The Old Baja Road, before pavement... Baja Bound

A fun read, thanks. I would have loved to have tackled Highway 1 in the 60s.

I was driving on this old road along the southern end of Bahía Concepción - could this be an early road alignment?

Glad you are enjoying it guys!

StuckSucks: Yes, that is probably the old main highway... other parts of it are carved into the rock face along the bay and some parts actually have water over the road at high tide... just like it did in 1966!

Here's a Choral Pepper photo of the old road at Bahia Concepcion (the new highway is higher up and rocks from its construction cover some of the old road)...



Vince: Yes, traffic was so light, passing another vehicle was a rare thing. You always waved, but typically you also stopped to inquire about road conditions ahead. The road was often bracketed by cactus, cliffs, or the sea, so one car would need to back up to some place that allowed passing! This was Highway One, before the years 1971 to Dec. 1973 when most of it was constructed (from Camalu to Constitucion).

Bob: Thank you!

There are other great stories in the Baja Bound Newsletter too!... One with historical interest:

Don Johnson at the Serinidad with John Wayne and others: http://www.bajabound.com/bajaadventures/bajastoryteller/donj...


[Edited on 3-19-2015 by David K]

Do any old timers have photos of the old main Baja road? Anyone with newer photos of the original route to La Paz?

Here are photos along the old road from Howard Gulick...



El Rosario, 1956 where Baja Cactus is now. Before Pemex, it was a Standard Oil station.



Mama Espinoza's Union Oil station in 1960.



Laguna Chapala Silt Beds 1965, worst part of the entire drive to La Paz.



Rancho Laguna Chapala (Arturo Grosso, Mama Espinoza's brother) 1955



Laguna Chapala, fastest mile on the old road! 1956



Punta Prieta 'Gas Station', 1955



Santa Rosalia, 1953



Mulege 1953



Bahia Concepcion, 1957



El Coyote, 1952

To see more of Howard Gulick's Baja photos: http://libraries.ucsd.edu/speccoll/baja/gulick/index.html

Quote: Originally posted by ehall

Those are some great pictures

Yes, aren't they great!

Howard Gulick was an engineer for the City of Glendale (L.A. area) and he was a detail-holic (like me, lol) for accuracy in Baja... He began traveling by Jeep (Willys) Wagon after WWII to explore every road and even rode burros on parts of El Camino Real to make accurate maps and road logs. He partnered with Peter Gerhard, a noted historian who lived in Mexico to create the Lower California Guidebook, c1956, 58, 62, 70. A book so complete and information packed, it far outlived its authors and is still valuable today. Walt Wheelock, also worked for City of Glendale, was turned onto Baja as well, created the La Siesta Press, and produced several small guidebooks on Baja and the outdoors. Wheelock updated Gulick's guidebook in 1975 to include the new Transpeninsular Highway, and renamed the book, 'Baja California Guidebook'.
Howard's maps from 1962 edition are viewable online: http://biology.fullerton.edu/biol517dje/maps/baja_1962.html
(click on the peninsula where you want to see the close up map)





Here's a sample of the details from the 1962 edition:



When traveling in Baja with my parents, I got to read the guidebook as we neared the next point of interest. The names and history of Baja were imprinted before I was 9 years old.

I was inspired by Howard Gulick as a kid, and even met him and got his autograph on my copy of the guidebook. I also met Walt Wheelock many years later and discussed the publishing of Howard's large scale hand drawn maps (the ones in the book are abbreviations, yet are still some of the best ever made.

Found the same street in Todos Santos as one of Howard's photos (October 12, 1964 ). Compare at the buildings on the left side, past the stop sign:

Finding the old Baja main road...

El Rosario to San Ignacio:

There are many places you can see, drive on the old road where Hwy. 1 isn't on top of it. Much of the distance, the old road is within a mile or two of the new. The old road served as a pilot road and to bring supplies in to the construction crew. However, the main road of the 1960's went from Rosarito south then southeast to El Arco then south to El Tablon (which is just east of Vizcaino). The new highway was built south to north here and headed from near El Tablon NW to Guerrero Negro the north to Rosarito. The northbound crews did not meet the southbound crews until San Ignacito (just 10 km. or so south of Santa Ynez).

San Ignacio to just past Bahia Concepcion:

The old and new roads are very close if not the same location. Along Bahia Concepcion, the old road was closer to the water, even dipping in the water at high tide while much of the new graded road (since 1970) was higher up or more inland... and was paved in 1972.

Bahia Concepcion to Insurgentes:

The old road cut across Baja through Comondu then south. The new highway goes south to Loreto and on to Ligui before crossing west to Insurgentes.

Insurgentes to La Paz: Since the late 50's when the long straight roadbed was made, the tow roads are the same. However, in 1966 pavement began about 100 miles north of La Paz. 50 miles short of the point it reached in 1961.

Some samples of my satellite maps showing the two roads (note the compass in the top right corner, as the images are pointed in different directions):

Leaving El Rosario valley:


El Aguajito:


El Arenoso:


El Progreso:


Penjamo:


Guayaquil:


Sonora:


Agua Dulce:


La Virgen:




Catavina:




Pedregoso (boulder hill):


South Chapala:


South Portezuelo (old road on left):


El Crucero (south of El Crucero, that is not the old road on the left):


Old L.A. Bay Jcn.:


New L.A. Bay Jcn.: (old road on far left):


Punta Prieta:


La Bachata/Juarez (old road on right, new climbs hill on left):




Rosarito Split old/new:




Santa Rosalillita Jcn.:


Vizcaino/ El Tablon:




Crossing Abreojos Hwy.:




East of San Ignacio, the original Cuesta del Infierno and the new:

Thanks .. when it used to be, nothing fancy



[Edited on 3-26-2015 by wessongroup]