Go Back   JeepBBS > What Where When > Overlanders Unlimited

Overlanders Unlimited This is a forum to discuss expedition vehicles and trailer options, a place to talk about builds, modifications, and designs, as well as past and future adventure trips.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Rate Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 04-26-2007, 11:42 AM
Matt Pascoe Matt Pascoe is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Lake Hodges, CA
Posts: 942
Baja Adventure ?07/?08

Several people on JeepBBS have mentioned a desire to explore Baja and I think it would be fun to start discussing a possible trip in the fall of ?07 or spring of ?08 (too hot in the summer).

This can be a mostly off-road trip (avoiding towns) that would be fun for Jeeps/buggies (no license plate needed) or we could plan a trip to see more of Baja but would require Hwy driving and traversing some larger towns. Either way would be fun, I would bring my Jeep for the ?off-road? trip or my truck for the ?Hwy? trip.

Possible ?off-road? trip:

Day1
Cross at Tecate, meet at Hacienda Santa Veronica where we could leave tow rigs etc. Drive through Laguna Hanson (pine forest) towards Valle de Trinidad and spend the night at Jamau?s outpost, rumor has it that Jamau?s has a rock crawling loop.

Day2
Drive from Jamau?s through Valle de Trinidad to Mikes Sky Ranch for the night

Day3
Mikes Sky Ranch to Camalu (Pacific Ocean)

Day4
Camalu to Ensanada to Hacienda Santa Veronicas to home (mostly highway)

Possible Hwy trip

Day1
Tecate to San Felipe

Day2
San Felipe to Mikes or Mellings

Day3
Mikes to Camalu to Tecate

Tons of options. There are several historic haciendas in the mountains that would be fun to stay at and explore (Melling Ranch, Guadalupe Canyon etc). We could have a blast just roaming aimlessly for three days. Or we could spend 3 days based out of one spot (Jamau?s or Mikes) and just explore.

Disclaimer ? I am not a tour guide, I do not speak fluent Spanish and have not been ?everywhere? in Northern Baja. This will be an ?adventure? !

Anyone interested?
__________________
The trouble with common sense is it is no longer common
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 04-26-2007, 12:47 PM
Larry Nickell Larry Nickell is offline
Yogurt Boi
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Moses Lake, WA
Posts: 690
Send a message via AIM to Larry Nickell
Re: Baja Adventure ?07/?08

Quote:
Originally posted by Matt Pascoe
Anyone interested?
I would be interested in the spring of '08.

If you happen to run into Robert, I sent him a couple of Baja books a while back when we were discussing this very thing.

EDIT: Here's a forum for more Baja info... http://forums.bajanomad.com/
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 04-26-2007, 01:00 PM
Robert J. Yates Robert J. Yates is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2001
Location: planet earth
Posts: 6,212
I want to go......

I still have the books Larry and I still want to do a Baja trip. Unfortunately, the expedition equipment build on my Jeep (including the trailer) has taken more time than I thought...mainly due to the poor performance of my house on the market which caused some cash flow issues LOL.

That being said, I should have my Jeep back next week and the only other mods that are outstanding on it are the replacement of my Tommy Lee PS pump with the new KMC pump and final detailing to the on-board shower. My trailer was ordered this week and I expect delivery the last week in June/first week in July. At that point.....I will be ready to go expedition style wheeling.

Either later this fall or next spring for Baja are fine with me.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 04-26-2007, 06:41 PM
Cutch Cutch is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Thunder Bay, Ontario
Posts: 439
I have always wanted to do Baja.....it was one of the reasons I got my Jeep..time has gone on...I came close to Baja in 96 but was short on cash and had to head back home to BC....I was in Northern Mexico at the time...just barely...now with family ...a 18 month old and a new one in June and being a stay at home Dad...the opportunities are fleeting....having said that the spring of 08 could be possible...Miss Sue will still be off on maturnity leave...who knows...I am very interested.
__________________
Ian McCutchon

08 JKU Rubicon
98 TJ



Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 04-26-2007, 07:30 PM
TObject TObject is offline
Reggae
 
Join Date: May 2001
Location: San Diego, CA, USA
Posts: 7,142
Thumbs up

Needless to say - I am interested.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 04-26-2007, 09:19 PM
Britain Britain is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: El Centro Calif
Posts: 371
Hey Matt,
Look at this.! I have been following some of this. Its really off the beaten path so to speak. Did you know theres a 10,000ft plus mountain down there? There is some really cool stuff down there.

