Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8947
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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Pole Line Run II - Rubicon Owners of CA
On Thursday, March 31st, it all began with a plea to Russ that we had 1 passenger and no additional open seats. You see, Andrew was supposed to drive
down from San Jose that day with his CJ-7, but with a broken rear leaf spring, and no time to fix it, he was out of the run. One of our pickup truck
drivers - Brian Ness had come down with a mysterious cold virus and could not make it out, although he had been ready and packed for nearly one week.
Michael Hendrick - who traveled 1/2 of the Pole Line Run in Dec. was also packed and ready for the run, but was also stricken with a cold virus which
left him in bed although his Jeep was waiting in the driveway, packed and ready to go.
Russ was our only hope to get Billy Royal on this run since my Jeep was to carry Suzanne, and our dogs TJ and Frida. Shortly after 5 p.m., Russ showed
up at my place on Lila Street with his open seat, flexible schedule, and promise to provide Billy with his open seat throughout this excursion.
Unfortunately, our 3 friends were unable to make the run, although they had really wanted to be there.
Thanks to Michael's great trip research work, we all landed rooms at the comfortable Vacation Inn outside of El Centro, CA. Located just down the
street from a brand-new Starbucks, Russ and Billy were in 7th Heaven! After a hot breakfast at Dennys followed by a coffee or two, we were on the
road.
The drive to Calexico from our hotel room took 15 minutes. Cerro Grande and the hills east of the Laguna Salada were clearly visible from the Hwy 8
on-ramp that led us to the border. By 8 a.m., the parking lot was already filled with the hardy vehicles looking to make this 150 mi. trail run. They
were:
Baja Explorer or "BX"
Tom and Shirley Wimberly
John, Maam, & Paige Vera (and puppy 'Buster')
Renay
Jim Braithwaite with his brother-in-law Paul
Michael Tarr
Ed Tarr and brother-in-law Steve
Lauren Hammond and his friend Robert
Ken and Suzanne Cooke (and dogs 'Frida' and 'TJ')
Russ Traughber and Billy Royal
Mickey and Penny Nielsen
Chris and Noeh Glass
Once our group was assembled, we handed out trail packets, signed waiver forms, and drove south into Mexico!
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Please note: GPS datum is WGS84
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After 20 min. behind the wheel, our first stop was at the Pemex Station on the edge of Mexicali in an agricultural section of town known as
'Progreso'. Because all Pemex stations are owned by the gov't, they all have the same price of gasoline. The price we paid per gallon worked out to
around $2.08 for 87 Octane gas. The quality is comparable to ARCO, and all pumps were full-service.
Once we made it back on Hwy 2, it was a fast 10 minute drive to the trailhead [N32 34.572 W115 44.673] where we aired down our tires, and greeted
drivers Chris Glass (traveling with his son Noeh - or Noah in Spanish), and Mickey & Penny Nielsen who had been vacationing at their place along
the Rio Hardy. After a drivers meeting, we were on the dusty, graded road above the Laguna Salada. A shiny black Hummer H2 pulling a trailer full of
gear and Quads joined us along with their friends in a pickup truck. They were headed to Guadalupe Canyon, and we told them to follow us, and we'd
show them the way.
Almost immediately, it seems that 1/2 of our groups CB Radios began to malfunction. We continued onward as we passed the turnoff to Guadalupe Canyon
[N32 13.063 W115 42.283], heading towards the settlement of Guardines de la Patria. It took us another 45 minutes until we made our pitstop at the
Cohabuzo Junction [N31 55.744 W115 36.263]. Here, we realized that some of our CB radios would not function properly, and that we would have to travel
more closely in tandem.
With daylight wearing thin, we continued onward past the El Mano Junction [N31 49.814 W115 33.932] to the sand wash located at the bottom of the
summit road [N31 37.848 W115 35.754] where we would set up camp for the evening.
Early the next morning, Tom Wimberly led our group of 12 vehicles up the summit road to an elevation of 4056 ft. elevation [N31 37.744 W115 36.407].
Here, we stopped at a tiny corral and marveled at the display of wildflowers and green foilage interspersed with cactii of varying species. The group
was able to get out of their rigs and talk with each other, striking up converstation, and making new friendships. Shortly thereafter, we decided to
take the rocky trail downward into camp where we would pack up and hit the Pole Line trail.
Several of us had packed our gasoline in plastic Blitz gasoline containers which leaked at the nozzle. We were able to begin draining these containers
into our gas tanks and clean up the spillage before the fumes made us sick. Tom offered to carry my plastic jerry cans in the bed of his pickup
yesterday (4/1), which freed up some space - I also lost a boot, my contact lenses and all of my toiletries in the process. Leaving a rear Jeep door
open on the trail can lead to such losses.
Our group began what is known as the Pole Line Trail which contained some small rocky sections, a short but steep dropoff, and the most amazing
scenery which featured wildflowers blooming of almost every hue, red soils, and rocky buttes stretching up into the skyline. This was the beauty of
Baja within reach of us folks with only a 3 day weekend to spare. We made one wrong turn on this entire trip - first going right at the 'Y' [N31
36.499 W115 33.438 ] instead of going left. By going right, the trail ended high above a canyon with a mule trail dropping sharply into dense brush.
Turning left at this 'Y' revealed a butte straight ahead which resembled a mountain with a marine-type haircut. Along the right hand side of this
trail, you could see a hand-dug channel which contained a long black hose which perhaps was fed by a tall white water tank [N31 36.822 W115 30.070]. A
few hundred yards down the trail from here, ROC-club member Jim B. had to pull a Jeep from the edge of a cliff which had gotten itself into some
trouble - and the rest of us decided the shady wash where we had stopped would make a perfect location for a long-deserved break.
