BajaNomad

'The Rock Trail' by Kevin Ward (racer & Dust To Glory director) on the Bill Nichols Trail & more!

David K - 4-30-2007 at 09:27 PM

Probably well known by Baja Nomad off road motorcyle riders, Kevin Ward is a really great guy who loves riding Baja... fast or otherwise!

His camera directing skills is keeping him busy on various video projects in Baja, but he does love to share his adventures and has lead tours into the remote areas of Baja as well as mastering the trails on his XR650... including the Camino Real to Mision Santa Maria from the Gonzaga side, Rancho Santa Barbara to Mision Santa Gertrudis and El Barril to Santa Marta via La Trinidad!

Kevin will be in the Baja 500, first off the line on bike 2X for a part of next June's race.

Now, the reason for this post on Nomad...

Kevin shared with me a trip report that will be of interest to many of you... a trip all over northern Baja that included the La Turquesa Canyon grade and the Bill Nichols Trail to Puertecitos from Cataviña/El Mármol region...

Here is a portion of his email regarding my sharing his trip report with you all and his comments on the La Turquesa Canyon route for us 4 wheelers... he saw my photos I posted here on the grade's upper half.

"That would be fine if you posted the story, as I'm never around enough to properly maintain a posting. If you could just direct interested parties to Kacey Smith for the waypoints- I like to support her. She is a great person, and really cares about the future of the peninsula.

Those are really nice shots of Turquesa cyn!

The La Turquesa road would be a huge challenge for 4 wheels. Maybe the proper term would be very committing. Here is how I would approach it:

Absolutely have to get the waypoints from Kacey. The road disintegrates when it hits the wide riverbed at the bottom. It probably is over a 1/4 mile wide, and if you head off on the wrong tracks, it can turn into a huge boulder field and get ugly fast.

With 4 wheels, I would first approach it from the bottom. It crosses the main road just above Coco's (and continues to the Las Arrastras mining area) If a person can navigate a 4 wheeler through the boulder field and to the base of the mountain, then they could either:

-attempt the extremely steep first 1/4 mile- if they make it up that, then they are good to the summit, (and of course on to Pedregroso)

-Get a visual on the downhill, and decide that they will go down it

- or get a visual on the downhill, and be glad they didn't head down from the Summit!"
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Here is Kevin's trip report:

The Rock Trail 9/05

It was a perfect late October morning in Alfonsina's. I woke up early enough to watch one of those epic sunrises, just a murmuring of activity, and listened to the lapping of the water on the sand. We got Antonio and Irma up (earlier than they wanted I think), and had one of their classic breakfasts. I sat around the table with 5 of my good friends. We had just completed two fantastic days of riding.

We had launched out of Ensenada early on day one, hammered the pavement to Ojos, and rode that classic piece of Baja to Tres Hermanos and out to Uruapan. We ate breakfast at the Palomar in Santo Tomas, and then rode the Pacific all the way to San Quintin (if you stick with it all the way, there are some great downhill waterfall washes that drop you off the mesas and back down on the sand just before San Quintin). We then rode the pavement to El Rosario, gorged at Mama Espinoza's, and laid ourselves down for the night.

Day two we rode south out of El Rosario to end up at San Carlos on the beach. From there followed some two track southeast that then turns into some first class single-track up and over the Mesa Santa Catarina, and through the Agua Amarga canyon, and then running pretty much 'cross grain' on single track and two track all the way into Cataviña. At lunch in Cataviña I tried to convince my companions to ride this trail I had heard of that goes from Cataviña to Puertecitos. No luck!!! turned out to be a good thing though. Even taking the shortcut at Pedregoso (Las Turquesa Canyon) that puts you on the main road just above Coco's, it was dark by the time we got to Gonzaga Bay. Which takes us to where I started this story breakfast at Alfonsina's.