It really depends where you ride is what the temps going to be.

http://biology.fullerton.edu/baja/maps.html

Oh I did get to La Milla
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 04-26-2007, 10:09 PM
Jason L Williams Jason L Williams is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Lakewood, CA, USA
Posts: 464
I want to go as well

I would love to go on this type of trip. Either off road or highway.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 04-27-2007, 09:25 AM
Robert J. Yates Robert J. Yates is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2001
Location: planet earth
Posts: 6,212
Well....while off road only travel would be a cool way to go...the reality is that if we want to cover some distance in a limited timeframe (3-5 days), we will need to travel on paved roads to certain points so I vote for a mix of the 2.

Generally, I am ok with Matts plan but I also wouldn't mind spending a night or 2 on the beach in one of the remote coves on the pacific side...that should give us a reason to actually bring Jeeps.

All of that being said, I have a question relating to GPS planning....being a novice at GPS and mapping-mapable units, how do we ensure that we all load the same trip into our individual units or map programs? I am sure it is quite easy but it would be nice if I got an explanation from someone on how we might coordiante this and what to expect. Thanx.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 04-27-2007, 12:00 PM
Britain Britain is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: El Centro Calif
Posts: 371
At least with Garmin, routes and way points can be distributed among the garmins. MAtt sent me tracks from JV and I can see them. I would suggest passing around some routes, let people load them to see what happens.

I did a Cabo run a few years back. 2 Weeks of travel. It too was a lot of fun, should have taken a month though. Speaking for myself because I'm in the Baja often I prefer the hid away stuff, But for those who dont come in much Matts route would give a bigger picture of upper Baja.

I plan on routing on down the Baja in the back country.

Baja maps, I run a topo map, it has major road ways and some cities. It does have some off road trails but the fun is finding the ones which are not listed.

Matts route would be a fun trip for those who dont venture south.

"Roaming aimlessly" sound pretty cool
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 04-27-2007, 08:22 PM
Jason L Williams Jason L Williams is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Lakewood, CA, USA
Posts: 464
Quote:
Originally posted by Robert J. Yates

Generally, I am ok with Matts plan but I also wouldn't mind spending a night or 2 on the beach in one of the remote coves on the pacific side...that should give us a reason to actually bring Jeeps.
That's the ticket. Tow to border and just point the Jeep south. I just need someone that has been there for guidance.
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 04-28-2007, 08:18 PM
Britain Britain is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: El Centro Calif
Posts: 371
Heading down south next week. Going into the La Milla and El Topo area again. Gonna cook up some carne asada , hike a bit, wheel a bit and chow down.
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 04-30-2007, 09:10 AM
Matt Pascoe Matt Pascoe is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Lake Hodges, CA
Posts: 942
I figured there would be some interest

Baja is so big and diverse that there is just no way to get a good 'sampler' in just 4-5 days. Especially when you consider it doesnt even start to get good untill you are quite a ways south of the border.

I have been beach camping Baja for 20 years, it has just been the past 5 years that I have discovered how increadible the central mountain range of Baja is which is why that has been my focus.

With that said, I would never pass up the oportunity for a Baja beach camping trip! Most of my beach camping has been on the Pacific side, Ensanada south to El Rosario. The Sea of Cortez side could be VERY tempting though, warmer, clearer water, maybe venture down towards Bahia de los Angeles

Robert, re: GPS

I'd recomend staying with a Garmin product. Mainly because it is more common so sharing GPS data/tracks is simpler. Of course you can convert from Garmin data to Magellan, it's just an extra step that could lead to some confusion.

Vern, that was a cool map! It was very interesting to see the old names (that locals still use when giving directions) that no longer exist on modern maps. Can you imagine taking on the task of mapping Baja 75-100 years ago? Now that would have been some serious adventure!
__________________
The trouble with common sense is it is no longer common
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 04-30-2007, 10:52 AM
Robert J. Yates Robert J. Yates is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2001
Location: planet earth
Posts: 6,212
Quote:
Originally posted by Matt Pascoe
Robert, re: GPS

I'd recomend staying with a Garmin product. Mainly because it is more common so sharing GPS data/tracks is simpler. Of course you can convert from Garmin data to Magellan, it's just an extra step that could lead to some confusion.
Understood but......... to late

We'll get it figured out.

