BajaNomad - Single track near Catavina

Single track near Catavina

brumsky - 1-18-2019 at 04:34 PM

Heading down to explore area around Catavina in April. Does anyone have any single track routes they recommend? I have done the rock trail, but not much else around there.

Also any advice on places to stay in the area. Wanted to check out the Punta San Carlos area as well.

I have a bunch of single track routes of some other areas in baja I would be happy to offer up to anyone who likes. Bay of LA, Gonzaga, 22-day trail, tractor trail, Rock trail, RSV, and some really nice stuff near El Coyote.

motoged - 1-18-2019 at 04:38 PM

Try the trail to Santa Maria mission that heads east out of Santa Inez....a nice day trip in and out. :light:

lotsa stuff to explore westerly from Catavina hotel....

fishbuck - 1-18-2019 at 04:44 PM

You guys are geniuses!
I'm going single track riding in Catavina.
I better get to my storage and start wrenching on the Honda.

Jinete Viejo - 1-18-2019 at 06:57 PM

Check your U2U Brumsky.

JZ - 1-18-2019 at 07:02 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Jinete Viejo

Check your U2U Brumsky.

Post them here. You can upload kmz and gpx files right into the message.

[Edited on 1-19-2019 by JZ]

advrider - 1-18-2019 at 08:40 PM

The ride out to the old mission is good but rocky, not suere I would go solo! There are some big climbs coming back out. I have some tracks but you might have most of them already? Cactus, 22 day trail, window rock and one that runs out to Solo sports at punta San Carlos. Might have a few others?

JZ - 1-18-2019 at 10:54 PM

How much of the 22 day trail is single track?

basautter - 1-19-2019 at 05:56 AM

The Bill Nichols trail goes from Catavina to EL Rosario, and is my Baja favorite. Kasey Smith (Lizard Lady) published the track (and more) in one of her books. THe books are pricey, but worth it if you don't already know Baja single track.

http://www.bajagpsguide.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&a...

advrider - 1-19-2019 at 09:08 AM

JZ, the first half of that is two track, the second is the single track and is awesome. The single track starts at some really cool mud hills, but be aware that one section has a locked gate you have to back track if you don't have the work around (you have it).We rode it last year and ended up in the dark the last two hours into Catavina! Hope to do all of it in the day light this year.

motoged - 1-19-2019 at 09:36 AM

This track is the Bill Nichols trail....:

Quote: Originally posted by JZ

How much of the 22 day trail is single track?

brumsky - 1-19-2019 at 12:12 PM

Thanks a ton for all the replies! You guys are awesome. Looks like there is a ton of good trails to explore down there. If I can send anyone the tracks I have please let me know. I also have a lot of tracks for southern California if anyone is interested. Just PM me or email me mjg989@gmail.com

Noticed JZ's map didn't have Fred's Tractor trail on it. Thought I would share it. Sorry if the images are blurry. JZ, how did you get such a nice image uploaded? its only letting me do 250 kB

freds 1.1.PNG - 93kB

TMW - 1-19-2019 at 12:28 PM

The bottom image looks like the Turquesa Trail, never heard it called Fred's Tractor Trail.

TMW - 1-19-2019 at 12:54 PM

Larger image of the Turquesa Mine Trail.

[Edited on 1-19-2019 by TMW]

[Edited on 10-29-2022 by BajaNomad]

brumsky - 1-19-2019 at 01:04 PM

Good to know! I should have known my buddy Fred was full of chit.

TMW - 1-19-2019 at 01:22 PM

Kacey Smith in her GPS Guidebook calls it "The XR Ride" and says it is the toughest ride in the book going uphill. She also says a 4 wheeler can't get thru the wash but I know of two Nomads who have done it in 4 wheel SUVs. The Squarecircle and 4x4abc. I was with the Squarecircle when he did it in his Range Rover back in 2006.

David K - 1-19-2019 at 01:40 PM

Well, now, hang on... Fred Hampe of Rancho Santa Ynez, who built the road to Mission Santa Maria and 2 miles beyond, is credited for building the La Turquesa road as we learned... I think it was Larry (bajatrailrider) who also verified this?

