BAJA and the U.S. built WWII 'POLE LINE ROAD', 4WD RUN

The Pole Line Road Run was made popular about 15 years ago by Desert Explorer Neal Johns (one who is responsible for my getting a Tacoma) after reading about it in an old guidebook to Baja California...

From 1962 Lower California Guidebook:







PART 1)

I wish to thank Ken Cooke for organizing this run and inviting me along (with a request I provide a mission lecture for the group). I was thrilled Baja Angel was agreeable to me having fun without her (she would have loved to go, being a former Jeep owner and veteran of the Rubicon run at Lake Tahoe).

Disclaimer: In no way does my poking fun at any of the events intend to diminish my respect for Ken, Jeep Corporation, or especially the Ford Motor Company! My odometer is just a tad slow as I am running 1” taller than stock tires, off 1 mile for every 40 traveled (0.1 for every 4).

9:35 am Mexicali Pemex: Filled 3 jerry cans (19-20 liters if topped cans) and the pump read 59.875 liters (15.8 gallons) which is so close to reality, I would say this was a pretty honest station. 732.85 pesos (at 14.50:1 exchange), gave the guy $52 with tip. That puts 87 octane Magna Sin at about $3.23/ gal.

10:50 am After a wonderful tour of the back streets and residential areas of Mexicali, including the majority of 4 way stop signs in that city, a few dead end streets for fun, and closed construction zones, all before reaching Hwy. 2, we learn the highly prized ‘best taco asadero’ in El Progreso was no longer in business! We learned this from those waiting at the ‘next best’ asadero shop, who got us on the radio as we breezed past them. Hey, this is Mexico and one must be open to changes!

The now bigger group is heading west on Hwy. 2 as it is decided to use the 24.3 miles of smooth, dry lakebed instead of the usually washboard surface graded road (signed for Cañon de Guadalupe Hot Springs). Now the road to the dry lake bed is signed as an open public road ‘Laguna Salada’ off Highway 2, however, on some weekends there is a ‘toll booth’ set up by some ‘so-called’ land owners collecting 100 pesos (US$6.90 at a 14.50:1 rate of exchange). Because of the size of Ken’s caravan, the ‘jefe’ agreed to a discount of $6.00 per vehicle.

Mile 0.0, Laguna Salada lakebed, 11:20 am (27 miles driven from border at Mexicali, not using the shortest route). The lakebed is about the best I have driven in quality.

Mile 21.0, Fork on lakebed to right, 11:48 am

Mile 24.3, Off of lakebed, 11:54 am. A military Humvee and truck with well-armed soldiers is on road pointed towards us. They wave and give ‘thumbs up’ us as we pass. Viva Mexico!

Mile 25.5, we meet the graded road from Hwy. 2 to Guadalupe Canyon and turn south, 12:16 pm

There is several houses in a scattered new ejido. New since my last time here, anyway and there is no clear direction to get beyond the ejido. John M takes the lead from Ken as he has GPS with race course data and this is some of the CODE race route south. We get back on track and head south from the Guadalupe Canyon fork area.

Mile 29.1, a kilometer sign post ‘KM. 50’, the only one I saw, 12:25 pm

Mile 31.8, Fork to right

Mile 45.9, Fork to right, 1:03 pm

Mile 47.6, COHABUZO JUNCTION, 1:08 pm to 2:06 pm
Here we meet more Nomads and Off Roaders from Rio Hardy (including MICK). This is where the road from Hwy. 5 at the sand dunes ends up as a ‘short-cut’ to this region from San Felipe. It is not all easy, and the last 20 miles are very tough and full of silt (at least when I drove in in 2002). MICK destroyed a tire before reaching Cohabuzo, I heard.

Mile 72.7, POLE LINE ROAD, 5:06 pm, at bottom of the ‘SUMMIT’ a steep drop off the Sierra Juarez built for the WWII Pole Line construction and has been used by SCORE for many off road races since the late 1970’s. The pole line continued east but not in any regular direction for very long, so as to not stand and be subject to aerial spotting or destruction by the enemy. This was mid-1942, and the U.S. was not certain of how much the enemy had infiltrated into remote Baja California peninsula, if at all.

There is a locked, steel gate blocking access to the Pole Line Road, eastbound, near the bottom of the summit. Ken checks it out and then we begin to use the newly made detour around the west side that goes around the gate. This is a barely traveled route described to us by PaulW, and I make my first under-body damage on a rock hidden by a shrub. It is very slow going for 1.3 miles before word on the radio says MICK’s Ford Ranger has lost its transmission fluid and is not looking good. It is getting dark soon and even though the wind is howling through the canyon we are in, there is simply no better place to camp and also evaluate how to help MICK. We make a U-turn and come back down just 0.2 mile to our camp for the first night (Saturday April 6, 2015). Mile 73.8 (not counting the distance from where we camped to the U-Turn and coming back to camp), 5:35 pm.

