BajaNomad - Back from Guadalupe Canyon 9-17-06

Back from Guadalupe Canyon 9-17-06

David K - 9-17-2006 at 08:48 PM

Just a short note to you all... a full photo trip report is coming soon!

Crossed into Baja at Tecate and headed for Laguna Salada DRY LAKE bed for the fast way south to the canyon... LOL!

At 10 miles from Hwy. 2 we hit mud... mud that sticks like glue and is quite heavy, too! The weight ripped 3 of my 4 mud flaps right off... The mighty Tacoma plowed through the 2 miles of mud and the lake bed was once again dry for the remaining miles on it.

Arrived Guadalupe Canyon about 6 pm Friday... plenty of light to set up camp at 'La Jolla B'... Hotschott arrived about 10:30 he said, having reached the mud and turned around to detour to the graded road. We were in dream land and didn't hear them pull into their nearby camp site, 'La Paloma'... see http://www.guadalupe-canyon.com

Anyway, the weather was PERFECT!!! I mean just great... Saturday we soaked, napped, soaked again... had a great dinner prepared by Hotscott and Val at their camp.

More hot tubbing under the stars... fantastic! ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz again!

Sunday: We left today just before 11 am and used the graded road to get back to Mex. 2... It was a fast drive... about 50-55 mph in my Tacoma... Not at all as bad as I had feared.

Instead of using Tecate after two bad experiences in line wait times there (2:45 hrs. last time), we went the entire length of 2-D to the Otay Crossing and had just 1 hr. 15 min. wait beginning at 1:40pm.

Great listening to the Chargers game while waiting... Go Bolts!

The NEW road to Rosarito/Ensenada Hwy. (Blvd. 2000) comes in at the Tijuana Toll Booth on 2-D, a couple miles east of the Otay crossing entrance road... It was well signed and there is a BIG statue of Big Horn Sheep at the junction.

Photos and more notes will be posted on the Nomad Baja Trip Reports Forum, as soon as I figure how to down load the photos from my NEW digital camera Baja Angel got me for my birthday... it is really cool!

Bajaboy - 9-17-2006 at 08:56 PM

DK-

Thanks for the quick report. I still haven't been to Guadalupe Canyon.
I should surprise Tracy with a trip there in the near future.

Zac

David K - 9-17-2006 at 09:00 PM

She will love it Zac!

Look at the first time I took Elizabeth there April, 2005: http://www.vivabaja.com/405/

BornFisher - 9-17-2006 at 09:54 PM

Sounds like a great trip. Saw that Big Horn the other day, checking out the new road coming from the south (really can`t figure out any advantage of new road, except to see new country). Thanks for the tip on the mud. Something to consider when moisture from those tropical storms track up here.

Laguna Salada mud---------

Barry A. - 9-17-2006 at 10:05 PM

-------You are sooooo lucky, David in that you were able to scoot over that mud. Remember my story of Boca Grande below Animas Bay, and the all day stuck in the mud there----------bad news!!!! The "Laguna Salada mud" is legendary and I have been stuck there several times back in the "old days" before I learned------ :lol:

Great report----Guadalupe Canyon is the best!!!

Now that your mud flaps are gone, your toy will look a lot more "trail ready" :lol:

Great post D.K

M - 9-18-2006 at 06:25 AM

The last time I was in G.C was with the BOOJUM BROADS OF BAJA!
That was a couple years ago, but us gals pretty much had the place to ourselves and we took FULL advatage of that.
I have no doubt we were spied on the whole weekend, (there was plenty to see), but I'm sure the funniest part was when we all doned green facial mud packs and let it all hang out in the tubs and sun.
What a great time. Ladies? anyone up to it again?
M

Barry...

M - 9-18-2006 at 08:46 AM

Stuck ONE day in the mud was a bad day for you??????
Oh, PAHLEEEZ! Amature. I was smart enough to avoid mud in all my travels, but pretty stupid when it came to sand. Christ, I was stuck two and a half days once in, god knows where the heck I was, burried to my axels in that baby powder stuff that pops up out of nowhere. It was BARREN! I walked for miles gathering enough brush to stuff under my tires, AFTER I dug the Grand Canyon around that damn great Grunt van of mine.
It was over a hundred degrees, limited water, I was all alone and pretty peeed at myself, AGAIN since I got stuck in sand 4 times in that 10 day trip. Yes, yes, I know... air down and all that, but really, just WHO else would that crap happen to but me? (Still not as bad as rolling in the surf with Porta Bote though) LOL.
M
Duh, I soon added traction mats to my gear.

Bob H - 9-18-2006 at 08:48 AM

David, great report. What were the rates?

David K - 9-18-2006 at 09:28 AM

La Jolla B was $70 and La Paloma was $100 (still summer rates I think). The web site lists La Jolla B at $90 and La Paloma at $150... This is for TWO nights and unlimited hot water!

There were plenty of other campers there as we heard the laughs at San Marcos and saw folks at El Dorado, La Cueva, etc.

These prices do keep out the riff raff... didn't see any grafitti or hear music...

M-------

Barry A. - 9-18-2006 at 10:10 AM

------ :lol:

----but sand is soooooooo much nicer than MUD!!!! I HATE mud!!!!!

