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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8921
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Black Trans Lives Matter
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David,
I'm not one to dwell on the past...just learn from it as best I can. One more thing I do differently is I go in and get all of the fluids checked by
a professional before I leave for an adventure. You just can't be too careful out there...
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seth
Newbie
Posts: 22
Registered: 3-9-2004
Member Is Offline
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msm
i'm never the driver in baja, don't even have a driver's license in the states, so take this question with a grain of salt...
how the heck do you *drive* out of mission santa maria? we were there a couple of weeks ago and did the drive in 12 mi, walk the last 2 thing. awesome
area. going down the hill the last 2 miles doesn't seem that outlandish, but coming out? do people actually drive it, or do they just winch themselves
out? the steepness is bad, but much worse is there isn't any traction with all that loose rotten granite gravel/dirt. airing down tires and off road
gears and lockers and all that, yeah, but still.
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8921
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Black Trans Lives Matter
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| Quote: | | Originally posted by sethhow the heck do you *drive* out of mission santa maria? |
Easy, you just hit your rear locker button, make sure the transfer case is in 4LO and you drive...slowly. Each of these three vehicles made the drive
w/o any problems or issues:
My Wrangler Rubicon
My friend Chris Glass' Ford Explorer
My friend Brad Green's Jeep Cherokee XJ
All of us have locking rear differentials, and selectable front locking differentials - locking differentials transfer 100% traction to each wheel,
turning simultaneously.
Brad:
Chris:
Ken (me):
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Neal Johns
Super Nomad
Posts: 1687
Registered: 10-31-2002
Location: Lytle Creek, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: In love!
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Here is the Toyota with Camper that pulled Ken's Jeeps up the hill.
My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64521
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Neal, time to clean your glasses!
seth, it is steep yet doable with ground clearance, low range 4WD and a locking rear differential! It was easier in my truck then when I went up it on
a quad in '99 (and got bounced off... see the blood on that rock, lol?)
Here is my Tacoma in 2003 climbing up that grade I call The Widowmaker:
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64521
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Here is chicagoross' Jeep going down the Widowmaker on that same trip:
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seth
Newbie
Posts: 22
Registered: 3-9-2004
Member Is Offline
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so lockers really do make all the difference, huh? good to know. while we are posting rig pictures, here is my brother's beside the 1 really
noticeable cactus on the MSM road, about 1/2 way out.
[Edited on 5-2-2006 by seth]
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64521
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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So you hiked the last 2 miles? The photo of your brother's rig (Toyota) says to me, he could have made it. But, without a second vehicle along...
better to play it safe!
The 'auto' road continues beyond the mission about a mile and a half (take left fork out of arroyo) to a bulldozed grade where the folks at Rancho
Santa Ynez finally abandoned their effort to build a road to Gonzaga Bay.
The top of that grade (a short hike from the point deep ruts stop your rig) are some petroglyphs and a view down into the Santa Maria Canyon... An
Indian trail (also used by the Jesuits as the El Camino Real) drops into the canyon.
When Junipero Serra passed over it in 1769 he ordered a better route be constructed, along with a cargo trail to Bahia San Luis Gonzaga where supplies
arrived for the mission program.
The newer El Camino Real stayed out of the canyon, near the north rim. It decends the mountain and joins the bulldozed grade near the point you can no
longer drive further.
The cargo trail is further north, more direct to Gonzaga Bay (near Papa Fernandez') from a point about 11 miles from Santa Ynez (down from the
highpoint where you see Punta Final and the gulf).
Photos at http://vivabaja.com/403 and El Camino Real details on Don Jorge's web page http://www.southcoastfarms.com/gonzaga_to_mission_santa_mari...
[Edited on 2-5-2006 by David K]
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8921
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Black Trans Lives Matter
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When out in a lone vehicle, its always better to play it safe. This particular trail is very slick with all of the loose dirt and granite. Plus,
with that swampy bog, it would be easy to get stuck in the mud. Me, I jumped my Rubicon over a submerged tree stump in the bog, and
got a little air under those BFGs in the process...
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bajataco
Nomad
Posts: 117
Registered: 11-26-2003
Location: Arizona
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Ken Cooke
Plus, with that swampy bog, it would be easy to get stuck in the mud. |
From personal experience, I can say that Ken is absolutely correct 
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bajataco
Nomad
Posts: 117
Registered: 11-26-2003
Location: Arizona
Member Is Offline
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A very cool video of my friend Doron driving his Toyota Landcruiser through that same bog. (2.89mb - right click and "save target as" )
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64521
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Wow, he sure got way airborn!
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8921
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Black Trans Lives Matter
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Great video!!
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64521
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Ken... we need a video like that showing the deer ramming into your Jeep's door in Baja!!! 
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8921
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Black Trans Lives Matter
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
Ken... we need a video like that showing the deer ramming into your Jeep's door in Baja!!! |
How about an in-cab camera showing me and Suzanne while it happened? The tires were aired down to 10 p.s.i. going 40 m.p.h. - front antiswaybars were
also disconnected!! I held the steering wheel in a DEATH GRIP as I went around the turn, and luckily I didn't get knocked off the
Hwy - it would have been a nice roll all the way down...
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BAJACAT
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2902
Registered: 11-21-2005
Location: NATIONAL CITY, CA
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajataco
| Quote: | Originally posted by Ken Cooke
Plus, with that swampy bog, it would be easy to get stuck in the mud. |
From personal experience, I can say that Ken is absolutely correct
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Bajataco where is this picture taken it'sthe road towards the santa maria mission
BAJA IS WHAT YOU WANTED TO BE, FUN,DANGEROUS,INCREDIBLE, REMOTE, EXOTIC..JUST GO AND HAVE FUN.....
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Neal Johns
Super Nomad
Posts: 1687
Registered: 10-31-2002
Location: Lytle Creek, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: In love!
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Great picture!
The bog is usually not too bad. But it is frequently overgrown like that. It's at the bottom of the "Widowmaker" for about 50 yards. What do you say,
guys? Is it about 50 yards long? I can't remember the easy parts since I hit 75 years old a couple of weeks ago.
My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64521
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Yes Neal... it is perhaps a hundred meters from the bottom of the widowmaker and another 100 meters in the bog.
I had no problem driving in the creek/bog... just slow and sure in low range 4WD...
After the bog, the road climbs out of that arroyo, over a boulder hill and into the mission valley... a mile and a half from the widowmaker.
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bajataco
Nomad
Posts: 117
Registered: 11-26-2003
Location: Arizona
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by BAJACAT
where is this picture taken it'sthe road towards the santa maria mission
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Yep, just as Neal and DK described above. It is shortly before you get to the mission. On this particular trip, the bog had been "wallowed" out by
previous vehicles, and the resulting hole was completely submerged under muddy water. To make matters worse, the whole thing was covered with fallen
palm debris, which upon exit from the "hole" made for a nasty blockade of slippery mess to get over. My little 32" tires weren't up to the task, not
even with the rear differential locked. My buddy's TLC was on 35" tires and locked up. Here is a pic of the TLC on 35's getting into the hole to give
an idea of what I mean
The trip gallery can be seen HERE
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bajalou
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4459
Registered: 3-11-2004
Location: South of the broder
Member Is Offline
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From Space
Here's David and Don Jorge's waypoints from far away--
[Edited on 2-8-2006 by bajalou]
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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