Desierto de Altar and Pinacate Craters

[viter]

We proceeded into the town, which turned out to be actually pretty big. After running a red light or two and some questionable driving techniques through local traffic we found our way to the malecon (the main touristy street along the shore). It looked pretty typical - nice seafood restaurants, souvenir shops, etc. We looked around, but never stopped.

 

[viter]

Half an hour later we were on the outskirts of town heading for highway 8. We hit another military check, where friendly soldier greeted Jesse with "no drugs no problem". Somehow Doc seemed the most suspicious, probably because of the color of his Tahoe. All along the populated areas in Mexican mainland people seemed to associate Doc's "forest service" green Tahoe with la migra, which rarely happens in Baja. But they let him go too.

The scenery was getting pretty cool, with the Pinacate preserve coming into view.

An hour or so later we reached a little village (I think Nayarit) with a big blue roadsign for the entrance to "Reserva de la Biosfera del Pinacate" on the left. The park entrance had a gate, a park ranger building and a few dodge trucks with chunky mud-terrains parked outside. We went inside the office and got greeted by a friendly park ranger who spoke Spanish and English. He gave us maps and brochures about the park, a few forms to fill out, and after the official $5 fee we were good to go. He also showed us where we could exit the park to highway 2 at the north end, so we wouldn't have to backtrack.

 

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The park roads were really well maintained and there were areas with signs and explanations about the local mountains, flora and fauna, just like you would expect at a national park in US.

The road surface was made of this black gravel - lava rock that has broken up over the years. For some reasons it had lots of traction. That combined with very twisty roads through the volcanic landscape made for a very fun drive. When I asked Jesse if he was sliding around the corners, he said he was doing the Swedish flick through every turn. Doc somehow associated that with an adult movie trick! I think it has something to do with the 70's We all had a good laugh.

 

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And then we reached the first big crater - El Elegante, that was formed something like 10000 years ago. It was really more amazing than what you can convey through the pictures, in part because it doesn't stand out like you would imagine from the surrounding landscape. You are just walking up a slight grade and then all of a sudden a mile-wide hole just opens up in front of you.

We kept going to find our campsite for tonight in the middle of unexploded craters.

 

[viter]

We were the only ones there. There was a table with a bench, a fire-ring and a nice area next to hills of volcanic rock that was protected from the wind. We locked the trucks up and went off to hike up the crater next to the campsite. The trail went up the ridge of the crater through fields of cholla and cactus.

With every turn you'd see more and more of the surrounding landscape. It felt really strange to be in this volcanic landscape while only two hours away from Yuma.

You could also see the black lava flow spread over the valley below.

 

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All the cool shots above courtesy of...

It was a fun 2-beer, 1-stepped-on-cholla hike!

Once back at the bottom we started a fire, grilled a few sausages, and opened a few beers. It was really chill.

The process of trying to finish off the cooler, since this was our last night, led to me talking jibberish that had something to do with life and how people should be happy (I think???), Doc calling his son (our very good friend) on the satellite phone after some convincing from Jesse and I, and some other things I can't clearly remember. It felt really good to enjoy one last night of camping before heading back to normal life tomorrow.

 

[viter]

Next morning we packed up and headed to one last crater.

From there we headed north across the dry lakebed towards highway 2.

 

[viter]

The road had some deep ruts with tall bushes growing on both sides. It looked like this road could be very challenging if it was wet. This wasn't an official park road anymore, just a dirt trail heading through the desert. We came up on some semi-abandoned looking house with a water tank in the middle of nowhere, kind of hoping that there was nobody there. There was no one.

Eventually we reached the highway and proceeded west back towards San Luis Rio Colorado. Long portions of the highway were under construction with detours through the dirt, where we had fun passing semi-trucks - Raptor got almost squeezed on one of the turns by a semi, so Jesse had to give it some gas and do a drifting double-slide thru the turn - good times!

Eventually the highway reached a point where it was running right along the border fence. The fence is about 20ft tall and impossible to climb without a ladder or a rope with a hook that you could hook onto the top of it. However, in places where it comes up on a mountain it simply ends, so one could just walk up the hill and down into another country.

A few hours, another friendly military check, and we were back to the border line waiting to cross-back into the US of A...

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

You just brought back some old memories of one of my favorite places in Mexico!

 

[viter]

glad I could bring them back! that area is quite amazing!

more of my pics - http://s30.beta.photobucket.com/user/ua_taco/library/desierto de altar 2013?fromLegacy=true

my friend's much better pics - https://picasaweb.google.com/105932...authkey=Gv1sRgCPWK75yu5-HT6gE&feat=directlink

 

[Scott Brady]

Absolutely awesome!!!

We completed a trip through there over a year ago. Crossing those dunes was some of the most fun I have had on any trip, especially with a heavy Land Rover on 9.5" wide tires. This place is so close to the US and is a seriously legitimate adventure. So glad you had a great time.

I don't know how your experience was, but navigating through the sand sea was a fantastic challenge, staging vehicles at crests incase we couldn't exit the bowl, getting stuck, etc. The fact that it takes days to cross is such a rewarding challenge.

 

[NM-Frontier]

That looks like an awesome place and a great trip, thanks for sharing and adding another place to my "list".:sombrero:

 

[viter]

thanks guys! this was definitely a bit different trip due to being so remote, which made it both challenging and fun! if anybody ever needs some GPS coordinates (I don't have tracks but can provide some main points) or advice on this place, just let me know.

 

[desierto]

Amazing trip!

Thank you very much for your description and outstanding photos. I have to go see those dunes now!

I have read your post and the crossing of the Unimogs at http://www.billcaid.com/2009/AltarDesert200901/TripMain.html (which you refer to in your text). The two stories leave me a bit confused.

The Unimog crossing sounds like a big ordeal. They get stuck innumerable times, do lots of winching etc. Yours, on the contrary, sounds pretty benign. I think you did North to South the second part of their route (which they did South to North). Both stories are very compelling but very hard to follow as far as directions.

You guys have nice trucks, but nothing special (don't get me wrong, I mean that they are not purposely built sand vehicles). So, how hard is it? And, do you truly improvise your way across the dunes...?

Anyway, I am looking for some orientation. Thank you very much.
I don't mean to sound like a prick. I have enjoyed the reading very much but I am seriously contemplating the trip so I need more practical info!

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

Unimogs are heavy vehicles, for sand and dunes!

I have a friend with a Blazer and a V8 and has no problems at all they do a run from North to South every year!

just drive with a gps and find your best lines, good luck!

Oh! and be prepered for the unexpected!