In 1963 (or there abouts) a friend and I were stuck in the dunes just west of Bahia San Luis Gonzaga in his VW van (2 wheel drive) for all one day and part of the next. We had to carry everything we had in the van by foot to hard ground about 1/4 of a mile away, let the tires down to 10 lbs. and finally got out. Within mins. after getting out, we discovered that there was a jeep club (gringos)(3 jeeps, as I remember) sitting on a sand dune watching us-------AND THEY NEVER OFFERRED TO HELP. They thought it was a great show!!!! Thinking we were alone, we had stripped to our skivies because it was hot as hades. They were perverts, too!!! My friend got out his shotgun and the perverts were out of there, like fast. Never caught up with them.

We were not happy campers, but we learned a lot that trip, but it was not the last time we ever got stuck, believe me. And we have had many a laugh about that situation over the years.

But I (and nobody else) can top your "Porta Bote" story. :lol:

Only in Baja :lol:

Barry

M - 9-18-2006 at 11:38 AM

What a riot! Your right, it's so cool we can laugh about that stuff now. Yep, I forgot to mention the unloading EVERY DANG TIME of everything that Grunt contained. I only had to carry it about 300' to be safe but sure would hate the tote you had to make. At least you had a buddy to help, no thanks to those observers!
I call your skivies and raise you a buck (naked) regarding the heat situation. :lol:

Being a gal traveling alone, I did tend to hang in VERY remote places so I always felt comfortable stripping down in the heat. I only got caught a couple of times. You know of course the Porta story. The other time, well, THAT's another story.
M

[Edited on 18-9-2006 by M]

guadalupe cyn

Johnny - 9-18-2006 at 02:45 PM

That is the best campground ever. We did it one year with a caravan of 4 families in 2 wheel drives. ( I guess that was pretty dumb) Absolutely beautiful out there. The wind picked up in the middle of the night and flattened our tent so we had to take the seats out of the van and put the kids in there to sleep. The waterfalls and swimming holes are not to be missed. follow the signs to the 'cascadas'. If they open the 'cafe' while you are there the lady will roast your tomato on the stove then smash it with a dried chili while she cooks your huge quesadillas. We fed our family of five with 2 $5 plates and had plenty left over. I can't wait to go back there but as someone on here says "so much baja, so little time" I want to see this 'east cape' place. :lol:

Ken Cooke - 9-18-2006 at 05:17 PM

David - Be sure to wash that acidic mud from your new Toy at once. Don't want any corrosion now, would you? I'm sure your Mud-Terrain tires kept you from bogging down in the deep stuff.

Because of those rules barring music, me and my riff raff friends decided to cause trouble elsewhere!

Paul:

Poncho, Isaiah, Noeh:

Music is barred???????

Barry A. - 9-18-2006 at 07:00 PM

------Mexico without music?????? Blasphemy!!!!!

Ken Cooke - 9-18-2006 at 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Barry A.
------Mexico without music?????? Blasphemy!!!!!

You try and play a ballad by Chalino Sanchez, and nobody there has a sense of humor. They simply tell you immediately to turn off your music.

Chalino Sanchez R.I.P.

David K - 9-18-2006 at 09:15 PM

The sounds of the canyon is music enough... Go out to Laguna Salada and blast away!

Ken Cooke - 9-18-2006 at 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
The sounds of the canyon is music enough... Go out to Laguna Salada and blast away!

Thats usually a good thing to do. That or listen to music on a personal MP3 player.

More on Music and Guadalupe camp------

Barry A. - 9-19-2006 at 07:30 AM

-----actually, there are some marvelous places to camp just outside the mouth of Guadalupe Canyon and south of the access road to Guadelupe---------huge boulders and nice white sand, and you can play your music as loud as you want because there are seldom any others there-----and it is free. You can run up to the campground and get in your bathing, or at least you used to be able too.

I cannot ever remember camping in Baja without my music----------that would take some getting use to. However, like David, I like to turn it off for about an hour before bed just to listen to the wonderful sounds of back-country Baja, or the ocean/Gulf gently brushing the beach, and the sealife breathing off shore.

QuePasaBaja - 9-19-2006 at 11:33 AM

DavidK

Please send me the info about the trip, where you went, how you got there, what the place has, and what you need to take.

info@quepasabaja.com

David K - 9-19-2006 at 05:48 PM

QuePasaBaja... As soon as I get my new camera downloaded, I will post the trip report and photos on the Baja Trip Report Forum, here at Nomad for all.

In the meantime, do see my other two Guadalupe Canyon web sites for details and photos:

http://vivabaja.com/bbbb2 (M's BBBB #2 party at Guadalupe Canyon)

http://vivabaja.com/405 (My visit there April, 2005)

The campground's web site is http://www.guadalupe-canyon.com

Here's Sarah in 2001 at camp site El Mirador's hot tub (this photo was posted in the Orange County Register with Marla's article)...

[Edited on 9-20-2006 by David K]

Ken Cooke - 9-19-2006 at 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Barry A.I cannot ever remember camping in Baja without my music----------that would take some getting use to.

We did a couples trip to San Jose del Cabo in late '01, and staying at Delfin Blanco, we had our Latin music KRANKED up all evening. Of course, the other guests didn't like it, and we later negotiated 2 hrs. per evening with the unhappy guests.

Not everybody has a taste for good Cumbias and Corridos. :lol:

David K - 9-20-2006 at 09:01 AM

New camera photos are downloaded and reduced for Noamd posting... they will go up tonight!

Bob H - 9-20-2006 at 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
Just a short note to you all... a full photo trip report is coming soon!
Photos and more notes will be posted on the Nomad Baja Trip Reports Forum, as soon as I figure how to down load the photos from my NEW digital camera Baja Angel got me for my birthday... it is really cool!

Well?................................ :?:

David K - 9-20-2006 at 07:17 PM

Okay, all done... see the photos and details: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=19472