Perhaps the La Turquesa Canyon was the next best attempt location at a short cut between Santa Ynez and Punta Final? The Mission Santa Maria route was built in the late 50s and early 60s. The route was abandoned at the edge of the deep Santa Maria Canyon, 2 miles past the mission.

Perhaps that is when Fred moved to the next pass south, La Turquesa Canyon? Otherwise, the poor road from Laguna Chapala or a better, but longer drive route through Calamahjué Canyon was how Santa Ynez could communicate with its other property at Punta Final.

Here are the first photos of Fred's road where it drops down into La Turquesa Canyon I took in Feb. 2007... The Squarecircle with help from TW and others would later get through from the east side.

David K - 1-19-2019 at 01:47 PM

Tom, it was May, 2007 you guys cleared the way and Roy made it to Hwy. 1 from Hwy. 5:

=============================================================

In May, 2007... Roy went in from the Hwy. 5 side, to the turquoise mine and tried to scout a route beyond to the bottom of the grade:

Roy needed more help and time to find the lost road across the valley floor. Nomads Steekers and Ken Cooke made trips in to see if they could get across.

Steekers took this photo from the turquoise mine area showing the grade coming down the mountain...

Roy, TW and others helping forged a road across the valley from the turquoise mine to the foot of the mountain:

Only motorcycle tracks could be seen on this former mine service road... It was very steep, but the Rover with Roy at the wheel, made it up!

The top of the grade... where I was the previous year...

The road on to Hwy. 1:

For more on finding this La Turquesa Canyon shortcut: http://vivabaja.com/207

JZ - 1-19-2019 at 04:47 PM

Quote: Originally posted by advrider

JZ, the first half of that is two track, the second is the single track and is awesome. The single track starts at some really cool mud hills, but be aware that one section has a locked gate you have to back track if you don't have the work around (you have it).We rode it last year and ended up in the dark the last two hours into Catavina! Hope to do all of it in the day light this year.

Where does the single track start? I'm guessing at the place it intersects with the route down to Canoas? Between there and Catavina?

advrider - 1-20-2019 at 09:44 AM

Don't have my map in front of me, but that sounds correct. Where the track cuts back inland from the coast on the main dirt road. If you are looking to the right you will see the mud hills and that's where the single track starts.

brumsky - 1-20-2019 at 05:13 PM

Anyone ever been to this area? Around 29.896388, -115.418035?

Im seeing a ton of tracks around there on Google Earth.

white1.jpg - 235kB

JZ - 1-20-2019 at 05:23 PM

Attached is the track I have for El Rosario to Catavina.

The blue is suppose to be an alternative for a locked gate. Looking at Google Earth it seems like a truck could get to San Fernado pretty easily. I see buildings down there.

The red routes are well established roads from the hwy to the coast. Would like to ride El Rosario to Catavina, but we don't have the range for non-stop, so trying to figure out meet up points with the truck.

Questions:
- Where exactly is the gate? And is it in fact locked?
- When you leave the ocean at San Fernado, is that when it becomes single track?
- Is the route from Santa Catarina to Catavina single track?

Attachment: Rt El Rosario to Catavina.kmz (9kB)
This file has been downloaded 327 times

Attachment: Alternative for Locked Gate.kmz (3kB)
This file has been downloaded 265 times

[Edited on 1-21-2019 by JZ]

[Edited on 10-29-2022 by BajaNomad]

advrider - 1-20-2019 at 06:37 PM

I think it was 120 miles total, maybe 60 of it single track. The gate is just a mile or two past the blue line (work around) that you put in. You can drive the two track in a truck no problem all the way to where the single track starts,a few miles west of the blue line. If you look on the map you can come in from the hwy on the dirt road that the single track starts on, North of Catavina rather then drive the dirt road all the way there....

JZ - 1-20-2019 at 06:56 PM

Quote: Originally posted by advrider

I think it was 120 miles total, maybe 60 of it single track. The gate is just a mile or two past the blue line (work around) that you put in. You can drive the two track in a truck no problem all the way to where the single track starts,a few miles west of the blue line. If you look on the map you can come in from the hwy on the dirt road that the single track starts on, North of Catavina rather then drive the dirt road all the way there....