Speaking of the Sea of Cortez......I used to spend quite a bit of time in Puerto Penasco over on the mainland side when I lived in Tucson during the 1980's. I have fond memories of riding those suicide 3 wheeled ATV trikes on beautiful sand beaches while munching on freshly caught snapper which I made veracruz style on my grill. As long as I am beach camping and have access to a fishing village for fresh catch.......I don't really mind which side we are on

Maybe we can start polling for some dates from everyone who replied. I am good either this fall (October) or next spring (March-April) or........... both
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 04-30-2007, 05:25 PM
Britain Britain is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: El Centro Calif
Posts: 371
In the late 60's early 70's my dad had a house about 100 miles south of Ensanada, used to bring him buckets of ole spark pluggs for fishing weights. It was a lot of fun on the beaches back then.

I too have been pulled inland. Xmas I'm taking 2 weeks off and going in about 600 miles. Theres a couple of old towns and stuff I want to check out.
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 04-30-2007, 08:33 PM
Lawrence Lawrence is offline
Internet jeeps rule!
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 120,580
Quote:
Originally posted by Robert J. Yates

Maybe we can start polling for some dates from everyone who replied. I am good either this fall (October) or next spring (March-April) or........... both
I'd love to join but it would have to be next spring for me so I can rack up vacation days.
Reply With Quote
  #16  
Old 05-01-2007, 02:11 PM
papromike papromike is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 755
Matt, Im interested, that is if you guys dont mind the short bus tagging along.
__________________
Fancy Grocery Getter..
Reply With Quote
  #17  
Old 06-29-2007, 09:45 PM
Britain Britain is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: El Centro Calif
Posts: 371
This maybe cool. One of our new customers is out of Ensanada. He say he crawls. I say crawl what? Rigs on rocks...ok my type of customer.

Well now I'll be also sharing jobs between Mexicali and Tijauna, and our plant in TJ has a Fenced secured parking area. Pull the Junk into the plant parking lot and walla now I can cover the western coast of Baja!

Did I mention theres a bunch of these crawlers from Sony? This may turn out interesting!
Reply With Quote
  #18  
Old 11-29-2007, 08:26 PM
Matt Pascoe Matt Pascoe is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Lake Hodges, CA
Posts: 942
Getting closer to the Baja season, but... I really hate to say it... and have been mentally struggling over this for the past few months...

At this point in time, I personally don't think a trip such as this is safe to do in Baja

Extortion, theft, police corruption, even kidnapping has been a serious problem South of the border for as long as I remember. I have always considered it a risk worth taking (I love Baja). Over the past year, bad things have been happening at an accelerating pace and American tourist (surfers and off roaders in particular) seem to now be the target.

Without going into too much detail, a very close friend of mine was recently pulled from his truck at gun point, dragged to the edge of a cliff, and told to kneel down execution style. he lived, lost two trucks, one motorcycle, and all their camping and surfing gear. This was 10 minutes South of the border.

I tried to shrug it off and tell myself it was just a fluke.

After that the stories of carjackings increased, heavily armed, violent and well organized.

I can sortof handle the thought of losing valuables to theft. Worth the risk? Dunno. The deal killer for me was a recent robbery of campers several hours South on the beech (Quatros Casas). Robbed at gunpoint in the middle of the night, and raped his girlfriend. Too much for me to stomach.

I have decided that I absolutely will no longer bring my wife (or kids) South. I also will not bring anything to Mex that I would not be completely willing to hand over, in the event of gun-to-head.

I'm not sure about motorcycle trips. I can replace the bike and backpack if need be. Just not sure if the risk is too high right now. I've scheduled a 300 mile moto trip Dec 15th, seriously considering cancelling

Anyways, I'm not going to bring my Jeep to Mex, and would not recommend planning such a trip until things change down South.

Sucks...
__________________
The trouble with common sense is it is no longer common
Reply With Quote
  #19  
Old 11-30-2007, 11:04 AM
speaceman speaceman is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: L.A., CA
Posts: 2,019
I've always thought Baja is a pretty place however there's plenty of places in the U.S. I've never been and this country is a huge one.

Mexico has become more and more unsafe for americans. I've been thinking it's not worth it to visit Mexico (outside of the toursit areas) for awhile now.

It's a good excuse to see the rest of the U.S. (or canada really) at a minimum.
Reply With Quote
  #20  
Old 12-01-2007, 11:38 AM
Art Welch Art Welch is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Santa Clarita, CA
Posts: 652
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...nes-california
Reply With Quote
  #21  
Old 12-01-2007, 05:52 PM
Britain Britain is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: El Centro Calif
Posts: 371
I'm fairly certain that those guys are prob police or x police. They know the road to well. I sure the Mex Fed gov will step in and close them down. Baja Tourisum is big money and the races down there bigger.

