BajaNomad

free camping near San Felipe

RICHARDH - 12-20-2006 at 02:54 PM

While on my way to visiting Baja's wilderness areas this spring, I will be interested in taking a couple or three days or so shopping in and exploring San Felipe. My preferred mode of camping is free, "remote" camping with a mini pickup and slide-in, cab-over camper. How far do I have to drive from San Felipe to find free, "remote" camping?

And what alternatives are there?

baja829 - 12-20-2006 at 05:05 PM

About 9 miles South of San Felipe - lots of arroyos and only a few campers from time to time. Beautiful and safe.

RICHARDH - 12-20-2006 at 07:07 PM

baja829, many thanks!

David K - 12-20-2006 at 07:31 PM

Do you have 4WD, and the ability to re-inflate tires easily? Deep sand, found on the gulf coast, requires deflating tires to 10-15 PSI.

Free camping on the finest beach (as long as you promiss to not leave any trash when you leave) is located at Km. 26, then 2 1/2 miles east ... Unless there is an extreme high tide, then that beach is cut off... Because it is a barrier island I call 'Shell Island'.

Photos taken this year at Shell Island: http://vivabaja.com/618



[Edited on 12-21-2006 by David K]

RICHARDH - 12-23-2006 at 05:20 PM

David K, thanks for the info and photo-travelogues of arroyo(s) south of San Felipe. Some of those places look absolutely magnificent.

Your mention of using four-wheel drive and baja829's mention of "lots of arroyos" south of San Felipe raises the question whether any of those arroyos are accessible with two-wheel drive. I suppose that some of those arroyos may have "roads" (or "ways") in them and some may not. And I suppose that just about any arroyo accessible by four-wheel drive in the area probably already has a "road" (or way) in it. My mini-pickup (with slide-in, cab-over camper) has two-wheel drive and I will likely be towing a small, enclosed utility trailer. I suppose I could disconnect and park the trailer temporarily if the way appears to be getting difficult.

However, I have gotten stuck in sand a few times when the ground had the appearance of firmness, and I have also driven over sandy roads and was surprised not to get stuck even though I thought it very possible that I would -- only a lot of fish-tailing was the result. (The other way I've gotten stuck in sand is in getting off narrow, hard-packed tracks when trying to turn around.) My first -- and typically successful though time-consuming -- reaction to getting stuck has typically been to jack up the drive wheels and build a bridge (pair of tracks) of rocks, boards, etc. on the sand rather than letting air out of the tires, but now I will be prepared with an air compressor for this other alternative as well. My preference, of course, is to avoid getting stuck.

It would be a good idea to have some advanced knowledge of how easy those arroyos and roads are to negotiate with two-wheel drive. Do you have a map or other description you could post indicating what areas are accessible by two-wheel drive? And is there some relatively fool-proof way to assess in advance whether a road, arroyo, or wash permits two-wheel drive accessibility?

Also, I've heard that off-road driving in washes is particularly hazardous to the endangered desert tortoise in (Alta) California deserts -- especially the Mojave Desert. The idea seems to be that desert tortoises burrow into the soft sand/soil/gravel of desert washes and are thus invisible and vulnerable to off-roaders. Is there any similar concern regarding off-road driving in Baja washes? In particular, I haven't yet heard of desert tortoises in Baja, but are there other creatures that off-roading is hazardous for?

David K - 12-23-2006 at 05:38 PM

Driving up in Matomi wash is a 4WD thing, for sure. Any arroyos in Baja should be 4WD only...

IF you must drive in sand or get unstuck, then just deflate all 4 tires to you see them look nearly flat (ie. buldging sidewalls)... As soon as you are back on firm ground re-inflate them.

If you fall in love with Baja... a 4WD will be your next vehicle!

[Edited on 12-24-2006 by David K]

RICHARDH - 12-26-2006 at 03:57 PM

Many thanks, David.

I used to tow a 4WD Suzuki Samurai (handy for side trips) until June 2003, when I neglected the rear-end lube a bit because smogging was going to cost more than the Suzi was worth; as a result it broke down even before the smogging deadline, when I was hoping I could sell the Suzi to a junkyard for a few pennies; so I donated the Suzi to a gas station on the road in southeast Oregon.

That was a handy little vehicle while it lasted; it got me into some very tight places where a Hummer wouldn't fit and probably not even a Wrangler. The trailer substituted for the the Suzuki's storage capacity.

Know where I can get a really cheap, reliable 4WD vehicle?

Suzi

meme - 12-26-2006 at 05:07 PM

I have a friend here in San Felipe who has a Suzie for sale if you are interested when you get here? Think he is asking $1800 for it. Not sure of year but think its in good running condition as he is a retired mechanic. Let me know if you are interested RichardH?

[Edited on 12-27-2006 by meme]

RICHARDH - 12-26-2006 at 06:25 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by meme
I have a friend here in San Felipe who has a Suzie for sale if you are interested when you get here? Think he is asking $1800 for it. Not sure of year but think its in good running condition as he is a retired mechanic. Let me know if you are interested RichardH?

[Edited on 12-27-2006 by meme]



Sure, I'm interested. All sorts of questions come to mind though. Like where is it registered? What's involved in transfer of title, getting it through customs, and getting it registered in California? And will it pass California smog?

I may also want to sell or trade my enclosed utility trailer at the same time so I'll have only one vehicle to tow. But I'm kind of reluctant to "drag" my old Suzuki's tow bar along on a sight-unseen possibility -- I'd like to keep my travel weight down. And whatever I still have of the attachment hardware ("adapter plates"?) may not fit the particular year and model. (The old Suzuki was a 1986, but I recall that the year for the adapter specifications seemed to be off by one year, and maybe welding was required.) Something would need to be worked out.

I'll probably arrive in San Felipe during the week of Feb 26 - Mar 3 or perhaps the following week.

And if I decide I want to do something about seeing the grey whales, I'll probably head on south soon thereafter to get to one of the grey-whale places while the whales are still around.

Otherwise, my plan is to generally head for (and become "ensconced" in) remote wilderness before the weeks of spring break and Semana Santa and then gradually head back north.

Visiting Baja will be my first priority.

Dave - 12-26-2006 at 06:54 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by RICHARDH
I may also want to sell or trade my enclosed utility trailer at the same time so I'll have only one vehicle to tow.


I might be interested in the trailer. Got any details/pics? You could tow it down, leave it and tow the car back up.