David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64490
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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To Historic Agua Dulce 11/2002 & 7/2004
On the way home from Bahia de L.A. yesterday, we took a side trip to the famous water hole on the Camino Real.
The access from the new highway was made to provide water for construction. This route was described when I last went there in November, 2002.
Neal Johns followed me in soon after and found a superior access road, which I took back out to the highway, yesterday.
Here is the post from 2002 to recap, followed by my notes on the better access...
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AGUA DULCE was an important source of water to the original inhabitants of Baja, as well as the Spanish explorers, missionairies, and early Baja
travelers. It is on the El Camino Real midway between Mision Santa Maria and Mision San Fernando Velicata. Junipero Serra and Arthur North both wrote
about Agua Dulce in their journals.
In the Baja days before Highway 1, my parents and I camped there one night, in 1966, as it was just a quarter mile off the old main road. We were in a
Jeep Wagoneer heading for the tip of Baja (a two week trip, then).
The next trip to southern Baja was in 1973, and the construction of Highway 1 was going at a feverish clip. Water was needed for constrution, so a
road was graded to the spring 2.4 miles from the new road's route. We were detoured on to this side road and ended up at Agua Dulce, again!
Unfortunately, they bulldozed the gully containing the spring and it was an 'ugly' site.
This trip, I wanted to find this (once) famous water hole, again! Using a sharp eye and noting the milage given in the Baja California Guidebook by
Wheelock and Gulick, I found the turnoff... barely! Two deep gullies almost stopped me. But, with some road-building and the Tacoma's locking rear
differential, I got through. I arrived at the old main road after about 2 miles, then the fork to Agua Dulce was a short distance beyond. I will
provide GPS and milages at the bottom of tha page.
The spring is in a gully, and vegetation had all returned. The damage done in 1973 was not noticed, even the road into the gully was greatly erroded
and only serves the cattle who come here to drink the 'sweet' water. One tall blue palm really stands out, as well. I was happy to see how well nature
reclaimed and repaired the spring. I walked down to the large pool and took some photos and GPS readings.
The next two hours, I walked the El Camino Real east, a ways (just a cow path here), then circled around the gully. I saw many clam shell fragments in
the desert, not yet fossilized. It may have been left from natives or more recent visitors, who enjoy sea food? I also climbed almost to the top of
the south mesa for a bird's eye view of Agua Dulce. That's when I noticed an Indian trail going up the opposite mesa! Baja is just so wonderful a
place for exploring... I will return to Agua Dulce!
My next stop was Rancho Santa Ynez (Ines), and I decided to use the old Baja main road as far as possible.
TO BE CONTINUED....But first...here are some GPS wayoints & milages
If you have either the Baja Almanac see map N-19(E-5) or Topo Atlas map B72(C-2). The highway is actually 1-2 miles south of where it is drawn betwen
Sonora and San Roque. The Almanac and older Topo Atlas just 'paved' the old road rather than showing the exact highway location.
The highway construction water truck road to Agua Dulce is 5.4 miles from Cafe Sonora, (Sonora is just past the signed road for El Marmol). Just past
Km. 157 the highway crosses a gully and the faint road goes off to the left (north-east). GPS (NAD27) is 29?52.59'/ 114?51.69'.
The once graded road crosses two deep washouts (4WD) and goes 1.6 miles to the old main road (29?52.99'/ 114?50.11'), where you turn right (east).
Go 0.5 mi. on the old road (note house-trailer off to right) and it brings you to the Agua Dulce road (29?52.81'/ 114?49.58') where you will turn left
(north-east).
Agua Dulce is 0.3 mile away at 29?52.97'/ 114?49.38' This waypoint is taken at the pool down in the gully. The road ends on the south side of the
gully. The tall, magestic blue fan palm will tell you you have arrived.
Back on the old road, it is a pretty good drive all the way to where it ends near the cave painting parking area/palapa two miles from Catavina. The
other direction on the old road (towards Sonora) is very bad, with deep ruts/high rocky crown. In 2000, the Baja 2000 ran through here as did the old
Baja races before Highway 1 was built.
The old southern route out from El Marmol joins in 2.4 miles from the Agua Dulce road, it is marked by a small pile of rocks (29?51.34'/ 114?48.52').
1.8 miles further is the original La Virgen shrine and once a tiny store served travelers was across the road, 29?49.87'/ 114?47.97'. A road branches
right to Highway 1, a mile away at 29?49.41'/ 114?48.63'. Continuing south on the old main road, it passes through some interesting boulder fields and
reaches Highway 1 at 29?45.15'/ 114?44.75', just north of the Pictograph parking area, or about 2.4 miles from Catavina
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July 6, 2004: We followed the above road in (along Arroyo Agua Dulce in Almanac) and barely got across one deep gully (thank you locking rear
differential). The spring was unchanged, which is good.
On the way out, we turned south on the old main road, as before. See New Baja Almanac Map 16 (E-5), however it shows the old road 'paved', when
actually the paved highway is 1.5 miles southwest and parallel to the old road.
The old road goes through a natural granite wall soon after passing the Agua Dulce 'driveway'. Just through the 'wall', a road branches right and goes
straight to the highway at 29-51.66', 114-50.35' near Arroyo Agua Chuco on the Almanac. A 'rancho' is across the highway and just west of this better
Agua Dulce road.
I will follow up with a couple photos at the spring, taken in 2002...
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64490
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Here is a photo from Neal Johns taken from the north side of the gully looking south to the south side where the road is.
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Bruce R Leech
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6796
Registered: 9-20-2004
Location: Ensenada formerly Mulege
Member Is Offline
Mood: A lot cooler than Mulege
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David K can you tell me again which gps map datum you use.
thanks Bruce
Bruce R Leech
Ensenada
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64490
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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NAD27 Mexico
This is because we use the Baja Almanac, Mexican topos, which are drawn using that datum.
On my GPS web site (linked in my notebook and web site, below each of my posts) I explain this, FYI.
However, even if your GPS was accidently left at the factory setting (WGS 84), you would be pretty close.
Hope you enjoy this stuff...
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Bruce R Leech
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6796
Registered: 9-20-2004
Location: Ensenada formerly Mulege
Member Is Offline
Mood: A lot cooler than Mulege
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Thanks David you are a gentleman and a scaler.
Bruce R Leech
Ensenada
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64490
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Arthur...
My U2U box is full, so I cannot respond to your quest there about Agua Dulce... The answer is no, it is not too close to the old road... nobody uses
the old road in that area much. Neal and Marian Johns camped there, see http://vivabaja.com/neal2 for his sunrise at Agua Dulce photo.
UPDATE: I just cleaned up my in-box, and U2U works again...
[Edited on 2-11-2005 by David K]
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