BajaNomad

Please help plan my 1 week truck camper trip ...

lesd - 5-9-2010 at 09:45 PM

I have been scanning some of the trip reports here on Nomads, but I am still rather lost as far as planning a 1 week camping trip using my truck camper. My recent Baja trips have been revolving around the Ensenada area, mostly to spectate the Baja Score offroad races.
Having enjoyed these trips, I want to explore further south. Looks like it will be a solo trip, friends are too scared to take vacation nowadays:rolleyes: Oh ya, I'm starting the trip in So. California.

So I'm looking for some basic route ideas. I'm not really into fishing, I'm more into experiencing the landscape and the people, really. Not into heavy partying either. I like adventure traveling ( last trip was S. India , before that was motorbiking in Vietnam ) ... I love culture shock;D ...
It looks like this trip will be in June or July. If there are any trip reports that are a good starting point, please tell me! I feel a little overwhelmed by all the possibilities.
Thanks!

noproblemo2 - 5-9-2010 at 11:20 PM

A lot will depend on where you might like to go San Quintin is nice as well as San Felipe, but warm there that time of year as is Mulege.

irenemm - 5-10-2010 at 12:54 AM

Hi Lesd
welcome to baja nomads. you will get many answers. I hope you find what you are looking for.
We are a camp ground RV park 100 south of Ensenada quiet and relaxing.
give us a look and hope to see you here.
we are just putting a new page together I think they have not stated the English part yet. but lots of pictures. we are off the hwy and not on the beach. the June and July is almost always great weather.
not as hot as Anaheim but maybe cooler than San Diego. stop and see us

Irene Martinez
Posada Don Diego

mtgoat666 - 5-10-2010 at 05:54 AM

in summer (because of the heat) your choices are limited to san pedro martir plateau for camping in the pines, or pacific coast beaches. i would choose SPM park for summer hiking and climbing. just set up at campsite in park and spend the week doing hikes

Pescador - 5-10-2010 at 06:39 AM

Having traveled with a camper and truck for the last 15 years in Baja, I think that you will have a great time and see some new territory and learn a lot. Since you are unafraid of the culture and language, you should be open to really experiencing a part of what the peninsula has to offer.
A lot will depend on your heat tolerance as I find that June and July are great for traveling the peninsula and it is not until August or September that things get too hot to comfortably stay in a camper. One thing you will need for sure is to make sure you have a fan that blows directly on you in the overhead and you should be very comfortable in the evenings and nights.
The Baja really starts after El Rosario, in my opinion, and while I like to stop in places like San Quintin and north, I mostly try to get south as quickly as possible. You also need to make a decision as to how far you want to get off of the beaten path or paved roads. Mexican dirt roads are rough, make you go very slow with a camper, but this is a personal decision as I have friends who go places I choose not to because of the wear and tear on the equipment.
Catavina is a very delightful place to explore and has great forests of cardon cactus (looks like saguaro but is different) and Cirio or Boojum trees which are the real epitome of life in the desert. When there is a lot of rain the Cirio put out little branches and leaves, but when things dry up the leaves and brances all fall off. They look a lot like upside down turnips stuck in the ground and become very tall and stately. When they are in bloom, they look like a candle with a flame at the top.
Guerrero Negro is a salt mining community and has a lot of very interesting things to see, plus it is cooler in the summer as they have Pacific breezes which keep things from getting very warm.
Now that the road is improved, a lot of people find Bahia Asuncion a very wonderful place to visit and I am sure you will want to look over Shari's website and get a lot of good information from her. Just be careful, they will shower you with hospitality and make you feel very welcome and you might just forget the other places you want to visit. The same thing happens at La Bocana and Abreojos, which are wonderful places to visit in the summer, since they are cooler than the Sea of Cortez side.
If you decide to go further south then San Ignacio is a great place to visit and has a wonderful mission church, a museum that is very good and informative about early peoples of baja along with cave painting information and all of that. My favorite town in all of baja is Santa Rosalia because it is a non-tourist town and when we see bermuda shorts and cameras taking pictures of the Eiffel church we know that tourists have arrived, but normally it is a great little mexican town, pretty much the same as it has been for a long time.
Concepcion bay is great if you just want to camp on the beach and swim a lot to keep cool during the day.
The best thing to do is get a good guide book like the one from the Peoples Press or whatever and read a little till you find the places that are magic for you. Stay flexible, be willing to learn and experience, which should be easy for you with your experiences and have a great time.

shari - 5-10-2010 at 07:08 AM

Hola Lesd and a hearty welcome to Nomadlandia!! I'm sure you will find tons of great info here and make some new amigos along the way. It's always nice to know a bit about you...maybe you would like to tell us a bit about yourself...knowing what a person's interesets are makes it easier to suggest places and things to do.

