2 months in Baja

[mickeykreg]

Hey fellow squares,
Thought I'd post up here about a blazer camping trip down the Baja. These are just the pics from the trip south and we still have to get home so fingers are crossed. I thought you guys may be interested.
Lisa and I made it to Los Barriles the other day after around 1200 miles, and 16 nights on the road. We had a great trip south. Much of the original plan went out the window once we got going. The '77 ran like a new one. Not even an oil leak. Pretty amazed actually, but I did work on things for months to prepare for this trip. No problems with gas, and it was always available when we needed it. I was able to use my CC to pay for gas more often than I thought. Never got ripped off, like I do in front of my own house in SLC. Always felt safe. Weather sucked, but not as bad as up north. Mostly just cooler temps than we expected. A couple nights of rain made us pass through the Catavina area way faster than we would have liked. Palapa at Daggets helped us survive a night of 50mph gusts. We met the bajadivide mountain biker crew near La Cuesta de la Ley. Bahia Conception was too much of a raucous to for us to hang around. We did stay at Playa La Perla which seemed different and chill. The lady collecting the $4 fee for the palapa was a sweetie, so Lisa bought a bracelet from her. Also stayed at a super nice camp at Juncalito, where we met some people that'd driven from South America.
Everything we look for in a camping trip and then some. Big views, stars all the way to the horizon, miles of nothing but everything, great street food in the dusty little towns, amazing beach camping!

I'll shut up and leave the rest to the photos.

Camp 1: La Jolla (out of Ensenada), barely made it before dark


Camp 2: Punta San Jose, bought fish for anniversary dinner on the coals.


THE Mama Espinosa's and Baja 1000 shrine in El Rosario


Camp 4: rainy night in the mysterious Boojums south of Catavina


Camp 5: before the storm at BdLA


Camp 6: Playa San Rafael - Pedro is rad as hell!




Camp 7: a cold night in the outback




Camp 8: in the dunes south of Bahia Ascunsion


Dinner in San Ignacio was something like $12 for both of us


Even the gas station has a rad view!


camp 10: Playa La Perla, cool old lady, $5 palapa to escape the wind




Loreto - thought I'd post a pic of us


Camp 12 and 13: finally a layover at Punta Conejo


best sunset of the trip at P. Conejo


nights 14 and 15: a couple nights of "fancy" at the Barcelo in Cabo.




Camp 16: Los Frailes, dramatic whale breach 250m offshore



Now it's time to chill out for a month in Los Barriles and shake off the road. March 1st we'll make a slighly faster trip north. So far the return list includes the Javier and San Miguel/Jose Comondu mountain route, and route 5 through San Felipe.

[68Timber]

Wow cool trip and great pics.

[lt1wrangler]

Beautiful place! Was there twice racing the 1000 and loved it!

[Greenlee]

Wow. Awesome trip! Post more pics on the way back!

[buffydores]

You are my freakin' hero. Epic.

[mickeykreg]

Guess I'll post the good with the bad...finally had an equipment fail...

Before:


After:

The tire carrier broke clean off!




1400 miles of Baja backroads roads finally took their toll. After the fact I find out this is a weak POS chinese spindle. Got nobody to blame but myself for not building more beef into this thing. Guess I can't complain too much since this is the only fail so far. Plan to rebuild includes a 1/3 larger spindle sold by Ruffstuff near Sacramento. Gonna have to get home first with this brute of a tire inside with us.

It's all part of the adventure....right???

[schpeen]

that is my kind of traveling you are blessed to be able to have an experience like this that is what it's all about

[Dannny B]

If you get tired of the flat water on the Sea of Cortez, you should go over to Todos Santos,,, especially if you surf. It's a real pretty town and has a place called "Hotel California", MANY years before the Eagles wrote their album. There are good campgrounds to the south of Todos Santos.

