Camping in Baja......
Camping in Baja
by Peter Kohlsaat
Peter Kohlsaat is a syndicated cartoonist with the LA Times and an avid fisherman and explorer. He can be visited at his own website, http://www.kohlsaat.com.
Shade and fresh water. These are the only two things absolutely necessary for camping in Baja. Everything else is a matter of personal preference.
Camping is a relative term. For some, camping constitutes spending a week at an RV park in their pickup and camper. (Roughing it indicates no electric
hookups). For others it includes nothing less than total wilderness with just what can be carried on their backs. Baja offers the above and everything
in between. If you really want to experience camping in Baja, I suggest you find some way to go camping with the locals. I have spent my whole life
camping, but when I am fortunate to be invited to camp in Baja with native Bajanos, I am constantly amazed at their resourcefulness and efficiency.
(Maybe it is simply the friends I choose, but I have always wondered if it is a Baja custom to drink all available beer the first night camping?)
For practical purposes, the following insights on camping in Baja are one man’s version. I humbly acknowledge my various insufficiencies and realize
that much of what I am about to profess, can, and often easily, be improved upon. I welcome from readers any information, tips, suggestions, and/or
comments they have regarding anything related to camping in Baja.
I am a big fan of vans. Living in a van that has been modified with practicality in mind, I find the not least bit inconvenient. In fact, over the
last five years my current van has slowly evolved itself to mesh particularly well with how I live my life. While my 1/2-ton Chevy van is a fine
all-round camping machine, for Baja it has one inherent character flaw: it lacks four-wheel drive. Baja is sand, and there are as many kinds of sand
in Baja as there are snow to the Eskimos. After five years of subjecting my beat-up, yellow, rust-pocked, ’85 van to Baja challenge after challenge, I
have a pretty good idea of where it can go and where it should not attempt to go. By simply walking on a tract of sand I can determine with a good
degree of certainty whether my baby has a chance. I suggest a solid, inch-thick 50-meter hemp rope be standard in any camping vehicle’s emergency gear
(along with a 12-volt air compressor, extra gas, an extra spare tire, a spare fuel filter — and the knowledge of how to install it, tools, a
supplemental small scissors jack, and, of course, water). Digging out of the sand is a Baja art. It involves logs, rocks, shovels, jacks, and tire
deflation.
For more stories on driving Baja, check out South from San Felipe and San Fransisco de la Sierra, Baja California Sur
Much of driving in sand is instinct, as is driving in snow, and not surprisingly, driving in sand is a lot like driving in snow: maintain speed, rely
on momentum, avoid spinning the wheels, and if you do get stuck, often times “rocking” the vehicle can effectively get you unstuck.
Allow me at this point to further describe my van. I paid $600 for it five years ago. It has at least 177,000 miles on it, (three trips to Baja ago
the speedometer was disconnected when I could not get the cable to stop screeching, even by replacing the cable), so I’m not certain of its actual
mileage. Inside I have constructed two 12" x 18" by 12" high 1/2-inch plywood boxes with hasps and locks. There are several bookcases with bungie
cords to secure the books. I have installed a small current inverter, which converts 12 volts to 110, so that I can operate a coffee grinder, my
computer and scanner, a food processor, or anything else that can be plugged into a regular electric outlet and does demand a lot of power. I have
also installed a dual-battery isolator unit, which designates a second battery as the accessory battery and protects the main battery from becoming
depleted when operating electronic appliances while the motor is not running. This arrangement allows 12-volt accessories, such as a tape deck/cd
player, various lights, fans, or anything that plugs into a cigarette lighter or runs off the current inverter to deplete the accessory battery
without any drain to the engine’s main battery. Therefore, you can party all night with no fear of waking up with a headache and a dead battery. Once
the motor is again running, the accessory battery charges like any car battery. Being alone on a beach in Baja with a dead battery is not an enticing
scenario.
I have also constructed an 8' x 4' extruded metal cargo rack, which is attached to three 2 x 4’s clamped to the roof by the rain gutters. On this I
carry the extra spare, gas, a kayak, a bike, and even people when the driving is slow and the vistas are remarkable. I find it especially useful for
carrying firewood. Since firewood is scarce at most of the popular camping sites, adequate firewood can be collected en route, along the main highways
or back roads. Otherwise, at more remote beach areas, wood is not usually a problem.