Just 2 miles past the water tank, we began to spy the remnants of the 1942 Pole Line Road with its scattered cobblestone sections and white-painted
rocks becoming clearly visible in the washes beside the actual trail. Within minutes we arrived at what Neal Johns described in his Discover Baja
article as, "a Small, perfect, cobblestone hill" [N31 36.377 W115 27.443]. Here, we stopped and posed for pictures alongside our trusty vehicles which
got us this far. Once again, the day began to wear on, and with the bright afternoon sun shining on our faces, we had to push on in order to reach our
destination - Canyon Jaquegel.
At this point, the trail began to take on its Dr. Jekyll - Mr. Hyde characteristics which began to nearly punish our vehicles for just being there.
Renay's brand new Wrangler X found itself atop a rather large rock - her oil pan had been slightly punctured, but was holding oil quite well. The rest
of us had made it to the first waterfall, and were stopped while myself and Mike Tarr headed to the turnoff to Basketball Hill [N31 34.935 W115
26.281]. Once spotting the turnoff to Basketball Hill - and Robert who had kindly hiked ahead of our group, we turned back to check on our group.
Robert remained at the trail turnoff taking a nap under a shady tree.
Back at the waterfall, we had a call over the CB radio that Renay's Jeep had found another, more large rock which had finally punctured her oil pan.
Mickey pulled from his tool kit a tube of JB Weld, a bar of soap, and some special duct tape. 30 minutes later, Renay's Jeep was again trail-worthy.
At the base of Basketball Hill, we regrouped and with all vehicles up and running, we were able to reach the summit of this hill [N31 34.771 W115
26.310 - 1833 ft. elev.] where we quickly posed for a group photograph in the dwindling sunlight.
After a dark 30 minutes on the trail, we reached our intended camp for the evening at the picturesque Canyon Jaquegel [N31 34.128 W115 25.438]. 3
Camps were set up - Near the turnoff to the right, was the BajaNomad.com group - in the middle, we had the families (and loud dogs) - and up stream
was the rest of our rowdy pack. We all got to sleep right around 11 p.m. Not a sound could be heard - except for the wild banter of desert burros and
a lone quad traveling off in the distance. A lone quad? We all heard it, but nobody saw it. Hmmmm.
The next morning was to be our longest day on the trail. This section of trail would later reveal a amazing assortment of wildflowers which resembled
lillies, the last remaining telephone poles that our group would see, a series of steep, off-camber hillclimbs with rutted v-notches and hairy
go-arounds, and a nice off-camber dropoff comparible to a 1/4 pipe you would find at a skateboard park. The Skateboard Ramp [N31 36.475 W115 20.768]
was described by Baja Explorer in his trip notes as, "Camber, down, hardright, tight" and is no joke. To have to backtrack up this section might halt
any unlocked vehicle - possibly rolling it back down from where it tried to come.
Behind our group was the worst of it. We traveled down the backside of the badly eroded, rocky hill [N31 35.327 W115 22.255], and we conquered the
steep and rocky hairpin turn [N31 36.168 W115 21.050] - now all that was left for us was to cross the massive Arroyo Grande.
The Arroyo Grande was located north up the "T" intersection [N31 39.041 W115 18.217] leading to Ejido Jose Saldana. Because the south-bound route at
this intersection to Tres Pozos was better suited for dirt-bikes, we opted for the left turn, going north into the mouth of the giant arroyo.
Locating the steep turn into the Arroyo was easy. You first had to travel until the trail ended - a row of large rocks placed in the trail showed you
where the trail dropped 10 ft. into the Arroyo Grande. Getting out of your vehicle and walking to the passenger side, reveals a nice, steep trail [N31
39.732 W115 18.800] which drops your vehicle into the Arroyo without the need for a strong winch cable or a bent bumper along the way. BX patiently
waited at the crest of the dropoff showing our three scout vehicles where we were, and which obstacles lie ahead since the Arroyo was a massive wash
with numerous boulders hiding the remnants of any real trail. Mickey, myself, and Jim traveled the entire Arroyo searching for the trail which was
eventually found along the base of the hills at roughly the 2 o'clock position from BX's position at the top of the dropoff into the Arroyo. We found
a smooth section of trail to lead our group from one end of the arroyo to the other without fear of any additional high-centered rigs. After pulling
myself off of a good-sized boulder I high-centered on, we led the group across the arroyo where we found Mickey working on his Ranger. Something to do
with his fuel filter was the cause.
After taking the crooked one-way trail back to Ejido Saldana [N31 47.783 W115 21.209], and towards Hwy 5, our group stopped briefly for a nice
end-of-trip photo. Russ Traughber, or ex-President of the ROC Club had the honors of clicking our digital images which we will proudly display for all
to see. After airing our tires, 3/4 of the group headed north along the crowded Hwy to the USA. while the other 1/4th of us traveled south into San
Felipe where we dined on grilled fish, garlic shrimp, and all the fixin's! This was an amazing trip that none of us will ever forget. The comeraderie,
friendliness, and hard-earned know-how got all of our vehicles safely down the trail, and back home within record time.
LET'S DO IT AGAIN SOMEDAY!
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GPS datum is WGS84
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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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Hi Ken,
Minor correction, the canyon you refer to as Arroyo Grande is lower Canyon Jaquegel. You only cross Arroyo Grande if you go south from the Tee.
My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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