BajaNomad - Lake Chapala Dirt Road

Lake Chapala Dirt Road

RogerMears - 2-16-2018 at 07:05 AM

Has anyone traveled the dirt road from Hwy. 1 to Gonzaga Bay in the past two days? We plan to travel from BOLA Saturday morning, 2/17, to San Felipe using this road and were just wondering how the rain has impacted the conditions. Update would be appreciated!

TMW - 2-16-2018 at 10:11 AM

The latest report was about 2-3 weeks ago of someone actually driving it. It was the same as it's been for several months. No rain damage and crews are working as usual on it. Do it and let us know how it is.

David K - 2-16-2018 at 10:16 AM

Hi Roger, until someone steps up to answer...
It is an active construction zone and all types of vehicles and semis use it daily. I last drove it in August and that was one of several trips in 2017 and 2016 over it, including after heavy rain. It was no problem. So unless you are in a Porsche or some other sports car, you should be fine.

The dashed section of Hwy. 5 on my map is the new highway route that has been closed during construction, but recent reports here on Nomad say some have gotten through on it (known by us a 'Coco's Bypass').

Elena La Loca - 2-16-2018 at 11:15 AM

Liable to be a big mess (but that makes it more fun, right?)

Ralph @ Rancho Santa Ynes reported on ham radio this morning that he'd gotten an inch of rain in the past 24 hrs.

bkbend - 2-16-2018 at 12:20 PM

I drove it last year after a big rain and it was messy but most of it is sand or rock base and not much of a problem. There were a couple spots near the construction in the mountains, actually going through the canyon, where the work crews had spread a top coat of red dirt and that was a little slimy in spots.

RogerMears - 2-16-2018 at 02:17 PM

Thanks everyone and thanks David K for the map. I will be traveling in my Nissan 4WD old chase truck w/off-road tires so we should be just fine by the sounds of it. Thank you for the map. We did run the Coco bypass the last time heading south. It cut off about 15 minutes of travel time.

David K - 2-16-2018 at 02:25 PM

Quote: Originally posted by RogerMears

Thanks everyone and thanks David K for the map. I will be traveling in my Nissan 4WD old chase truck w/off-road tires so we should be just fine by the sounds of it. Thank you for the map. We did run the Coco bypass the last time heading south. It cut off about 15 minutes of travel time.

Very cool, so keep it under 100, okay?
I chatted with you in Ensenada at race registration. You were in the Jeep Honcho race truck. I think Walker Evans was there, too? Anyway, I recall you saying how nice it was to race the Honcho (something about air conditioning?). That was a long time ago!

Sr.vienes - 2-16-2018 at 04:41 PM

You must be the Roger Mears that pushed my 9 car in the Fireworks 250 about 1984 or 5 to get me outta the way, thanks it was the fastest I went all day.

thebajarunner - 2-16-2018 at 05:00 PM

Roger gave me a good "bump draft" years ago in my pickup
Welcome to the board
Not sure why this particular road would give you much pause for concern.
My 20 year old F150 traveled it last year at around 50-60 most of the way.

This Bud's For You... Classic Off Road with Roger Mears:

David K - 2-16-2018 at 05:24 PM

An 11-minute film about Roger Mears racing the Baja 1000 in the Jeep Honcho Truck... pretty cool stuff from over 35 years ago!

[/rquote]

RogerMears - 2-21-2018 at 05:54 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Sr.vienes

You must be the Roger Mears that pushed my 9 car in the Fireworks 250 about 1984 or 5 to get me outta the way, thanks it was the fastest I went all day.

Glad I could help.....LOL Hope you won your class!

RogerMears - 2-21-2018 at 05:57 AM

Quote: Originally posted by thebajarunner

Roger gave me a good "bump draft" years ago in my pickup
Welcome to the board
Not sure why this particular road would give you much pause for concern.
My 20 year old F150 traveled it last year at around 50-60 most of the way.

It was more of a curious question as we had 3 days of rain in BOLA. Was wondering how much rain on the road. We had a great trip, just a few pools of water and mud.