If you're feeling VERY adventurous, you can try to make it to "Scavenger's Beach",,, also known as PLaya Malarimo (a bad place to go near). It is quite a ways south of Salsipuedes (get out if you can).
Playa Malarimo is a due north facing beach with a prevailing southern current. Everything in creation washes up there. We started out with 4 vehicles but, had to leave 2 of them in the canyon.
At the beach, the lay of the land is very low and there is an indistinguishable sink hole there. We were in a 4 seat buggy with big terra tires. It slowed us down to a crawl even though we crossed it at about 25 mph. There were 4 or 5 abandoned trucks stuck in it.
You can google it but, you start out in Gurerro Negro.

[Chevyland]

I just saw your post.
Right on Have a killer time.
Catavinia brings back memories for me
(Make sure your tank is full of gas)
Went whale watching in Guerrero negro(froze our a$$es off)
My babe and I did the same trip as you guys about 8 years ago.
We pulled a caned ham trailer down there and camped every night.
Didn't go all the way to Cabo, and only for about a month.
But we still talk about it today.
Enjoy yourselves.

Look forward to your updates.

[mickeykreg]

Originally Posted by Chevyland

I just saw your post.
Right on Have a killer time.
Catavinia brings back memories for me
(Make sure your tank is full of gas)
Went whale watching in Guerrero negro(froze our a$$es off)
My babe and I did the same trip as you guys about 8 years ago.
We pulled a caned ham trailer down there and camped every night.
Didn't go all the way to Cabo, and only for about a month.
But we still talk about it today.
Enjoy yourselves.

Look forward to your updates.

Sounds cool. Long trips are where it's at for us. Gives the time to zone out and get good N gone. Post a pic of your camper. We were talking up north how we wished we had a camper. Kind of cold there for a bit.

Originally Posted by Dannny B

If you get tired of the flat water on the Sea of Cortez, you should go over to Todos Santos,,, especially if you surf. It's a real pretty town and has a place called "Hotel California", MANY years before the Eagles wrote their album. There are good campgrounds to the south of Todos Santos.

If you're feeling VERY adventurous, you can try to make it to "Scavenger's Beach",,, also known as PLaya Malarimo (a bad place to go near). It is quite a ways south of Salsipuedes (get out if you can).
Playa Malarimo is a due north facing beach with a prevailing southern current. Everything in creation washes up there. We started out with 4 vehicles but, had to leave 2 of them in the canyon.
At the beach, the lay of the land is very low and there is an indistinguishable sink hole there. We were in a 4 seat buggy with big terra tires. It slowed us down to a crawl even though we crossed it at about 25 mph. There were 4 or 5 abandoned trucks stuck in it.
You can google it but, you start out in Gurerro Negro.

Funny you mention it. Just spent the last two days in Todos. So impressed we bought a house.
Malarimo is a place been on my radar for a while. Not only in the path of a south current, but after crossing the north Pacific so it picks up all kind of stuff and deposits there. Weird stuff too, Malarimo is an appropriate name.

[Dannny B]

Mickey, I spent 10 years taking motorhome caravans to Mexico and Alaska,,, also motorcycle caravans. The first thing I have to ask you;
Did you buy your house through Fideicomiso? Wiki has an entry;
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fideicomiso
Foreigners aren't allowed to directly own land in Mexico if it is within a certain distance of the border or the ocean. If you didn't go through Fideicomiso, you don't have a true legal claim.
You also have to be very careful of buying former ejido land. The Mexican GOV routinely expropriates land from private owners and gives it to the poor to form a collective farm (Ejido)
They took private land near Rosarito and gave it to an ejido. The ejido people turned around and sold it to gringos to build beach houses. The former private owners sued in court and got it back.
As an America, you have almost no legal standing in a Mexican court.
Land in Mexico is an emotional issue even stronger than the isue of guns in America. If you didn't go through Fidieocomiso, you should try to re-sell the land.
I also did pre-run & pit and chase for the 1000 for a few years.