Once again I tried to lean on my buddies, trying every tactic in the book, to go try that trail with me. Nope!!!.they were going to cruise up to San Felipe, eat some fish tacos, and be back in E town by dark. So I said "screw it" and gathered up all the spare XR 650 parts from my buddies I was wiling to carry, and headed south with a handful of GPS waypoints and an empty Clorox bottle slapping my hip. I took the Turquesa Canyon shortcut 'uphill' back to Cataviña (not an easy feat mind you 'uphill'- definitely a challenge!) and was in Cataviña by 9am. I filled up my camelback, my 4gal tank, and my Clorox bottle. Just north of Cataviña a few clicks, hang a right, and then parallel the hwy north, and you are riding classic Baja two track. I hauled ass for quite a while, just setting it into berm after sandy berm. The roads then join the original Hwy 1, which is a pretty rocky nasty stretch all the way out to El Mármol, kind of a forgotten little town. After El Mármol, I continued north/ northwest to a waypoint at a ranch, keeping some low mountains on my right.

Hah!! I'd gone the magical 25 miles, and I stopped and got that confounded gallon of gas off my hip and into my tank! I took a break and assessed the day. It was still early, only 10:30, and it was going to be a nice cool day. I ate a Cliff bar and some of my favorite beef jerky from the Sanchez market in San Quintin. It was definitely time to change my riding style. It was time to slow down, be cool, and take absolutely no chances. The enormity of my decision was starting to weigh on me. I had no Sat phone. None of my friends had the waypoints I was following, or even knew the name of the crazy girl that had given them to me. Sure I was as seasoned of a Baja rider there was. I'd spent a day making proper length spokes for my XR out of two wheels off of an old CL70 at a locals house in Scorpion Bay after I'd completely blown my rear wheel out just north of San Juanico. I've hiked 4 miles in my Alpine Stars to buy a half gallon of drain oil and a bolt from a rancher that I could cross-thread into the drain hole in my case. I've taken my carburetor completely apart with a Leatherman on my lap and used a cactus spine to poke the holes clean in the estachion tube. But this was different. I was truly heading into no man's land. Look at any map, and it is a very desolate area.

I continued chasing waypoints north on faint two tracks, the occasional ranch now being uninhabited. I connected a few old mine roads, and then just as I'd imagined, a waypoint finally turned me Northeast into one of the many creek beds I had been crossing. There was no more two track now, no more single-track, just a virgin riverbed. I followed that for a few more miles, and it began to climb at an alarming rate. Just when it was time to start trials riding up solid rock waterfalls, a waypoint directed me to bail out to the left.

I stopped, took a breather, took a leak, took a look around, and assessed things again. My 15 tooth countershaft sprocket coupled with a 47 tooth rear was ridiculously tall for what I was doing. I hadn't had to use the clutch yet though, and it was only noon!!!.press on. Now I would get the occasional glimpse of the single-track. Some of it was very committing!! with steep faces and sustained big rocks that had to be charged- no picking your way up those. I started to think about the guy that put this route in- Bill Nichols. He must have had one hell of a bug up his ass! To pioneer a route of this magnitude, from Cataviña (nowhere) to Puertecitos (nowhere)- something that apparently took him years and years to complete! I heard he overflew the route (in progress) in a small Cessna dozens of times to find the way through some of the highly technical sections.

I started gaining a lot of altitude- the Sierra Santa Isabel range it said on my map. The trail became rockier and rockier and rockier. Where waypoints made no sense, Bill had painted white dots on rocks. If I maintained about 12-15 mph, I sorted of stayed on top of the rocks. Any slower, and you would simply come to a stop against a big rock. I started to feel like one of those guys in the Erzburg rally. The faint trail would come and go, waypoints would save me occasionally.

I finally found myself on a huge high altitude mesa, with the rocks only about bowling ball sized, I stopped and took a break. At this point I realized there was no way Bill wore a helmet when he put this trail in. No way. I had a vision of him wearing some hiking boots, cargo pants, backpack and a big wide sombrero with some wraparound shades. Maybe a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

The view was stupendous in all directions, and the isolation was complete. In all of my travels in Baja, I have never felt so completely removed and isolated. I walked and inspected the trail carefully. It seemed maybe 5 bikes had been through here in the last year. Maybe Bill had rode it 10 or 15 times while he built it. Maybe 30 bikes total since he put it in.

