warm even with all the cold.

 

Very cool. I hope he continues to get visitors when it isn't quite busy down there

 

I'm slightly glad I didn't join on the motorcycle and been stuck riding through all that snow...

Was that family in the Eurovan still stuck out there?

 

Some people had been clearly ripping around coming south on El Compadre but it would have been....tough...for a solid 25km stretch where we were breaking trail in the truck.

 

Almost all the undies were gone.