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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. |
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#1
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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?
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The trouble with common sense is it is no longer common |
#2
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Re: Baja Adventure ?07/?08
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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/ |
#3
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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. |
#4
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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.
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Ian McCutchon 08 JKU Rubicon 98 TJ |
#5
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Needless to say - I am interested.
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#6
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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 |
#7
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I want to go as well
I would love to go on this type of trip. Either off road or highway.
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#8
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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. |
#9
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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 |
#10
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Quote:
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#11
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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.
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#12
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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!
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The trouble with common sense is it is no longer common |
#13
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Quote:
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 |
#14
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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. |
#15
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Quote:
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#16
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Matt, Im interested, that is if you guys dont mind the short bus tagging along.
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Fancy Grocery Getter.. |
#17
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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! |
#18
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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...
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The trouble with common sense is it is no longer common |
#19
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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. |
#20
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#21
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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. |
#22
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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.... |
#23
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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
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#24
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Yep, that's good advice, avoid the jails.
Nice meeting you yesterday. Next time it'll be steaks. Have fun Vern! |
#25
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Quote:
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 |
#27
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Excellent work! I'm impressed to say the least.
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#28
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Beautiful area Vern. Thanks for sharing.
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#29
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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 |
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