The rock torture continued, but I hadn't fallen yet, and was pretty proud of myself. Of course one fall could also end it all. Break an ankle this could turn into a miserable time, or worse yet have a rib puncture a lung and I would be a goner. No mistakes allowed. The trail smoothed out a bit, turning into slabs of rock, as opposed to piles of rock. Ahead loomed a crevasse, a canyon, an immense gap in the mesa. I ventured a look around- I was heading right for the edge and my next waypoint put me straight ahead! Was this some kind of cruel joke? Had there been a massive undocumented earthquake that had split the trail?

I rode right up to the edge and looked out over the expanse. Unbelievable!!!!..he had stacked rocks straight down the face of the cliff under me in a series of switchbacks that led all the way down onto another mesa several hundred feet below. Add a big digging bar and a shovel to his backpack! There was evidence of a bit of a camp at the top. A fire ring, a cleared area for a tent. He had camped here and toiled away on this cliff face to create the trail!

Down I went. The switchbacks were all doable without getting off the bike. Just amazing. A few more miles and a few more waypoints led me to a steep downhill sand wash. As I started to smell the ocean, I relaxed and picked my speed back up. A few more miles found me coming into the top of some mining activity, and soon after I hit the dirt road a few miles south of Puertecitos. I had plenty of fuel to get to San Felipe, and caught up with my buddies for a late lunch just as they were ordering a second round of beers and tacos on the Melancon.

Having ridden the 'Rock Trail' solo I am in no position to recommend against it!!!but I must say it is a commitment. If any of you reading this are rock climbers..it's kind of like leading a sustained runout thin 5.11+ crack somewhere way up on a granite wall. The vulnerability and exposure make you feel more alive than anything else, but there is a bit of risk.

To do it with a group would be miserable. Flat tires and bent shifters and broken levers would pretty much be the theme of the day.

To do it with a couple of friends who are strong riders would be a gas. I highly recommend it.

Kevin Ward




[Edited on 3-27-2021 by David K]

TMW - 5-1-2007 at 07:21 AM

Excellent. I guess this old guy isn't riding that trail, I'll leave it to the younger set. Now if someone was to dig it out for a truck to pass I'm interested. Otherwise as Dirty Harry says "you got to know your limitations".

David K - 5-1-2007 at 10:09 AM

I knew it would be valuable details for you TW... Now, what about Corky???

Corky1 - 5-1-2007 at 01:28 PM

I helped Bill cut that trail.
I don't care if I ever go over it again.:mad:
On a side note the more it gets ridden the easier it is to follow and pass over.

Corky:lol::lol:

BajaDave - 3-16-2017 at 02:13 PM

It's been ten long years since this was originally posted, and no doubt been ridden by hundreds if not thousands of bikes since then. The track is very visible in Google Earth these days.

Have any of the regulars ridden it recently, that can compare it's difficulty in terms of riding/navigating it now vs back then? Corky, TW?

David K - 3-16-2017 at 03:29 PM

Corky is riding free and easy now, in the great beyond.

TW (TMW now) may have some feedback. A few Nomad riders do post here and have done the Bill Nichols Trail recently. Search ?

Kevin posts on Facebook.

Cameron used some of the trail in 2015: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=79308

Some nice photos on three Bill Nichols trails: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=73260

ehall - 3-16-2017 at 04:32 PM

That trail sucks! Haha, or maybe my riding skills suck. We rode some of it in January of this year. We started just south of puertocitos. Just getting to the trail is tough. Sand so soft and steep even sandrails were getting buried. The trail is easy to find. I will go back and ride the whole thing, just not sure when.

ehall - 3-17-2017 at 05:21 AM

Maybe bajatrailrider can give us his opinion. He trail rides more than anyone I know.

DEVEAU - 3-17-2017 at 07:40 AM

I have rode 3 times in the last 10 years, at 61 the last time was my last time!

TMW - 3-17-2017 at 08:02 AM

I gave up my bikes about 8 years ago. It's 4x4 trucks for me now. From what I've heard that trail is not for trucks or even an ATV. I still want to go to window rock.

ehall - 3-17-2017 at 09:58 AM

Quote: Originally posted by TMW  
I gave up my bikes about 8 years ago. It's 4x4 trucks for me now. From what I've heard that trail is not for trucks or even an ATV. I still want to go to window rock.