Our area of the central pacific coast is lovely that time of year...not too hot! Perfect for truck camping...you will like this area....have a safe trip...
(check your U2U box for a message..up in the right hand corner of the page)

TMW - 5-10-2010 at 07:41 AM

Is your truck a 4x4? Being solo it would make a difference. I do a lot of solo trips in my 4x4. I usually take my motorcycle but not always. I do carry a second spare tire. I assume you have the basic repair and emergency stuff. I recommend taking a Baja Almanac and just head south. That time of year the east side of Baja (Sea of Cortez) will be hot but it doesn't mean you can't drop over and visit. For example the Bay of LA is a beautiful sight when it comes into view. Drop in for a good hot meal. The Pacific side is cooler especially for camping. It can get down right cold at night along the ocean. Take the hwy to the observatory and along the way maybe stay at El Coyote off to the left before the Meling ranch. I'm told their food it outstanding. Further up near KM68 is Astrobaja's Rancho Concepcion. I believe Mike is developing it into a B&B with some telescopes etc. You might U2U him. Be careful he might put you to work clearing the road.

For several years my two brothers and I would just take off for 10 days the end of May and go where ever we had never been before and meet new people as well as old friends. I suggest you travel during the day and when you camp stay far away from the hwy. Staying in campgrounds is good like Irene's above. If you travel along the coast you may come into contact with the men at fish camps and sometimes trade for fresh fish. Sometimes they may want cerveza. A word of warning on this. Limit what you give then move on. Too many beers can make people do what they normally would not do, if you know what I mean. Visiting the old missions is always a great experience.

From a safety standpoint you might consider a satellite phone. You can rent them for a week for around $200. Do take a camera and post a trip report here with pictures and let us know of your adventures.

[Edited on 5-10-2010 by TW]

surfer jim - 5-10-2010 at 10:07 AM

One week trip is perfect for a loop around ABREOJOS and the small beach towns in this area.SHARI will have good ideas for you I am sure.Perfect area for solo truck camping/travel also.That's where I would go.:bounce:

Pompano - 5-10-2010 at 10:22 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by surfer jim
One week trip is perfect for a loop around ABREOJOS and the small beach towns in this area.SHARI will have good ideas for you I am sure.Perfect area for solo truck camping/travel also.That's where I would go.:bounce:


Me, too. Asuncion. Been there, done that. Really nice time to escape the Cortez heat build-up...which is happening as we speak.

BajaBlanca - 5-10-2010 at 10:29 AM

Hi Lesd and welcome to NomadBajaLand !!

All of the above recommendations are excellent - it would be safer if you had a good travel partner .... maybe you want to post for one ???

If you like remote and unique, I highly recommend La Bocana in Baja Sur - we are never too hot since we are on the Pacific. Look at this site to see some pics:
http://sites.google.com/site/visitlabocana/

To get here: Once in Ensenada, get onto highway 1. Go south, making sure to gas up full in El Rosario. Continue south and gas again in Guerrrero Negro or Vizcaino. The first turnoff to Punta Abreojos is after Vizcaino. Take this 90% paved road into Abreojos ... once in Abreojos ask for CAMINO HASTA LA BOCANA, or look for Calle Miguel Dominguez and follow the salt flats straight to La Bocana. Once in La Bocana, ask for Joaquin or Blanca & Les or Juanchy. We will help you from then on :biggrin:

We do the trip in a day since traffic is scarcer and scarcer as you drive south - but we are used to 12 hour drives ... you might want to stop at Irene's on the way ??

I agree with Pescador that life here really begins AFTER EL ROSARIO. It is pretty much the same as it has been for beaucoup years. The good thing about La Bocana, even tho we are remote - you can go for day trips into bustling towns like San Ignacio, Santa Rosalia and you must visit Shari in Asuncion (about 1 hr away) as the views of the rugged landscape with the ocean in the background there are spectacular.

Bear in mind - Baja is a most assuredly an adventure vacation - sounds like that is your usual MO like in Vietnam n India ... come and see our part of the world - you will not be disappointed:spingrin:

lesd - 5-10-2010 at 03:04 PM

Thanks for all of the great replies so far, guys !

The main thing I have always felt when I've been south of the border is the freedom there. Not *too* many rules or pushy forest rangers telling me where I can and can't go/ride/boat/etc.

My truck is a 4x4 2500HD diesel with a pop top camper on it. I'll probably sling a small dirt bike on the back to putt around town on. I am slightly worried about the heat, I have memories of the July heat in BLA when my parents took me there in the 70's ( towing a trailer behind a Peugeot on dirt roads ! )
I might outfit a small window AC unit on the camper to take the edge off, and not load down a campgrounds AC power too much ( small units only take 600 watts to run)

Anyhow , I was also wondering how the school year is in Baja, and how it may effect a trip. I would enjoy seeing local families out and about down there during my visit, as opposed to empty campgrounds with nobody around, just a bunch of empty campsites with tumbleweed blowing through.... Some of the photos I've been seeing lately make things look very ghost town like, sadly. I'm a photographer, and especially enjoy people shots, so...


-Les

Pescador - 5-11-2010 at 06:47 AM

Well don't worry about empty campgrounds, school is out and people are doing what they always do that time of the year. Since you are sensitive to heat, forget the Sea of Cortez side and focus on Asuncion, La Bocana, and Abreojos. My favorite of all three is La Bocana but you need to decide for yourself which matches up the best with your criteria. You have just about enough time to really get your feet wet and see what works for you. When you get to town, you need to make sure you have dinner one night at Joaquin's restaurant, but Blanca or Les can tell you how to go about doing that. If you decide to go fishing Joaquin's brother Juanchy will be the man to talk to.
Since there are no dedicated campgrounds you just need to stay flexible and you will end up having the time of your life and no need to worry about pushy rangers, there are none.

shari - 5-11-2010 at 07:58 AM

If photograph is your scene...you will have lots of subjects in this area...the streets are alive with locals and the coastline and beaches are pristine, fishermen doing their thing etc.

There are no pushy rangers but be aware that if you remote camp, which is fine...you most likely will get a friendly visit from the vigilancia which is a coast patrol that watches for poachers. It freaks some people out...so know that they are the good guys...they have radio antennas on their trucks...and are also handy if you have any problems. Make sure you dont have any lobsters, abalone or shellfish lying around your camp.
Tita & Bimbo in San Hipolito have an outstanding camp spot for ya and will show you a real good time.

Bob H - 5-11-2010 at 09:41 AM

Welcome to the Nomad board. I think all of the recommendations for the Pacific side are right on! While you are down that way, make sure you stop in at Campo Rene's. A nice place to spend a couple of nights.

http://www.maplandia.com/mexico/baja-california-sur/mulege/c...

La Bocana and Abreojos are nearby!

We look forward to your photos and trip report upon your return.
Bob H

[Edited on 5-11-2010 by Bob H]

BajaBlanca - 5-11-2010 at 01:32 PM

Definitely come our way ...start with Shari (Asuncion) and slowly move south ... Very good suggestion about Campo Rene - it is great for photos of birds and wildlife wetlands

truth is, I have never seen campgrounds crowded at all except on long weekends - esp Holy Week.

lesd - 5-11-2010 at 02:38 PM

School is out already ? I thought it was the end of June that they let out over there.
I'm ok with heat, as long as it's a dry heat, and I can get some relief at night for sleeping.
My dog, a Chihuahua, may think different, however;)
Quote:
Originally posted by Pescador
Well don't worry about empty campgrounds, school is out and people are doing what they always do that time of the year. Since you are sensitive to heat, forget the Sea of Cortez side and focus on Asuncion, La Bocana, and Abreojos. .

surfer jim - 5-11-2010 at 03:38 PM

The only part it can be hot will be the drive between El Rosario and G. Negro for the most part. You will be near the ocean once down there with no need for A/C.