PaulW
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Pole line 2023
Just a quickie More later
The trip 2/6-7 is over. We found more difficulties than ever before.
Issues were route finding in En Medio, difficulty for washes along the pipe road. Steep drop offs at each entrance or exit to the major Arroyos. All
the Pole line Arroyos were boulder fields and a minimal of sand.
The result was a slow trip.
Each driver will all have their own story.
Allan, Harvey, Eric, and Paul from San Felipe and Rudy and Phil from the states.
The Suzuki has moved further down the Arroyo and is becoming more compressed.
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David K
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Thanks Paul...
Here's the Suzuki Samurai, in 2015... about to be further crushed by Ken Cooke's mighty Rubicon!
[Edited on 2-9-2023 by David K]
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Ken Cooke
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That sounds like it was quiet a run! I was recovering from a mild case of Norovirus that I caught at work, so it was good that I stayed home and
rested.
When you described "Steep dropoffs" by how many feet? Were the arroyos too much for the Jeeps? Is the trail shut down, effectively due to erosion?
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PaulW
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Heavy flooding down all the washes resulted in drop-offs even on the smallest washes.
Steep drop-offs impact the rigs with small tires requiring dragging over the rocks and sand. Jeeps had no issues, but all the Toyotas had to drag
their bottoms. Most drop-offs were 2-3' two were 5+'. Going down was not problem but going up one Tacoma had to be winched to get up. After that issue
we found a go-around easier way up for that one for the following rigs.
Bad hill, BB hill, and other climbs were about the same as previous. En Medio crossing was about the same and was slow climbing over the boulders.
Nobody got stuck.
One thing I need to investigate is Jaquejel. Jaquegel looks like it is smooth sand as far as we could see from above on the traditional trail. That
would sure improve the drive time. I will investigate next fall.
Camping just south of Choabuzo in the En Medio wash was a pleasure. Next to the high bank out of the wind and plenty of firewood available. And
further south in En Medio there are similar camping places all the way until you exit the wash. En Medio wash exit was the easier than previous trips.
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David K
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No question, the Toyota trucks (any trucks) have a bit of a rear overhang/ poor departure angle!
I had no such issues on PLR 2015, but getting to Mission Santa María with sudden drop-offs, MSM 2010, was another story!  :
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geoffff
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...but who has more fun?!?
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mtgoat666
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That bonfire looks like knuckledragging offroader’s typical handiwork that results in locked gates. If i looked out on my unfenced land and saw
that, i would put up a fence tomorrow.
[Edited on 4-20-2023 by mtgoat666]
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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David K
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I thought fire was good? Keeps people from freezing, cooks meat so it can be eaten, provides light in the dark for reading. In goat's world, we would
be cold, hungry, and clueless! Ya, that sounds about right for that kind of restrictive, going backwards thinking! 🙄😂
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mtgoat666
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Are you suggesting this group of knuckledraggers was a book club reading/discussing romance novellas? 
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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PaulW
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Goat is going to twist all comments inside and out
Wow
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TMW
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He ran out of tin cans to eat.
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
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Quote: Originally posted by PaulW  | Heavy flooding down all the washes resulted in drop-offs even on the smallest washes.
Steep drop-offs impact the rigs with small tires requiring dragging over the rocks and sand. Jeeps had no issues, but all the Toyotas had to drag
their bottoms. Most drop-offs were 2-3' two were 5+'. Going down was not problem but going up one Tacoma had to be winched to get up. After that issue
we found a go-around easier way up for that one for the following rigs.
Bad hill, BB hill, and other climbs were about the same as previous. En Medio crossing was about the same and was slow climbing over the boulders.
Nobody got stuck.
One thing I need to investigate is Jaquejel. Jaquegel looks like it is smooth sand as far as we could see from above on the traditional trail. That
would sure improve the drive time. I will investigate next fall.
Camping just south of Choabuzo in the En Medio wash was a pleasure. Next to the high bank out of the wind and plenty of firewood available. And
further south in En Medio there are similar camping places all the way until you exit the wash. En Medio wash exit was the easier than previous trips.
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In other words, nothing extreme. My Gladiator on 38's is completely a different experience than my TJ Rubicon on 35's.
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PaulW
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no problem for your Gladiator
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David K
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It is great that you will take it to Baja! I hope it is keeping you happy since we saw you last, at Neal's service.
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thebajarunner
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Location: Arizona....."Free at last from crumbling Cali
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Mood: muy amable
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What is a "Pole Line" run without Ken Cooke?
And the annual t shirt?
Now my collection has a gap
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AKgringo
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About that bonfire....
Paul, that pile of brush looks like something that your group discovered, left by the floods of Hurrican Kay. If so, you guys did good preventing
that rubbish from making its' way to the beach!
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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PaulW
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When the floods came down the arroyo the largest trees catch floating debris. The arroyo at the place of the image is about 200 yards wide and mostly
sand with some small channels. There were numerous trees like the one we burned which was near our camp.
The unknown debris obviously headed down stream, probably ended up in L Salida. No chance any of the flood debris would ever get to a beach.
This was on the beginning of the trip and the arroyo is En Medio.
Later at the east end of the trip Arroyo Jaquegel showed a great deal of flooding but was missing the trees that catch the flood debris. That arroyo
was wide and very sandy. The water flow from Jaquegel flows into Arroyo Grande and then into the south end of L Salida. Once again no debris gets to
the beach.
L Salida now days is a land locked and usually dry. Of course it absorbs a great amount of flood water that after time just soaks into the earth.
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PaulW
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Hurricane Kay:
And not related to the Pole line.
When driving south from San Felipe we found the arroyos with bare sand and the usual clumps of debris caught by the large trees/bushes.
It has been many years since the flooding from the arroyos had debris and water that reached the sea of Cortez. Most of the time the water is
absorbed into the porous sand and the debris is left in the arroyos.
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Ken Cooke
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My 38" Patagonias are down to the last ⅓rd of tread. I'm looking at either 38" Ridge Grapplers, 39.5" BFG KO²s or the 40" Trail Grapplers.
Something tall and sturdy with a quiet to tolerable ride and more durable than the Patagonias.
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AKgringo
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Ken, it is good to see you posting again, I have always appreciated your contributions to this forum!
[Edited on 4-24-2023 by AKgringo]
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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