Rock trail , the first 8 or 10 miles is perfect for a 4x4. Just a wide wash. When it leaves the wash it turns immediately into a rocky single track. Window rock can only be seen by airplane or motorcycle.

bajatrailrider - 3-21-2017 at 05:17 PM

The only report I have from anyone that rode the rock trail. Never again I think Ed knows this more then anyone.

David K - 3-21-2017 at 05:22 PM

Quote: Originally posted by DEVEAU  
I have rode 3 times in the last 10 years, at 61 the last time was my last time!


I keep saying that about the road to Mission Santa Maria, but at 59 1/2, I am talking about a return this year! LOL

David K - 5-12-2021 at 09:44 AM

Well, I didn't get back to the mission last year with the TV crew for The Last Mission, as planned (a Covid thing)... but they had me talk about it from my home turf. The 20-minute show is on Amazon Prime or here:

https://vimeo.com/487608164

TMW - 5-12-2021 at 10:52 AM

To add a little follow up to the rock trail. The only one I know personally to have ridden it is Tim Morton. If I remember correctly he said there was one section thru a canyon that was only wide enough for a bike. An ATV was too wide.

I said I wanted to go to Window Rock. Phil Lang and I started to walk to it from where the trail that leads to Yubay. About half way there it was getting warm and Phil had put his dog Harley in his truck. Thinking it may get too warm for Harley we decided to turn back. So I never got there. Now that I have an electric bicycle with fat tires I may try it again, anything is possible.

ehall - 5-12-2021 at 12:01 PM

Quote: Originally posted by TMW  
To add a little follow up to the rock trail. The only one I know personally to have ridden it is Tim Morton. If I remember correctly he said there was one section thru a canyon that was only wide enough for a bike. An ATV was too wide.

I said I wanted to go to Window Rock. Phil Lang and I started to walk to it from where the trail that leads to Yubay. About half way there it was getting warm and Phil had put his dog Harley in his truck. Thinking it may get too warm for Harley we decided to turn back. So I never got there. Now that I have an electric bicycle with fat tires I may try it again, anything is possible.



That would be a good ride. Don't go past the rock it turns into several miles of sand whoops.

David K - 5-12-2021 at 12:12 PM

That area has some of the El Camino Real used by Bill Nichols. The Jesuit road is shown on the new Baja Atlas!

advrider - 5-12-2021 at 12:40 PM

Friends rode this two years ago, if we are talking the same trail. They started outside Catavina and ended on Hwy 1 below cow patties? We know it as the rock man trail. They said it was very hard to follow and brutal, not sure they would do it again? Don't know if is the same trail or not?
bajatrailrider had a kid staying with him that rode ten days with us, Jared, kid could ride. He said it was a tuff trail for sure. The window rock trail can be reached off of hwy 1 on the way to BOLA or from Coco's old place out the wash, whoops and deep sand. Seveal bail out point before getting tp the beach at La Gringa.

David K - 5-12-2021 at 01:01 PM

Out to Hwy. 5, south of Puertecitos (and Cow Patty, too). Yes, the Rock Trail. I was sent me a map of it many years ago...

Photos from 2014: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=73260



Bill Nichols-1.jpg - 173kB
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Bill Nichols-2.jpg - 91kB

bajatrailrider - 5-12-2021 at 01:19 PM

That kid on xr600 was just here with new wife . You cannot go by anything he says 🙄. He is such a great rider he throws the 600. Around like a mini bike I had no problems on rock trail . It is not fun at all just pounding rocks. So I want to enjoy riding that trail is not . I did not find it hard but beating me yes. 😂

advrider - 5-12-2021 at 03:57 PM

That's him, what a great kid. I saw he just got married and yes he threw that thing around like nothing! Hope to ride with him again and hit the rock man trail just so I can mark it off of the list!

bajatrailrider - 5-14-2021 at 08:30 AM

🤗 You may mark off Rockman trail before you finnish it . There where 4 broken bikes then we found three more on trail . All made it out 😊 I don't think they enjoyed it

David K - 10-29-2022 at 12:26 PM

Bump for Larry.