Re: Malarimo I did it many years ago when it took about 110 miles of dirt one way. It is much easier now. When yuo come oput of the river canyon that is the access, turn to the left. If you turn to the right, the land just gets lower and lower and turns into swamp.

[mickeykreg]

Originally Posted by Dannny B

Mickey, I spent 10 years taking motorhome caravans to Mexico and Alaska,,, also motorcycle caravans. The first thing I have to ask you;
Did you buy your house through Fideicomiso? Wiki has an entry;
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fideicomiso
Foreigners aren't allowed to directly own land in Mexico if it is within a certain distance of the border or the ocean. If you didn't go through Fideicomiso, you don't have a true legal claim.
You also have to be very careful of buying former ejido land. The Mexican GOV routinely expropriates land from private owners and gives it to the poor to form a collective farm (Ejido)
They took private land near Rosarito and gave it to an ejido. The ejido people turned around and sold it to gringos to build beach houses. The former private owners sued in court and got it back.
As an America, you have almost no legal standing in a Mexican court.
Land in Mexico is an emotional issue even stronger than the isue of guns in America. If you didn't go through Fidieocomiso, you should try to re-sell the land.
I also did pre-run & pit and chase for the 1000 for a few years.

Re: Malarimo I did it many years ago when it took about 110 miles of dirt one way. It is much easier now. When yuo come oput of the river canyon that is the access, turn to the left. If you turn to the right, the land just gets lower and lower and turns into swamp.

Fide? = check. Thanks for looking out.

[68Timber]

How safe is this? I'm assuming you've got to roll without any means of self defense. The news always tells the worst violence and corruption stories leaving you to think if you're not killed you'll be thrown in jail to rot.

[Dannny B]

The campaign of the current president was financed by the drug cartels. BUT, Baja California Sur is not one of the conduits to move drugs. Everything south of Gurerro Negro is pretty safe because it is quite prosperous. Foreigners have brought so much money into the Los Cabos area that the GOV comes down hard on anybody who messes with the foreigners.
I drove around all parts of Mexico from 1980 to 1990. I went through quite a few checkpoints. Give the guys a couple of batteries for their flashlights and they are happy. I haven't done pit & chase for several eyars.
In Todos Santos, the best self-defence is to get to know evernbody and make friends with the locals. Learn at least a little bit of Spanish. You especially want to get to know the fishermen.
Put a little fence around the yard and don't leave stuff lying around outside.
You'll be fine.

[phillipm]

Originally Posted by 68Timber

How safe is this? I'm assuming you've got to roll without any means of self defense. The news always tells the worst violence and corruption stories leaving you to think if you're not killed you'll be thrown in jail to rot.

I haven't been as far south as this (via truck) but every time I've been south of the boarder it's been nothing but hospitality. It's no different than traveling anywhere else in my opinion. Keep your eyes open and pay attention to your surroundings and you'll have a great time.

[Chevyland]

Yea. I've camped in Baja a couple of times.
Like I posted above, once pulling a little trailer
And few years before that, myself and a good friend rode our bicycles from San Francisco down into Baja on a 3 week trek.
Nothing but hospitality, several times we were invited to stay in people's homes/ shacks.
Ate at roadside taco stands everyday, never even felt woosie
We loved riding our bikes through the armed check points. They would just look as us, as if we were a bit crazy. Not to much to search on a bike.
Whenever I would talk with other travelers, they would always say they never had problems, telling me, most of what you here was media driven.
You only live once, best to have fun doing it!

Again mickeykreg. I hope you guys are killing it

[mickeykreg]

Hey all, surprised this thread hasn't been reassigned. Didn't know where else to put it.
We roll out of south Baja in the morning. 1800 miles home is what Google says. The '77 continues to run like a new one, just looks like hell, all covered in dust. Sorry can't post pics for now. Flickr won't let me do from my mobile.
Funny to hear the safety thing. Always a concern even walking across an icy parking lot I guess. In Mexico I approach it just like I do when were backpacking in grizzly country...common sense, and lots of it. The military check points on the way south were more interested in my tires than anything else.
Thanks for the tips, and stories. Will update in a couple weeks from the hopefully not too frozen north.