Thx my friend. How's the coastline down there? Any place worth camping at for one night?

I see there is a tiny little marina. I guess they fish the reefs of the two small islands that are just offshore.

[Edited on 1-21-2019 by JZ]

[Edited on 10-29-2022 by BajaNomad]

advrider - 1-20-2019 at 07:00 PM

There were a couple of places that you could camp. I saw the marina but didn't stop in. We will Be running it again in March so I will take more notice of the area.

JZ - 1-20-2019 at 07:15 PM

Quote: Originally posted by advrider

There were a couple of places that you could camp. I saw the marina but didn't stop in. We will Be running it again in March so I will take more notice of the area.

Looking more at GE it looks like you might be able to take a truck the whole way to Santa Catarina.

Not necessarily on the route I posted, but just looking at it, there are tracks all over the place to the NW of where the gate is.

brumsky - 1-20-2019 at 11:41 PM

Thought I would throw this alternate route out there. It would cut the route down to about 90 miles from the highway, about the range of the group I am riding with. We won't have a chase truck so looking for something a little shorter than the full route. It meets back up to the original route a little before the single track begins (heading west to east). It also goes by a single track network (blue circle).

I have never been, so no idea if this route is any good.

Any thoughts?

bn alternate 4.jpg - 78kB

Attachment: BN alternate.gpx (14kB)
This file has been downloaded 262 times

[Edited on 1-21-2019 by brumsky]

brumsky - 1-20-2019 at 11:51 PM

Better screenshot

motoged - 1-21-2019 at 10:52 AM

Sharing known tracks can offer folks an idea of where they could go, based on where someone else has gone before.....and is a frequent practice. This is often a good thing.

My own recent Baja riding (past three years) has been based on looking at maps and GE for areas that interest me...often off the beaten tracks of Lizard Lady and recent ADVrider trip report routes.....(which seem to form some Holy Grail of where to ride....which leads to folks "bagging peaks" [old climber's reference]).

Nothing wrong or bad about that, but leads to thinking inside the box of always following a recipe.

My riding/exploring pleasure these days is found by following arroyos until I can't, following a set of tire tracks that could be a week or many years old....just to see where it goes. I like to find loops to ride, but have no problem riding back out on same track/route....

This has taken me places where no one has ever ridden before or to places that others will likely never see...

....And then open up your curiousity for an area and go explore it....you don't always need to be spoon-fed where to go to enjoy Baja.....or anywhere else.

Enjoy the popular routes...encounter others doing the same...and have fun doing that. If a person's time in Baja is limited or one is less comfortable going off the popular routes, sharing popular routes is a great intro to Baja....

I enjoy the "track less traveled"....

YMMV :coolup:

JZ - 1-21-2019 at 11:10 AM

Quote: Originally posted by brumsky

Thought I would throw this alternate route out there. It would cut the route down to about 90 miles from the highway, about the range of the group I am riding with. We won't have a chase truck so looking for something a little shorter than the full route. It meets back up to the original route a little before the single track begins (heading west to east). It also goes by a single track network (blue circle).

I have never been, so no idea if this route is any good.

Any thoughts?

[Edited on 1-21-2019 by brumsky]

Thanks for posting this. Helps me out greatly. Think we might come in off the highway on your route.

JZ - 1-21-2019 at 11:14 AM

Brumsky, if you put "=800x" after IMG it will avoid it stretching the page.

[IMG=800x]

brumsky - 1-21-2019 at 11:25 AM

Happy to help!

I'll be checking it out in April. If you make it before then please let me know how it goes.

brumsky - 1-21-2019 at 11:31 AM

Quote: Originally posted by JZ

Brumsky, if you put "=800x" after IMG it will avoid it stretching the page.

[IMG=800x]

Good to know. Thanks

advrider - 1-21-2019 at 12:01 PM

Quote: Originally posted by motoged

Sharing known tracks can offer folks an idea of where they could go, based on where someone else has gone before.....and is a frequent practice. This is often a good thing.