The wind is just too strong for a camp fire, and the history lecture is postponed… it is Baja, and being flexible is part of the deal. I put up my Coleman Insta-Tent and even with the strong wind, I manage to do so easily alone, in just a few minutes. Inside, there is lots of room for my cot, table, chair and I cook my dinner and make hot cocoa. TW (TMW now on Nomad) is camping across the road from me. TW and Ken Cooke both have a look at the inside the miracle tent (rated for sleeping 8 and tall enough to stand in).

Sleeping, with the wind flapping the walls of the tent was impossible however… but I was warm and comfy!
END DAY 1


Ken is interviewed at the Calexico meeting location, 8:15 am SAT.


Jonn M and TW (TMW) are ready!


ehall and the rest listen to Ken's driver's meeting notes.




These vehicles will not be so clean in a few hours!


LAGUNA SALADA


Heading south to Cohabuzo Junction




All together now at Cohabuzo Junction.


Looks like we have a convoy!


The SUMMIT part of the Pole Line Road as seen from the bottom.




This first gate is easily opened (and closed after us), but soon after was the locked gate.


This is the detour road looking south from where we camped.


TW, FrigateBird, Ken Cooke


FrigateBird's white Tacoma with pop up camper, and mine nearby.


My Insta-tent, and then TW's white Tacoma.


The rest of the group I could see from the hillside I climbed up on.

That's it for Day 1 photos. I will try and create some satellite view images of where we traveled... stay tuned for them and the next day's adventures!

 

The final part of our drive Saturday, with the big arrow pointing the camp location. Red arrow is our route east Sunday, on the Pole Line Road.

 

Awesome, thanks for sharing.

 

Mile 73.8, CAMP 1, Leave at 9 AM.

Mile 74.1, Top of detour track, make a near U-turn and head back down towards the Pole Line Road, somewhere beyond the locked gate.

Mile 74.6, reach the 1942 POLE LINE ROAD, turn right (east). Reset odometer to 0.0.

Mile 0.4, new looking road in from right.

Mile 0.5, road to left, continue ahead.

Mile 0.8, high point in road, descend into another valley.

Mile 2.2, left at Y in road.

Mile 3.2, fence gate, open and reclose after we pass through, 10:22 am.

Mile 4.1, bad arroyo crossing, 10:47 am.

Mile 5.2, first cobblestone in roadbed seen.

Mile 5.9, white water tank.

Mile 8.2, big cobblestone paved down grade.

Mile 8.5, possible 1942 construction camp site.

Mile 8.7, small cobblestone up grade, 12:03 pm.

Mile 9.1, cross arroyo to north side.

Mile 9.6, back on south side.

Mile 9.9, lunch stop, leave at 1:14 pm.

Mile 10.0, right turn up to side of wash then back.

Mile 10.9, ‘obstacle’, 2:18 pm.

Mile 11.1, leave Arroyo Enmedio to the south, 2:33 pm.

Mile 11.2, side canyon with sawed off phone poles, climb ‘Basketball Hill’.

Mile 11.3, high point (top of Basketball Hill), 3:04 pm.

Mile 12.7, cobblestone paved down grade, 3:35 pm.

Mile 12.8, Arroyo Jaquegel (Jaquejel) with some palm trees just south. Road climbs out soon.

Mile 15.7, Arroyo Jaquegel again, very wide, 4:17 pm. Wrecked Suzuki Samuri is 500 feet to the left (west). Road turns right and stays in Jaquegel for nearly one mile.

Mile 16.6, leave arroyo to right. Pole Line Road cut into side of hill up ahead.

Mile 17.5, 2 full length poles to left of road. Photos.

Mile 18.1, top of ‘Bad Hill’, 5:06 pm.

Mile 18.9, several full length poles off to the left in the distance, parallel to road on this mesa.

Ford Bronco dies, no spark, coil is suspected. TW and Chuck drive back 3.3 miles to get the coil off the Suzuki. Hoping for an Easter miracle to give new life to the Ford. I walk over to the row of standing poles and measure the distance between them. I count 315 paces (about 300 meters) between a pair. Harald walks over and examines them with me. The Bronco is pulled after the Suzuki coil fails to fix the spark issue. It is now dark and we have a big grade to drop down, 7:30 pm.

Mile 19.9, bottom of big grade.

Mile 20.6, back in Arroyo Jaquegel, very wide, Ken cannot find the road out in the dark. We vote to camp in the arroyo, as there is sand and no wind, 8:11 pm.

