8 nights in Baja

so after that incidents no more baja?

 

Great memories, but not in my future lol. The desolate desert is awesome there, but now I go safer places like Death Valley for a change of pace. The dirt road that starts behind Ubehebe crater is cool, that passes by 'the racetrack' which is pretty famous.

 

IM planning to head to DV end of March!

 

It is spelled: Punta Abreojos... (abreojos = open eyes) and there is a big town there plus MANY Americans who are either into fishing or surfing.
The crime that happened could have just as easily happened in the U.S. but still it is bad what happened. If that was the norm, then Americans would stop going, but it is far from the norm. Most Mexican people will give you all they have as they feel like the hosts and you are the guest in their country.
Pancho of Bahía San Rafael was one such person... a wonderful human... and sadly, he died enroute to the hospital, we think after eating a pufferfish, May 2018.

Pancho has been recorded in the film The Devil's Road, see him in the film's trailer: (he begins speaking at 1:29 and his face is just after). The film plays in San Diego on March 10 at the Natural History Museum, 6:30 pm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynw-Bn8YWiA&feature=youtu.be
The film trailer


Me and Pancho on Sept 2016. I visited him again in February 2017.


Pancho's grave.

 

Great trip and awesome pictures! Years ago a friend used to go down to LA Bay all the time with his F350 4x4 and his Valco. He always had great time. But that was a long time ago and in a different pollical climate. Now I would have a lot of trepidations of going down there alone. I also live near the border and also find your trip inspiring and admire your sense of adventure.

 

Yeah I live in SoCal and word on the street is it isn’t as safe as it used to be down there. It’s just a numbers game anywhere obviously. I just threw that in here so people don’t bring their kids there without thinking twice. I could have the ground after getting back across the border.

 

"Kissed" the ground?

In any case, it is all about where you go... for me camping in the boondocks or isolated beaches or in established campgrounds is always totally safe and my children always were with me in Baja when they were younger.
Maybe surfers attract bad people or you just parked in a poorly chosen location that made you easy prey? As I said, it is really really bad that happened... but it could have happened in the U.S., so blaming Baja is not totally fair, you think?
I have camped in Baja alone since I was 16, and before with my parents... since 1965. In 2017 and 2018, I made 8 long trips into Baja (all posted here on TW's Trip Reports/ Off Roading & Trails forum). They totalled nearly 15,000 miles and while there were a few nights in a motel or guest room, most were camping in the desert and mountains of Baja. Here is Trip #1 of 8:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2017-baja-expedition-1-east-side-of-baja-norte.468548/

 

Any plans on going this year?

 

I had two trips cancelled due to COVID-19 (in March and April). One was for a TV show.
The next trip, if Mexico opens to tourism, is late June.

 

I wanna get serious about planning a trip. Caught the bug somehow this weekend. Just grew on me seeing the pictures and the lifestyle there.
I need to dig through the generous amount of info you have online. I'm in San Jose California. My plan would be 2 week trip. If we pretend Coronavirus will not be an issue, what month would you recommend?
I need time to plan, so I would be looking at August-December. I have some work vaca during thanks giving, and 2 weeks in december, so maybe I will work that in, to take less PTO.
What are your thoughts on the months?

Thanks

 

I am guessing you have been to my website (a great tool to plan a Baja trip)? www.vivabaja.com

The time of year will depend on what is comfortable for you. I like heat, so summers are great. The sea is warm, too, in the summer. In the winter, days are usually great but nights are very cold. The top weather months for most people are May and October. The hurricane (chubasco) season is July-Oct but they are mainly brief rain and wind events.

How Mexico deals with the Coronavirus will determine when tourism can get back to normal. The food is so great that you will want all restaurants and taco stands to be open!

The best plans are those that you don't feel a need to stick to. In Baja, you may want to stay longer than planned at a certain place or you may find another location is not available to get to... So, flexibility is key! Everything works out on a Baja trip, and the people are great!

Some planning considerations will be based on what you want to see or do, in Baja. How much driving vs. relaxing you want. Camping or motels or combo? Do you need facilities or is boondocking fine?
Photography, fishing, surfing, shell hunting, rock collecting, historic sites (missions, mines, cave paintings), desert, beaches, pine forests, palm oasis, it is all there, in Baja California!

 

Here is our 2019 Trail of Missions Recon episodes, which shows you what can be done in 6 days in Baja... if off road racers are driving you! LOL

2019 Trail of Missions Recon with David Kier (Episode 1: Missions Guadalupe & Mulegé)

2019 Trail of Missions Recon with David Kier (Episode 2: San Borjitas, Londó, San Bruno)

2019 Trail of Missions Recon with David Kier (Episode 3: Visita de San Pablo)

2019 Trail of Missions Recon with David Kier (Episode 4: San Francisco de la Sierra)

2019 Trail of Missions Recon with David Kier (Episode 5: Bahía Concepción, Volcán Trés Virgenes)

 

That's badass! Saw you in the vid.