RogerMears - 2-21-2018 at 06:01 AM

Quote: Originally posted by David K

Quote: Originally posted by RogerMears

Loved driving the Honcho. It didn't have AC but wished it did! We had a great trip to SF in my 1989 Nissan Chase Truck from back in the day. The road was really muddy and pools of water on the way there. Drying up on the way back. Crews were working on the road...more progress.

David K - 2-21-2018 at 09:10 AM

Thanks Roger for the reply. If I see you down south, I would like to give you one of my books. All famous off-road racers I meet get one! :light:

Met Ivan and Linda Stewart south of San Felipe at Chelo's Restaurant.

JZ - 2-21-2018 at 09:34 AM

In December the road was graded perfectly.

One of the easier drives in Baja.

tonikaus - 2-26-2018 at 09:40 AM

We drove our VW Eurovan from San Felipe to Rancho Santa Ynez on Saturday, February 24. The road is slow, but otherwise fine. Gonzaga Bay to Hwy 1, including the 12 miles of pavement, took two hours. It looks like all the current activity is on the southern end. Although we crossed the new route several times and saw more of it from afar, we were mostly on the old road bed. We saw all kinds of vehicles, from sedans to semis, travelling both ways. Just pay attention and take it slow. The worst driving we did that day was the 30 extremely potholed miles of Hwy 1 north to Rancho Santa Ynez.

David K - 2-26-2018 at 09:48 AM

Thank you for the update and welcome to Nomad!
So, still just 12 miles (20 kms.) of paved driving south of Gonzaga Pemex, eh?

tonikaus - 2-26-2018 at 09:54 AM

Yup. Same as three years ago.

RogerMears - 2-27-2018 at 07:21 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K

Thanks Roger for the reply. If I see you down south, I would like to give you one of my books. All famous off-road racers I meet get one! :light:

Met Ivan and Linda Stewart south of San Felipe at Chelo's Restaurant.

Great! Would love to have one of your books! We are living in Bahia de Los Angeles now. Stop by sometime...Zona 4 south of town.

David K - 2-27-2018 at 08:31 PM

Yes, Mary Ann Humfreville is a dear friend and knows you guys as neighbors. She has a copy for you to take a preview look, maybe? Nice to see you on Nomad!

4x4abc - 2-27-2018 at 11:41 PM

amazing how many forum miles you get out of 23 miles of dirt

RogerMears - 2-28-2018 at 06:29 AM

Quote: Originally posted by David K

Yes, Mary Ann Humfreville is a dear friend and knows you guys as neighbors. She has a copy for you to take a preview look, maybe? Nice to see you on Nomad!

Mary Ann is very close to where we are. This is Carol, Roger's wife. I walk by Mary Ann's house almost everyday. I will ask her about the book...thanks!

David K - 2-28-2018 at 09:08 AM

The L.A. Bay museum (Carolina) has been selling my book, so maybe check there should you desire a copy before I get down there again (and it may be awhile for that). Last year, Carolina asked me to do a Powerpoint presentation/mission lecture one evening. I was surprised how many she got to attend! If you get north of the border with a U.S. mail address, the book can be ordered (free shipping) at www.oldmissions.com

Thank you for your interest!

StuckSucks - 2-28-2018 at 11:47 AM

Quote: Originally posted by 4x4abc

amazing how many forum miles you get out of 23 miles of dirt

There must be 100 threads dedicated to this topic.

willardguy - 2-28-2018 at 11:51 AM

Quote: Originally posted by StuckSucks

Quote: Originally posted by 4x4abc

amazing how many forum miles you get out of 23 miles of dirt

There must be 100 threads dedicated to this topic.

in a couple years we're gonna need a new dirt road!

AKgringo - 2-28-2018 at 12:02 PM

Quote: Originally posted by willardguy

Quote: Originally posted by StuckSucks

Quote: Originally posted by 4x4abc

amazing how many forum miles you get out of 23 miles of dirt

There must be 100 threads dedicated to this topic.

in a couple years we're gonna need a new dirt road!

There seem to be a lot of posts about what the conditions were, but we need to start posting forecasts to keep it fresh!