The lack of trees is a problem on Baja beaches, thus they lack natural shade (and, alas, adequate hammock supports). I have discovered adjustable
tent/tarpaulin poles to be indispensable. I carry three. These I use to secure various combinations of tarps as sun protection. Baja can be extremely
windy and sometimes, despite inventive designs and conscientious construction, tarps of any kind can not be erected. I carry numerous tarps, but if I
were to have just one it would be of canvass or heavy-duty plastic (avoid those cheap blue ones) and about 10' x 10'. I attach the tarps to the van
and out to the poles. Carry at least 50 feet of nylon rope for staking the tarps down, and a dozen serious stakes. A good selection of bungie cords is
always a plus. A five-pound mallet is also a good thing to have in your vehicle for miscellaneous tasks.
A tent is sometimes nice as long as it has adequate air circulation. Rain is not a problem until October or November and mosquitoes are rare during
the winter months. But being able to get out of the sun is a prime consideration.
The Basic Necessities
Most of the foods you need can be purchase at any well-stocked market, including the public mercado. Grab yourself a grocery cart and knock yourself
out, and be amazed how fresh everything is and how affordable. Where else can you select perfectly ripe avocados directly from the bin for a dime
each?
Be sure to load up on limes, for no other reason than, if you come into possession of fresh fish, to be able to create a meal of ceviche — without
even lighting a fire.
You will want tomatoes, a red onion, peppers, and cilantro for salsa material.
If possible, stop at the local tortillaria for fresh flour or corn tortillas. A half-kilo for two pesos. Splurge.
One of the perfect foods for camping is carne asada. This very popular thinly-sliced, highly-marbled, flavorful beef is available from any butcher
shop. This can be grilled quickly over any open fire or pan-fried. Cut up and served with salsa and tortillas it is a superb meal, with virtually no
pots, pans, plates, or silverware to wash.
Regarding seafood: my favorite first-night’s meal is shrimp. No muss. No fuss. In a large pot pour an inch of liquid (water is fine, but if you use a
mixture of vinegar/white wine, with lots of spices like: clove, nutmeg, paprika, pepper, thyme, etc — it’s a treat.) Without even peeling the shrimp,
boil/steam the whole kilo (a measly $12/kilo) for about 15 minutes and serve the pile with garlic butter or shrimp sauce. Any shrimp left over — and a
kilo of shrimp is a formative undertaking — they can be eaten cold or put in the next day’s rice. One should definitely have some sort of fishing rig
set up and a line wet the entire time one is camping. You can also check around with fellow campers, especially those who are obviously fishing, and
with local fishermen with the hope of securing a dependable supply of fresh fish.
If you drive down from the United States, think about bringing a good supply of olive oil. While olive oil is expensive in the US, it is even more
expensive in Baja.
It has been my experience that a block of ice in a large cooler will last at the longest, if kept out of the sun, three days. Which means cold beer is
to be enjoyed for only the first couple days. Since cold beer is such a rarity, it is much appreciated out there on the beach. Often times cold beer
can be a reliable currency when buying fish from the local fishermen. Along some of the more well traveled rural roads many of the more popular
camping sites are serviced once a week by a state-run grocery store on wheels. From here can be purchased many of the food basics. Simple inquiries
can be made as to the details of this service.
Peripherals
If you are an avid camper, no doubt you will have a good idea of the things you will need. What follows are things that I have found particularly
useful in Baja.
I always travel with the indestructible two-burner Coleman multi-fuel stove. (When I camp with locals, the stove is never even taken out of the van.
To them it is superfluous). Going hand in hand with the stove is a beat-up TV tray on which it stands. I carry with me also a Coleman lantern.
Bring a grill for cooking over the fire or warming water. (Regarding water, it is good to carry potable water as well as water to be used for cleaning
up or for the dog. In Baja a six-gallon bottle of water can be purchased for about eight pesos — minus deposit. If you have the water container they
will gladly transfer the water for you right there.)
Make sure you have a cutting board just in case someone lays a fish on you and you have to fillet it. Be careful not to get sand in the fillet, for
sand is almost impossible to rinse out.
I also carry a fold-up four-seat plastic picnic table that, from repeated abuses, along with an inherent shoddy design, supports diners only gingerly
and after being sufficiently warned. But it is a good place to keep food off the ground. Some sort of table is a necessity.
This might be a good time to talk about local predators. Cows are everywhere and if you and your party wander off all at one time, leaving the camp
without sentries, you can become prey to cows. Totally lacking of remorse, cows will come into your camp and eat all your food that has not been
placed in the van. They will tear down your tarps, knocking over everything. Sometimes pigs will do the same. And there are coyotes. Be careful
leaving pets unprotected at night.
As I mentioned above, mosquitoes are not really a problem from December to mid-April. It is perfectly safe to sleep on the ground sans tent. I would
however recommend a ground cloth and something to protect you from the dew, which can be substantial. Rain is definitely not an issue. And the stars
are incredible.
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