My own recent Baja riding (past three years) has been based on looking at maps and GE for areas that interest me...often off the beaten tracks of Lizard Lady and recent ADVrider trip report routes.....(which seem to form some Holy Grail of where to ride....which leads to folks "bagging peaks" [old climber's reference]).

Nothing wrong or bad about that, but leads to thinking inside the box of always following a recipe.

My riding/exploring pleasure these days is found by following arroyos until I can't, following a set of tire tracks that could be a week or many years old....just to see where it goes. I like to find loops to ride, but have no problem riding back out on same track/route....

This has taken me places where no one has ever ridden before or to places that others will likely never see...

....And then open up your curiousity for an area and go explore it....you don't always need to be spoon-fed where to go to enjoy Baja.....or anywhere else.

Enjoy the popular routes...encounter others doing the same...and have fun doing that. If a person's time in Baja is limited or one is less comfortable going off the popular routes, sharing popular routes is a great intro to Baja....

I enjoy the "track less traveled"....

YMMV :coolup:

Well said! Sometimes I like to plan it out and other times just wonder and see where it goes! It is nice to have a place to share tracks and learn more about the area. A lot of the tracks we talk about you can find or buy from the lizard lady, so most aren't super secret. I refer to DavidK'S maps all of the time, saves me work.... Thanks to all that share..

motoged - 1-21-2019 at 12:20 PM

Anyone want to buy my Lizard Lady full kit? Bin der dun dat .... :light:

David K - 1-21-2019 at 12:39 PM

Quote: Originally posted by brumsky

Anyone ever been to this area? Around 29.896388, -115.418035?

Im seeing a ton of tracks around there on Google Earth.

Yes, that's the Las Pintas Fossil Grotto region. The best way to it is along Arroyo San Fernando from the Punta San Carlos graded road, passing Malvar. There is another way but much slower and with silt from the mud hills.
See my trip report web page: http://vivabaja.com/Las%20Pintas%20Fossil%20Grotto/

TMW - 1-21-2019 at 01:35 PM

JZ looking at the map you posted above the pin at Santa Catarina is 87 miles from El Rosario if you can make it there. That according to Kacey Smith's GPS chart. The trail comes out to the road just north of the ranch like 1/8 of a mile and passes thru Santa Catarina.

brumsky - 1-21-2019 at 03:48 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K

Quote: Originally posted by brumsky

Anyone ever been to this area? Around 29.896388, -115.418035?

Im seeing a ton of tracks around there on Google Earth.

Thanks David. Those petroglyphs look pretty amazing. I will have to check those out for sure. Thanks for the report!

satmike - 1-21-2019 at 05:04 PM

I have a 160+ mile range and I think sometimes that's not enough. I'd be careful or carry extra gas if I only had a 90 mile range. Sometimes you put in more miles if you have to backtrack.

I'm sure glad I got to ride a lot of the popular singletracks a long time ago when they were secret and smooth

JZ - 1-21-2019 at 05:25 PM

Quote: Originally posted by satmike

I'm sure glad I got to ride a lot of the popular singletracks a long time ago when they were secret and smooth

Lol. Everyone thinks they are the last ones to the "secret club."

If you really want to see stuff no one sees, buy a boat.

rich t - 1-22-2019 at 11:41 AM

JZ, I sent you that track last year, the gate does not have a lock on it, there is a sign that says NO MOTORIZED VEHICLES, you have to drive to the Ranchers house to get thru and there is a gate at the other end of the property, Very little of the whole trail from El Rosario to Catavina is single track. After you take the detour and head toward El Progresso you can continue to Hiway 1 or take the right turn toward Santa Catarina, after about 5 miles it will turn to a single track almost to Santa Catarina, that is another good bailout and ride the hiway to Catavina, if you continue from Santa Catarina to Catavina in the wash it was soft sand and alot of rock.
There is a campground about 7 or 8 miles before San Carlos, mostly windsurfers there. I carry a 1 gallon roto pack and have a 3.2 gallon tank, can do 150 miles.

satmike - 1-22-2019 at 12:37 PM

Are you the Rich that rode through San Carlos a few years ago and did the RR on Advrider," Baja on little pigs?

