Baja; a solo

edgear

aventurero, Overland Certified OC0012
5 days of travelling & camping in Baja Norte California, Mexico -- all alone

So my new boss gave me the horrible task of driving to Baja. With only 2-3 days to plan before departure, I was unable to find a copilot. So alone I would go. No problem. I'm comfortable with Spanish, and my truck was really dirty from the previous adventure. So hopefully I would fly low under the radar. Here are some of the hardships I had to endure: wine tasting, high-elevation camping in the cool mountain air, relaxing on a hammock during some beach camping, and listening to the iPod whilst overlanding.


Day 1 consisted of crossing the border at Tecate and heading south on the MEX 3. My first stop was the vinícola of Adobe Guadalupe. Then it was on to Mike's Sky Rancho where I camped by the creek.

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Barrels of wine at Adobe Guadalupe.

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Wine tasting. And yes, it was tasty!

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A view of Mike's Sky Rancho from atop the hill.


Day 2
was spent driving towards the Sea of Cortez, via the dry lake shortcut. I then camped on the beach between San Felipe and Puertecitos.

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A view of the dry lake with Picacho del Diablo in the background.

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Private beach camp -- I did not see another soul.


Day 3 I endured the rather bumpy road south to Bahía Gonzaga, where I enjoyed some tacos de camarón at Alfonsina's, and then rented a palapa at Campo Beluga.

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Mexican crop circles.

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Hammock time.

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Sunrise at Gonzaga Bay.


Day 4 was spent driving south to MEX 1, then all the way back north to an overland shortcut from Valle Colorado to Valle Trinidad, then taking the MEX 3 back to the national park where Laguna Hanson is.

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Near Laguna Hanson.

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Final campsite. Overnight low: 35F.


Day 5
I drove north to the MEX 2 and headed east to cross the border in Mexicali. After driving those streets, I was very thankful for the extremely sparse traffic in central & eastern Baja Norte!
 

RedDog

Explorer
Man oh man I wish Baja wasn't so far away.

Wine, beach camping, natural beauty. That was some tough assignment. :sombrero:
 

LexusAllTerrain

Expedition Leader
Great area to explore i will be going to Bahia Gonzaga on mid October, how is Coco doing?

I heard he was no longer there!
 

edgear

aventurero, Overland Certified OC0012
eurorom said:
Great area to explore i will be going to Bahia Gonzaga on mid October, how is Coco doing?

I heard he was no longer there!
I did drive by La Esquina de Coco on my way out of Bahía Gonzaga, and he was not there. But his place was intact -- not a beer can disturbed! Some other travelers I met along the way had heard he is currently in the hospital for some surgery on his leg. Hopefully he makes it back ok -- he sounds like a pretty cool guy.
 

articulate

Expedition Leader
Nice. You covered some serious territory. I guess going solo will let you do that.

Seriously, how did you fare with the solo thing? I tend to get so hermit-like when traveling alone that, uh, well, one meager day of wine "tasting" simply pulls the cork on things. Metaphorically speaking.
 

viter

Adventurer
looks like a great trip - you hit up so many cool spots in just 5 days!!!
and glad everything went fine , especially since you were travelling solo.
and that is some great job you got!
 

awalter

Expedition Portal Team, Overland Certified OC0003
Jeremy,

Nice route. Were you able to check out Matomi Wash? Robb & I came thru Coco's Corner last Friday 9/19 & everthing was closed up, no sign of Coco. Was there still a military check point between Valle Coronado & Valle Trinidad? Glad to finally see some water at Laguna Hanson. Hope your boss appreciates the sacrifices you had to make to do such a short notice trip.

Al
 

edgear

aventurero, Overland Certified OC0012
articulate said:
Seriously, how did you fare with the solo thing? I tend to get so hermit-like when traveling alone that, uh, well, one meager day of wine "tasting" simply pulls the cork on things. Metaphorically speaking.
The solo thing was alright; I didn't have to stop much and it did allow for me to cover a lot of distance in a short time. A few of the remote camps where I was absolutely alone had me feeling a little apprehensive -- but only about as apprehensive as I would be doing the same here in the U.S. On my last night camping near Laguna Hanson, some headlights approached while I was about to fall asleep, but they continued on without stopping. Also, I was selective with who I told about my 'aloneness;' as far as some people were concerned down there, I was meeting up with friends at the next town. While at the winery, Mike's Sky Rancho, and Bahia Gonzaga, I met a lot of other cool travellers. I was only truly camping completely alone at San Felipe & Laguna Hanson. And after driving the busy streets of Ensendada & Mexicali, I definitely preferred the remote roads of eastern Baja!

awalter said:
Nice route. Were you able to check out Matomi Wash? Robb & I came thru Coco's Corner last Friday 9/19 & everthing was closed up, no sign of Coco. Was there still a military check point between Valle Coronado & Valle Trinidad?
I don't recall Matomi Wash. Where exactly is that? I passed through Coco's on Monday. I radioed up on 146.460 a few times to see if you guys were in range, but I never got any responses.

I did not encounter any military checkpoints between Valle Coronado & Valle Trinidad - in fact, I don't think I encountered a single vehicle on that entire stretch. There was however a checkpoint on the dry lake (Laguna Diablo) road from MEX 3 to San Felipe. I think I must have been the first vehicle to pass through in a long time and caught them completely off-guard. I didn't encounter a single person on that road, and had seen a few random abandoned shacks along the way. I approached another one that was set back off the main road about 100 meters and didn't think anything of it. As I passed by, all of a sudden I could see two young guys in camo with rifles running towards me. Thankfully I did the right thing and stopped, rolled down my window, smiled & said hello. Completely out of breath, they asked me to get out of my truck for a vehicle inspection. Another heart-stopping moment was when I was leaving Laguna Hanson (again, not encountering any other people), when I just happen to look in my rearview mirror and see a Hum-vee right on my tail with a guy on a mounted 50-cal up top. I quickly moved over to the side of the road and they passed on by and waved. All part of the adventure!! But in all honesty, all of the military guys were super nice, and never hassled me or gave me any problem.
 

Hltoppr

El Gringo Spectacular!
Geez....nose to the grindstone at the new trabajo, huh....:bowdown:

I'm so jealous! I leave next weekend for Mexico...and am having a hard time concentrating at work....

-H-
 

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