Camp fires are made, Harald makes some awesome chili and shares it, life is good. The road out is discovered and is right where we camp… the road dropped into the arroyo and climbed back out very soon. However, flash floods took away the ramp at the bottom and no other route out to tow the Ford was found.

With no wind, I don’t need a tent and set up my cot under the stars… finally some sleep!
END DAY 2.






On the Pole Line Road.


Another look at the Summit grade dropping down the side of the sierra.












First cobblestone paving seen.


TW and 4x4abc Harald


The lone white water tank.


Cool cobblestone roadbed made in 1942.






Another section of cobblestone road.






Chuck's Jeep (ChuckMRN)


My Tacoma is the 'Viva Baja' edition, with A-TRAC!


Where we stopped for lunch.

To be continued...

 

Basketball Hill














Group pic, top of Basketball Hill.

Location of Basketball Hill:



To be continued...

 

Below the top of Basketball Hill, the road comes down alongside Arroyo Jaquegel fro the first time... see the palm trees?


Karl and Chuck check out a burro bath...


Here the burros roll around for a dirt bath.


Chuck finds a perfect glass insulator! Earlier in the day I found a couple of broken ones right next to the road.


Cobble roadbed dropping into Arroyo Jacquegel




Chuck and his Rubicon.




Harald (4x4abc) shows me one of the anchor cables for the poles.




An insulator with wire... it reads...
On one side: HEMINGRAY-16.
On the opposite side: MADE IN U.S.A. 1-41
January, 1941 and installed in June, 1942 as best we know at the moment. Harald thinks he can dig up more data on the history of the line and the road construction.


FrigateBird (Joe) at the Suzuki wreck.










First full length pole.




See the other in the distance?


The 'Bad Hill'... but not really too bad.




More poles!




The caravan as seen from the row of poles. This is where the Ford broke down.


Seriously cool to me!








Dead Ford.


TW delivers the Suzuki coil to Wil for his Bronco.


Working our way down the grade.


Borrego Mountain (Cerro el Arrajal) as seen from the Pole Line Road.

END OF DAY 2 PHOTOS.

 

Sub'd

 

Subbed for the awesome!

 

Cool adventure David. Thanks for sharing.

 

awesome!

 

Glad you guys are enjoying this... Because Tacoma World covers a huge region (North America and more), well beyond the U.S. Southwest, let me just say that I want all of you to know that traveling in Mexico, or at least Baja California is safe and fun as much as at home, if not more (less people, less issues). I have been driving in Baja since I was 16 (41 years ago) and before then with my parents... I have never been harassed or robbed or regretted any of my hundreds of trips. I come home wanted to go back as soon as I can. What I say in my signature on Baja Nomad Forums is "So Much Baja... So Little Time!"

Edit: Just to get an idea what part of Baja we were at...

 

Here is a map that shows Basketball Hill (left big red arrow) and our camp site Sunday night (right big arrow)... Blue arrows are our drive Sunday afternoon.

 

DAY 3, MONDAY APRIL 6, 2015

As soon as it is light enough to see, we confirm what was discovered last night. The Pole Line Road climbs back out of Arroyo Jaquegel soon after it dropped into it, but the bottom of the grade out has been washed away. We see tracks (probably from PaulW a week or so earlier) who came from the east, and easily dropped into the arroyo. However, we needed to make a road that the Ford could be pulled up!

Wil was working on moving rocks before most of us were out of our sleeping bags. It wasn’t long before more of the gang pitched in with shovels, hammers, and gloved hands. The Baja Nomads built a road to join the existing road to the bottom of the wash where the Bronco waited.

There was a lot of discussion and committee about how to get the Bronco up the grade. One idea was to have a Rubicon pull it to the bottom, then another with a winch to bring it up over the new road work (the most dangerous part). However, when all the Rubicons came up, and then the two Mercedes V-8 4x4s, TW (TMW) took it upon himself and became the hero with his Tacoma and not only pulled the Bronco to the base of the grade, but all the way to the top! At one point, TW’s tires were slipping off the loose rock roadbed and could have rolled off into the arroyo. With dozens of eyes and lots of loud yells, we didn’t let him die that day! At the top, the Nissan Diesel truck took over the towing on mostly level terrain to the T Intersection where we parted.

Ken’s Pole Line Only group would turn left to exit out to Highway 5 at the sand dunes via Ejido Saldaña (as he had done on previous runs) instead of taking the route to La Ventana via the water pump well station.