What will the afternoon conditions be on March 4th?

mtgoat666 - 2-28-2018 at 12:02 PM

Quote: Originally posted by willardguy

Quote: Originally posted by StuckSucks

Quote: Originally posted by 4x4abc

amazing how many forum miles you get out of 23 miles of dirt

There must be 100 threads dedicated to this topic.

in a couple years we're gonna need a new dirt road!

does waze work in baja?

you all talk about coco a lot, why dont you enlist him to post road reports????????

kbrauner - 3-29-2018 at 08:34 PM

Dumb Question: How does one create entries like the one immediately above wherein there are nested rectangles each with a heading that begins "Quote: Originally posted by ..."?

I'd really like to know how to do that. Thanks.

chuckie - 3-29-2018 at 09:20 PM

AND! as Baja Roads go, that 23 miles isn't even very bad...

kbrauner - 3-30-2018 at 07:45 AM

Elgatolco: Perhaps I'm dense, but I don't understand what you are trying to tell me. My original question remains. :-(

wilderone - 3-30-2018 at 07:49 AM

Quote: Originally posted by kbrauner

Elgatolco: Perhaps I'm dense, but I don't understand what you are trying to tell me. My original question remains. :-(

See the small square in the upper right hand corner that says "quote" ? Click on that first - original post shows up in a reply screen - then you add your additional reply.

kbrauner - 3-30-2018 at 12:04 PM

Thank you, wilderone and David K.

John Harper - 3-30-2018 at 12:33 PM

Quote: Originally posted by kbrauner

Dumb Question: How does one create entries like the one immediately above wherein there are nested rectangles each with a heading that begins "Quote: Originally posted by ..."?

I'd really like to know how to do that. Thanks.

Click the box in the upper right that says "QUOTE" and then you can reply to that post with the original post "quoted" in the rectangle.

Almost every internet forum uses the same process. Surprised you have not encountered one before.

John

AKgringo - 3-30-2018 at 12:57 PM

Quote: Originally posted by John Harper

Quote: Originally posted by kbrauner

There are other forums????

norte - 3-30-2018 at 01:32 PM

Is this the advertising section or Q&A section? or maybe its the personals?

norte - 3-30-2018 at 03:31 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K

Quote: Originally posted by norte

Is this the advertising section or Q&A section? or maybe its the personals?

Nope, it is Road Conditions... and it is still 23 dirt miles to Chapala! :lol:

Ah, then the offenders should take their advertising , etc posts elsewhere so we can enjoy the road condition posts.

PaulW - 3-30-2018 at 03:46 PM

I keep watching this thread - waiting for a picture of a paving machine.
Ha Ha

bajabuddha - 3-30-2018 at 04:01 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K

Or, we can continue filling the thread with these complaints and more non-road replies? What do you think? Hey, at least we are demonstrating the quote process, right?

....Izzat 'quote' or 'quota' process? Over 20 and counting today (I'm sure 21 is soon to follow); what's your one-day record so far? Must be a slow day in Sandy Eggo. Angel out shoppin'? :lol:

chavycha - 3-30-2018 at 04:01 PM

Here's your paving machine. Grab a shovel and help out!

[Edited on 3-31-2018 by chavycha]

chuckie - 3-30-2018 at 05:42 PM

DK not having a job is the norm aint it?...

mtgoat666 - 3-30-2018 at 05:47 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K

Quote: Originally posted by bajabuddha

Quote: Originally posted by David K

Or, we can continue filling the thread with these complaints and more non-road replies? What do you think? Hey, at least we are demonstrating the quote process, right?

....Izzat 'quote' or 'quota' process? Over 20 and counting today (I'm sure 21 is soon to follow); what's your one-day record so far? Must be a slow day in Sandy Eggo. Angel out shoppin'? :lol:

No Angel has a job and (right now) I don't! :lol:

(21)

If unemployed, and wife is providing, then you got the means and all the time in the world to be flocking around in baja! Camping is cheap. Why aren’t you out exploring?

norte - 3-30-2018 at 06:17 PM

Quote: Originally posted by chuckie

DK not having a job is the norm aint it?...

Whats there to worry about?

rts551 - 3-30-2018 at 07:10 PM

Quote: Originally posted by PaulW

I keep watching this thread - waiting for a picture of a paving machine.
Ha Ha

It was reported elsewhere they were in the area. Maybe for the repair you saw?

Now, Back to personals and advertisements.