I wouldnt take the road to San Felipe at this time either its a matter of time and that road is isolated.

Myself I still wheel down in the Baja but not alone. Theres a few clubs down there one is the Baja Crawlers. Since I also work down there some of my workers, customers and our companies competion have people that wheel.So there always someone to wheel with ad like here great people to wheel with.

Ya its some scary stuff and for most of you I would agree stay out for now.

Me? I'll still wheel in the Baja.
Reply With Quote
  #22  
Old 12-14-2007, 01:41 PM
Britain Britain is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: El Centro Calif
Posts: 371
Keeping all points into persective...Baja is still safer then going shopping at the mall or going to church...you may get jacked though....

Heres an article of a trail called Pole Line road in Baja. Looks pretty cool. Will put it on my list of to do.

http://britain.connectnet.com/Photography/Poleline1.jpg

http://britain.connectnet.com/Photog...nearticle2.jpg

http://britain.connectnet.com/Photog...nearticle3.jpg

I'll be heading back down in a week or two fer to exploring and wheeling....
Reply With Quote
  #23  
Old 12-21-2007, 09:04 AM
Britain Britain is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: El Centro Calif
Posts: 371
I'll be heading to Baja next week with some friends for some wheeling. I guess the safest thing to do is not get thrown into jail while were down there
Reply With Quote
  #24  
Old 12-27-2007, 01:18 PM
Joe Dillard Joe Dillard is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: San Diego, Ca, USA
Posts: 3,048
Yep, that's good advice, avoid the jails.

Nice meeting you yesterday. Next time it'll be steaks.

Have fun Vern!
Reply With Quote
  #25  
Old 12-27-2007, 09:36 PM
Britain Britain is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: El Centro Calif
Posts: 371
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Dillard View Post
Yep, that's good advice, avoid the jails.

Nice meeting you yesterday. Next time it'll be steaks.

Have fun Vern!
Gee I thought we were eating some type of steak

Will post the some pics when we get out.

BTY Joe, Heres the pics match up of the photo I showed you

http://www.myjeeprocks.com/forums/sh...1573#post91573
Reply With Quote
  #26  
Old 12-28-2007, 09:06 PM
Britain Britain is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: El Centro Calif
Posts: 371
Quicky Baja Trip

Heres a quick trip to LA Milla

Here
Reply With Quote
  #27  
Old 12-28-2007, 09:56 PM
Joe Dillard Joe Dillard is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: San Diego, Ca, USA
Posts: 3,048
Quote:
Originally Posted by Britain View Post
BTY Joe, Heres the pics match up of the photo I showed you
Excellent work! I'm impressed to say the least.
Reply With Quote
  #28  
Old 12-28-2007, 10:01 PM
Joe Dillard Joe Dillard is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: San Diego, Ca, USA
Posts: 3,048
Thumbs up

Quote:
Originally Posted by Britain View Post
Heres a quick trip to LA Milla
Beautiful area Vern. Thanks for sharing.
Reply With Quote
  #29  
Old 12-29-2007, 10:10 PM
Britain Britain is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: El Centro Calif
Posts: 371
La Milla

For those who want to see the tracks in Google earth. The routes were what was planned based on overlay of google earth. Ya it was a bit harder to follow. At some places we were .10 mile off and just didnt have sight to get a line. It was pretty rugged.


KMZ File HERE
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
500 miles in Baja Matt Pascoe Overlanders Unlimited 37 03-27-2007 12:11 PM
Baja Hwy 2 Britain Jeep Friends Forum 7 12-05-2006 08:48 AM
Adventure Trailers Llc Unveils The ?chaser? Off Road Trailer TObject Jeep Aftermarket Companies 1 02-21-2006 07:29 AM
Baja Robert J. Yates Jeep Friends Forum 21 02-19-2006 10:41 PM
pics>>35x14.5-15 Thornbirds & seperate 15x10 Eagle Baja wheels 5on4.5".......... skyhiranger Buy/Sell Jeep Stuff 1 03-27-2004 07:08 PM


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 02:35 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.2
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
We are not affiliated with Chrysler LLC. Jeep is a registered trademark of Chrysler LLC.
©2001 - 2016, jeepbbs.net. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy