Mision Santa Maria, May 2007 (Part 6 The Widowmaker UP! + Road log, GPS data, Map)

This report continued from Part 5 at: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=24915

We got underway by 9 am Monday (Memorial Day) and the first challenge was to get back to the road from our oasis campsite!

Baja Angel is directing The Squarecircle back through the rocks between the road and our camp.





[Edited on 6-20-2007 by David K]

When we got back to the mission we took a break... I shot a bunch of photos (many posted in Part 2) including a 360 degree panorama (which I will figure out how to show you).

There is a very steep grade getting back to the mission from the arroyo crossing, plus a lot of overgrown brush that added many pin stripes to our rigs!

Baja Angel climbed up the Widowmaker to capture my Tacoma going up...

The Squarecircle photographed me from below...

This was fun!

Kicking some dust... low range and the back axle was locked!

Almost made it... just a little more...

I named it the Widowmaker eight years ago after Baja Mur and I were both thrown from our rides and left our blood on these very rocks!

Now it was Roy's turn to see how his new Land Rover LR3 with 'Traction Control' would do...

[Edited on 6-4-2007 by David K]

Seeing the Rover's tire in the air was not comforting!

It did some side sliding...

But it kept on truckin'!

No problemo...

Cool stuff... The Land Rover proved itself worthy!

We made it up the Widowmaker... but there is more challenges still to negotiate!

The day was a great one...

Four wheel drive ... some experience off road ... and a desire for adventure is what it takes to reach (and return from) Mision Santa Maria de los Angeles!

I was at the same pressure I normally set them to for street driving... 35 psi... They are 50 psi max. rated 3 ply sidewall tires. These are the Cooper Discoverer STT tires I got 32,000 miles ago and have never given me a flat...

However, they are noisey and need to be lowered to 10 psi for sand driving.

DK, in that photo where the Land Rover is listing to the left in a deep dip, can that hole be filled with those rocks around?

I want to go there with my rig, without my fullsize Bronco in tow.

Quote:

Originally posted by edm1 Quote: Originally posted by David K No problemo... DK, in that photo where the Land Rover is listing to the left in a deep dip, can that hole be filled with those rocks around? I want to go there with my rig, without my fullsize Bronco in tow.

ROAD LOG & GPS DATA (Map Datum set to NAD27 Mexico)

The following data was recorded last May, '07 and April, '03.

0.0 Rancho Santa Ynez (Ines, Inez, etc.) in front of the lunch counter: 29-43.757', 114-41.730', elev. 1,826'

Drive out from the parking area by the table and turn right (north) to the SECOND open gate and follow road outside fenced area to behind ranch then out to cross the wide arroyo.

0.9 FORK, go left (uphill)/ Right goes back into Arroyo Cataviña (labled Arroyo La Bocana in the Baja Almanac): 29-43.900', 114-41.134', elev. 1,846'

1.8 Deep Gully, steep grade up!

~2.4 FORK/ Rock Pile (continue straight, new track to left made by ejido to ?): 29-45.193', 114-40.627', elev. 2,020'

4.7 Cement Marker to left, on side track: 29-46.404', 114-39.149'

5.6 Arroyo Cataviña (also called Arroyo San Antonio and Arroyo La Bocana in the Almanac) crossing with palms.

9.9 Peninsular Divide (Punta Final view): 29-46.152', 114-34.971' elev. 2,512'

13.3 The Widowmaker top: 29-44.745', 114-33.141' elev. 1,737'

13.4 The Widowmaker bottom

14.4 Mision Santa Maria: 29-43.891', 114-32.794' elev. 1,628'

15.4 Arroyo Santa Maria, left turn for our oasis camp location at 29-43.697', 114-32.213' elev. 1,386'

15.7 Left Turn out of arroyo for bulldozed grade & El Camino Real (ahead in arroyo ends in palms at 16.0): 29-43.164', 114-31.868' elev. 1,353'

~15.9 'El Camino Real' California mission trail (and peninsular 'highway' before autos!) to left, switchbacks up hill side: 29-43.126', 114-31.753' elev. 1,413' this Franciscan and Dominican El Camino Real stays high on the ridge above the north side of Santa Maria Canyon. The original mission trail (used until Junipero Serra ordered a better route made) was mostly in the canyon.

More details at http://vivabaja.com/1103/page2.html from our hike up from Gonzaga Bay.

16.0 (from Santa Ynez) End of drivable road heading up towards ridge: 29-43.109', 114-31.645' elev. 1,495'

If you continue to hike up the bulldozed roadbed, the construction ends on the ridge high above the deep Santa Maria Canyon. An Indian trail, which was the Jesuit's 'El Camino Real' drops down, into the canyon and out towards the gulf. Petroglyphs decorate some rocks at the end of the road building project: 29-43.033', 114-31.556' elev. 1,615'
Photo of the petros and the view into the canyon from 2003: http://www.vivabaja.com/403/mailedD71.jpg

Viva Baja!