[Edited on 1-22-2019 by satmike]

rich t - 1-22-2019 at 07:15 PM

Satmike, I have no idea what you are talking about. We were planning on checking out San Carlos this FEB. Is there any place there to get gas, eat, etc,

satmike - 1-22-2019 at 09:30 PM

Not much out here this time of year. Solosports is closed with only a caretaker there with no services. You can camp here, but the only amenity is an outhouse. No water. Maybe gas at the fishcamp, but lobster season ends Feb 15th and it will turn into a ghost town for a while.
We are camped down the beach a little bit, but can't offer much as I don't drive to town much and I have a moto to feed. Stop by and say hi if you come through, we're not hard to find

rich t - 1-23-2019 at 07:27 PM

Satmike. There are 4 of us from San Felipe that are doing the Mission Impossible with Ken Cooke in Feb. I am not sure of what date he is heading
back, it sounds like the Mission Santa Maria trail has alot of water so he is going back thru San Felipe. We may be heading to San Carlos around the
22nd of Feb. I have a track that drops in from the mountain east of San Carlos. not sure if it is a single track or two track, we are doing a 6 day Moto
ride in March and wanted to see what was there, how do we find you when
we get there? We will be in Jeeps on this trip.

advrider - 1-23-2019 at 07:55 PM

Rich, when in March are you guys doing your trip? We start ours the first Saturday in March from Tecate, headed down the Pacific to Cals the first night...

satmike - 1-24-2019 at 09:26 AM

White Dodge and Fun Runner trailer only a couple hundred yards from Solosports. Can't miss us. Trail off the San Carlos mesa is a singletrack mule trail from the old days.

brumsky - 1-24-2019 at 11:04 PM

Satmike,

Will you be there the second week in April?

Anywhere you would recommend to get some gas in San Carlos or along the coast from El Rosario?

rich t - 1-25-2019 at 06:50 PM

Quote: Originally posted by advrider

Rich, when in March are you guys doing your trip? We start ours the first Saturday in March from Tecate, headed down the Pacific to Cals the first night...

We are starting on March 16th, We have 3 different possible staring points, will have it figured out by Feb, 25th.

satmike - 1-25-2019 at 07:57 PM

Brumsky
I won't be here, I have to be back to work by the 1st of April.
There's a couple of fish camps along the coast and a fish camp here, but I would'nt count on gas. It sucks to carry but the 5 quart oil jugs work good to carry gas. then pour it in as soon as you can. Better than the alternative.
Solosports the windsurf/ kite outfitter will be opening about then, but they won't have gas

[Edited on 1-26-2019 by satmike]

brumsky - 1-25-2019 at 11:57 PM

That's good info. Thanks Satmike.

Sorry you have to head back to work. Happens to the best of us

brumsky - 4-2-2019 at 08:42 PM

Have some disturbing news. A friend and his son was following the main track from El Rosario to Catavina. He missed the workaround for the locked gate heading NE from the mudhills towards the Cactus trail. An older rancher let them through the gate. But then part way through the trail a couple younger ranchers stopped them and demanded his son give them the go pro on his helmet. Guess they were being pretty aggressive. They turned around and got out of there and were ok. Just wanted to post and tell people to steer clear of that ranch.

ehall - 4-3-2019 at 04:51 AM

Wow. Maybe something going on back there they didn't want on camera.

advrider - 4-3-2019 at 08:17 AM

We rode the route that Brumsky posted on page two a few weeks ago. It is shorter and will avoid the gate/ranch where the others ran into problems. It was a much funner route than the dirt two track down the coast. See my current ride report for picture of the area.

brumsky - 4-3-2019 at 10:10 AM

Does anyone have a single track trail they would recommend heading west out of Catavina towards the Cactus trail? I have routes for the Dead Cow Canyon, but that looks really hard and we have a ton of miles to get done that day. I saw an older post mentioning a 'fast, flowy' single track, in that area, just not sure where it is.