I looked at your site, tons of info, but am looking for something a little more spoonfed haha! Like a book with an outlined route. I don't know if I wanna spend the effort to plan my own stops. I usually do, but for this long a trip I wouldn't mind following a route someones done.
I'm OK with boondocking the whole trip. Only reason I'd hit a hotel would be to take a shower. I can usually do 3 days no shower and then want to at least go for a dip somewhere. I could also just get a bag for this trip or use my waterport to shower somewhere along the way. I've slept out of my truck for a week during oregon winter storm so I'm used to sleeping out of it.
My priorities will be fishing on the shore and just enjoying the time off work... I would like to get into some good food places. I would rather have more driving/scenery than taking whole days of sitting on the beach.
I have a large fridge and am not picky with food, so gas would be the limitation in terms of how far out I am.
I've recruited one other person and am slowly planning. The main issue is Covid right now. I don't know if we will be able to physically go this year because of it.

EDIT:
Oh this looks good here
http://www.vivabaja.com/Tacoma_Travels/

And http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=88771

 

I am happy to help with your planning. As you can see, I know Baja fairly well. I am asking you to list places that look interesting to you.

Fuel is available all over but can be a stretch in some areas so always top off at the next station or seller once you are below 1/2 tank.

Bathing in the sea, especially in the summer, is how you stay fresh. However, a motel stay every few days is nice as well as to avoid setting up camp when you are Midway to a destination. In El Rosario, Baja Cactus Motel is the best. In San Ignacio, Hotel La Huerta is the best. Both are around $40 and a great resting point in a peninsula drive.

So, send your questions... feel free to email me if you wish, too.

 

Awesome, thanks for the help.I don't wanna ask too many questions before having done research first.
I want the trip to focus on fishing,beach and food. I need to start looking into that for the season I wanna go during. Right now, I don't even know if I wanna be on pacific or gulf side.
I will PM you for your email.

Initially I thought I could get down to Cabo, but that seems to be very rushed for a 2 week trip (starting at the border).

 

Missions, beaches and if you go when the whales are in season, whales!

 

Sorry, I was not on the forum here since Wednesday... Got your PM and gave you my email. To do research first is great. On my Baja website, are a ton of links, maps, photos, and my trips to help decide where you want to go in Baja! www.vivabaja.com

Cabo is not at all like anywhere else in Baja... sort of a weird aberration. Good that they put Cabo at the tip of Baja so that you can see all of the rest of Baja without going to Cabo! Now, it is fun if you like city stuff and noise and well, that sort of thing. Nicer cities to be in would include La Paz, Loreto, and Ensenada... I just don't care for cities and I go to Baja to ESCAPE civilization, not rejoin it.

The whales are a December-April thing with March maybe the best month (see the babies)... A friend of mine (from Canada originally) runs a whale camp out of Guerrero Negro, on Scammon's Lagoon (Laguna Ojo de Liebre), so I recommend her to show you a whale of a good time! Shari Bondy of Whale Magic Tours. She also has a boutique hotel and campground at Bahia Asuncion... I wrote a bit about it in my article: https://www.bajabound.com/bajaadventures/bajatravel/bahia_asuncion.php

 

A year later! Covid clearing out of here, slow but sure... Start planning your escape to Baja! I will help, if I can!
Here is a small group trip to Mission Santa María (3 Toyotas + 1 Jeep) that was made into a 20-minute Amazon Prime TV show, The Last Mission... Was released two months ago. The actual trip was last October. They asked me to narrate some history of the mission: https://vimeo.com/487608164

 

Thanks will watch on Amazon tonight!

BTW just got back from five days in Baja, spectating the Mexican 1000 and had an awesome time (as usual). Due to timing, others could not go with me, I was solo. I stayed with a friend in San Felipe, but spent days in the desert either watching racing or wandering and exploring -- I got to see some really amazing desert. For me, desolate is good, and Baja has that in truckloads.

I've been to Baja countless times; been to some *very* remote locations and have never had an issue. Just like in the States, I try to avoid bigger towns, eg along the border and at the southern end of the peninsula.

Here's a few photos (previously shared) from the recent trip, why I like the place:

 

Sweet photos, Jim!!! Share them on Baja Nomad forums too... It needs a boost of GOOD BAJA TRIP REPORTS & PHOTOS!!!
Thank you!