[1976K5CHALET]

This is my lifetime dream! Once i get the chalet camper rebuilt i want to learn how to pull this trip off.

DW

[Chevyland]

Just finish that thing
Jump in it
And drive south

Keep looking at blogs
Many people have done it

Have a look at
Crazyguyonabike.com

It is blogs of bicyclists
It will give you ideas of the areas in baja

There is also a couple Baja camping books that were published a while back
Search engine from amazon, and you might find them

They are dated, but some of the places still pertain

I keep an eye on the chalet 's
Thinking of buying one
That are really cool
But
Many of them became pretty rusty

[68Timber]

Originally Posted by 1976K5CHALET

This is my lifetime dream! Once i get the chalet camper rebuilt i want to learn how to pull this trip off.

DW

Glad to see you have a chalet again. Would be cool to see one making this trip.

[Dannny B]

GO to Baja,, just do it!
People ask me how I drove to Lima, Peru. I answer, go to Arizona and turn right.

[mickeykreg]

Sorry for being lame and not posting the return trip sooner. Here's a few more pics. Everybody says I put the blazer in too many pics, but I'm hoping you guys won't mind. Yeah yeah, I guess I do.

street tacos north of LaPaz


First day heading back north was long. Well after dark we made it to this "not a camp, camp" in the mountains between San Jose Comondu and San Javier.


San Jose Comondu


wild baja between San Jose Comundo and San Javier




Mission at San Javier was my favorite in Baja


weird to drive on a 400 year old street


$30 cabin rental at Tres Virgens Volcano


road tacos...everyday


road side gas in Catavina Desert before leaving the highway for three days off road to Punta Canoas. Before leaving home I installed a Derale #13070 remote fuel/water separator to ease my mind in this kind of situation. The gas ended up being fine anyway.


airing down for the trip to remote Punta Canoas


another night in the desert


more backroads


finally approaching Canoas...just to see it fogged in.


flowers were going crazy


drop off to the ocean


retired old fishing panga


back to the desert and out of the fog


Baja Champions; 2500 miles of Baja and no flats


$20 palapa to escape the wind at Gonzaga Bay


the last morning in Baja at Gonzaga Bay


the loyal steed get a wash in Mexicali before the border crossing

[mickeykreg]

First on the list after returning home was to fix the bumper.

I procured the new spindle from these guys in Sandy, Utah. Spindle is obviously bigger, but what's important is that the chromoly spindle isn't welded on, the DOM sleeve is.
https://www.comp4x4.com/collections/...-spindle-shaft

Old spindle that failed on the left
New spindle on the right

[mickeykreg]

Sadly, the '77 is out of commision. I was going to try finding a different, rust free blazer, but decided it was time to fix the rust. My wife said; "you have to fix it since it never let us down all the way through Baja".
Here goes nothin'!





I hope to be done with it in about a year. Have to do floors, bedsides, and tailpan. Will probably finish it off with a tan soft topper.
Then another trip south of the border.

[mickeykreg]

Got a question offline that I thought I'd answer here.

Hi Doug,
Taking a chalet to Baja would be the way to go. capable enough off road, but still able to get out of the wind. The cold wind was tough to deal with and we talked alot how we wished we had a camper. I think I'll get a custom set up built for a K5, from Phoenix camper in Colorado.
I think an older truck is perfect for these kind of trips because when something goes haywire you can deal with it, fix it, and move on. Of course I've been over every inch of mine and know it really well. Also carry a lot of spare parts and tools.
See if you can get a copy of the Baja Almanac map. It's literally priceless, out of print and expensive when you do find it, but worth it. We bought several books, but only used the map.

https://www.amazon.com/Baja-Californ.../dp/0965866327