Those of us going on the hike to find Walter Henderson’s 1930s discovered Rock-Pile (and perhaps the lost grave of Melchior Diaz, 1541) turned right at the T Junction, drove past one last telephone pole and reached Arroyo Grande in 4.3 miles. There we, (Frigatebird (Joe), TW (Tom), 4x4abc (Harald) , Fernwah (Karl), and I (David), turned right (south) and drove up Arroyo Grande into the canyon to a predetermined side wash that fit the description given by Walter Henderson in a 1967 letter to Choral Pepper of Desert Magazine.

While we drove south in the sandy wash, Ken Cooke and crew ran out of road in Arroyo Jaquegel and could not find it to get to Ejido Saldaña and a graded road out to Hwy. 5, towing the Bronco. This we did not learn of until the following day, and confirmed by reading about that on the Baja Nomad forums after getting home.

Here is the road log for Day 3:

Mile 20.6, Camp location, bottom of washed out grade east, reconstructed by energetic members of our group. Left camp 8:50 am.

Mile 24.6, T Junction, turn right. Lots of 1942 cans and rock shelters (Indian or just our boys’ work?). The road is fairly wide and level coming to the T Junction and could have been a landing strip, easily. The left turn road used to go to Ejido Saldaña, but the flash floods of recent years has erased it.

Just after making the right turn at the T Junction, the road drops down into a wash, and used to climb up the opposite side, but that too is washed out. A detour route stays in the wash a bit longer before climbing out to the right and goes back south to rejoin with the original route.

Mile 24.9, climb out of wash to right, steep grade with loose rocks, lockers or A-TRAC may be needed.

Mile 25.1, 10:45 am, return to original Pole Line Road, turn left (east).
A final cut short telephone pole is passed as the road rounds the tip of a pointy range of hills. Ahead are a couple of switch backs across a shallow arroyo.

Mile 28.9, 11:23 am, Arroyo Grande, elev. 803’.

Left goes 5.3 to the wells and waterline out to the gold mines next to Hwy. 5. From there it is 12.5 miles on easy, graded road to Hwy. 5, at Km. 106.5, just south of La Ventana café and rest stop.

Right goes up Arroyo Grande for many miles, passing interesting cliffs, side canyons, and more!

Stay Tuned for the next part!


Wil working on making a ramp so his Bronco can be pulled out of the arroyo.


Frigatebird, Ken Cooke, and TW's camp sites, as seen from mine.


4x4abc and Fernwah's campsites.


ehall's and Mike's camps, and part of mine.


The rest of my camp and the Nissan of Larry (BajaTrailRider) with the Bronco of Wil, behind.


Nomad Construction Crew fixing the 1942 road.


It worked!




But, it had a few places to be improved for the Bronco pull.


Karl (Fernwah)






Harald (4x4abc)


Mike




Our hero, TW and the mighty Tacoma TRD Off Road!





At the top was this gully just left of the road...




1942 runway? The Pole Line Road nearing the T Junction.




T Junction/Intersection


Rock Shelter




Look across the wash, that's the original Pole Line Road climbing out. Detour goes to the left about 1,000 feet before climbing out.


Frigatebird's Tacoma


Fernwah's Mercedes 4x4


The final telephone pole we saw.


At Arroyo Grande looking west at the end of the Pole Line Road, for us. The 1942 pole line crossed Arroyo Grande and headed for San Felipe. On the east side of the arroyo, SCORE uses the Pole Line Road to exit Arroyo Grande and head for Borrego Pits on Hwy. 3. The phone line road headed east to the San Felipe 'new' road, going south from Mexicali (made in 1942 by the U.S.). That was called the 'Radar Road' back then.

The following are photos were taken Tuesday on the way out to Hwy. 5. The Henderson Hike/ Lost Diaz Grave Expedition will be in a separate post with a link from here.



















The top end of the Gulf of California is seen as we near Hwy. 5.

Thank you for joining us on this adventure... maps coming soon...

 

Looks like a great trip! Awesome pictures!

 

Any chance you have a gps file?

 

Excellent!

Any major breakdowns or minor injuries?

 

The Broncos transmission falling out...

I cant wait for the new thread on the rest of the explorations. I wish my Tacoma was ready for adventures like this!

 

Beautiful!

 

I stepped on a cholla (jumping cactus)... needles on both sides of my foot, through my hiking shoes, ouch! One went in 3/4"! But, I pulled them out and was more careful after! I was replacing the magnetic mount CB antenna that a low tree knocked off, and that's when I stepped off my door jam and into the cholla.

At the end of Day 1, where we ended up camping, a FORD RANGER transmission lost its fluid (rear main seal fail, I think)... and it went home the next morning, along with at least two escort vehicles from our group.

On Day 2 is when the FORD BRONCO lost spark (bad distributor, it would turn out)... and had to be towed out behind other vehicles in the group.