[Edited on 6-14-2007 by David K]

Quote:

Originally posted by edm1 Quote: Originally posted by David K No problemo... DK, in that photo where the Land Rover is listing to the left in a deep dip, can that hole be filled with those rocks around? Please, no trail filling. Some of us want to enjoy the challenge of the trail as is. If you find yourself stuck somewhere and there is no way out but to move rocks, cool. But to purposely go some place you know you can't go and change the trail to get there is not cool, unless you put everthing back how it was when you go back out. IMHO only

You know after seeing how much worse the road was since my last time over it, I am glad you guys had fun at Gonzaga and didn't attempt to join us at Santa Maria!

I hear of a road building party being put together for June 16th...?? La Turquesa opened up by Baja Nomads??? Baja Cat, Squarecircle and more????

Since the Baja 1000 will be heading down the Pacific side of the sierra, from TJ/ Ensenada and everybody loves Coco, it wouldn't be a stretch if SCORE plowed the way clear in La Turquesa so the racers could cross over from the Pacific at Cataviña or ?, to Pedregoso, down the Turquesa Grade and drive through Coco's Corner without needing to come from San Felipe/ Puertecitos (which may never see a SCORE race again)!?

On second though, if they wanted to go through Coco's Corner, they could come from the Pacific's Punta Blanca area then across to Chapala to Coco's and south through Calamajue Wash and on south... No new roads to make...

Well, be it 9.5 or 13 inches... my point still stands that I do not recommend any vehicle with less than 9" of minimum ground clearance, and as Roy verified with his automatic height adjustment and oversize Nitto tires, he had MORE than enough to not get hung up on the rocks. Anything lower or non traction controlled 4WD rigs risks serious damage.

[Edited on 6-14-2007 by David K]

To wrap up our Memorial Day Weekend trip report...

We arrived back at Rancho Santa Ynez about 1 pm (4 hours to go 15 miles, LOL). Told Matilda and Oscar about the borregos. Oscar asked if we saw any of his cattle... yes a few young ones were pasing through our oasis camp. Bring a rake if you come here to clean away the 'pies'.

Roy and Blanche headed south and over to Campo Beluga for another night to avoid the long wait that woukld be at the border this night. Elizabeth and I went to Hugo Lopez' TACOS MISION to say hi, see his latest paintings, and enjoy some good food!

Naturally we used the new Blvd. 2000 (BC#201) as a easy way to get to the Otay Border crossing and arrived at the line at 8:30pm for a 2 1/2 hour wait.

The border gaurd was nice, but when I declared the beer and limes I was returning with he got real concerned that limes 'might' be not allowed (they are)! I mean, how hard is it to look at the list? His logic was that limes are 'like' oranges, and oranges are not allowed!

Anyway, he sent us to Secondary and in just seconds the Secondary gaurd walked up to the truck, looked at the note, said "LIMES?... GET OUT OF HERE!" Limes ARE permitted. We were headed home!

BAJA continues to be a place of wonder and enjoyment for me and I now get to share the wonders with Baja Angel in person, and you guys on line!

I will make a web page for this trip but it will be tough to select far fewer photos than I have posted in these 6 parts on Nomad to keep the web page within a reasonable viewing size.

Next trip planned is to El Rosario for the Cultural Festival July 20-22, then the rest of the week we may visit the Seven Sisters and on to Punta Abreojos, Bahia Asuncion, Bahia Tortugas...???

[Edited on 6-14-2007 by David K]

MAP

Here's a map I sketched showing the relationship of our camp, the mission, the Widowmaker and the Camino Real.

I did not use a scale, just free hand while looking at a topo for the arroyo locations.

The Widowmaker to the mission is just over 1 mile.

The mission to the arroyo that we drove up for the oasis camp is 1 mile.

The arroyo run down to the fork, where you turn left for El Camino Real (it's at 29-43.126', 114-31.753' NAD27) or the end of the bulldozed road, or go straight to the dead end in the palms, is 0.3 mi.

As you can see, the Camino Real climbs out of the mission valley to the north, then swings east and southeast along the ridge, above the north side of the Santa Maria Canyon. It drops down to the arroyo just east of the canyon's east end. The GPS on that end is 29-41.733', 114-28.175' (NAD27)

The Camino Real has been ridden by racer and Dust to Glory producer Kevin Ward on a Honda XR650, but not without damage... and is only recommended to those on foot or mule hoof! I hiked it up from the Gonzaga side to 29-43.141', 114-30.189' in 2003.