Bahia Blanca to Pta. Cono Silt Beds

Has anyone been through, “silt hell” between Pta. Cono and Bahia Blanca (or the other way around) recently? We were through there last summer (2009) and….well, but for a lucky tip from a rancher at Rancho Las Palomas we might still be there.

Inspired by TW’s ‘short trip’ report of 7-11-09 and David K’s map post regarding that trip (thank you two) We decided to try the KM 252 way into Pta. Cono rather than coming down from Faro San Jose or up from Sta. Rosalillita. I have wondered about that road for a very long time… remember reading a post about it years ago which was very discouraging.

Wow, what a nice ride in (this is summer 2009); just simply beautiful in the late afternoon sunlight and the road was a dream. A few miles east of the Rancho Las Palomas (I think that’s the name) we came to the silt beds that TW mentioned. While stopped to assess a “line” I noticed that someone had been stuck right in front of where we were parked. Yiiikes, good timing on that stop.

We had a nice talk in the fading light with the rancher and his wife (whose names are in the notes I can’t find at the moment). I asked him if there was some way around those pinchy silt beds. No way he said. I told him we saw where someone was stuck “muy duro” (bad) in there recently. That was us he exclaimed! He went on to tell us that if we thought that was bad, hold on to our sombreros further south towards Pta. Cono. Well, that’s been terrible for years I said (last time we were through was 2008 north bound). Si, but now it’s been pulverized by the big trucks hauling beach rocks out of the Bahia Blanca. Big serious off road rigs have been getting stuck. Then he told us the way around it…take the, “Mesa de Arriba”. Of course, why didn’t we think of that? (the Mesa de Arriba road shows very clearly on Almanac pages B91 and B92)

Here’s the deal, after you turn south at Codornices you come to a 4 way intersection at about 4.8 miles. That would be 29 degrees 01.617 N 114 degrees 32.137 W (Map Datum NAD 27 Mexico hddd-mm.mmm). To the west (some very bad silt fields here as well) is a very nice beach at the extreme south part of Bahia Blanca (It’s around the point at the south end of the sweeping Bahia so it’s not really in BB). This is also a way go from that beach to Pta. Cono along the coast. Yes, that’s correct we did it in summer 2008. You can see the trail on G. Maps but that’s another story. Straight takes you to the road to Pta Cono (if you’re lucky). Turning east you go up to the much touted Mesa de Arriba and around and about and end up on the main road a couple of miles south of where going straight (through the silt beds) comes out. I would say it was 7 or 8 miles to the main road that way. Very nice scenery, little used road and, no silt. A bonus was a nice pile of beach rocks where some truck apparently gave it up.

Years ago when I asked Oscar at Ranch Santa Ines what he thought of the new paved road (hwy 1) he said, “Good roads bring bad people, bad roads bring good people”. We agree and we like bad roads but the silt beds are something else again. For once I would welcome a slightly improved road.

Thanks for any current info on that stretch.

PS to TW…summer 2008 we went out to the highway from La Vibora to Laguna Chapala the way you came in on the 7-09 short trip. It was to say the least a very bad road. The silt beds were a challenge then when we got up to the high ground large grape fruit to basketball sized rocks slowed us to about half walking speed for a very long time. Throw in a flat along the way and another one the next morning and we are not in a hurry to go that way again (we’ll try some other “bad” road instead). Sounds like it got graded that next year. We actually met a Mexican lady and her husband who claimed to own La Vibora and everything as far as you could see (according to her). She said they were going to improve that road and then charged us retro-actively for camping there. It’s another story….sorry I have been a lurker on this board….I should/will post more and with pictures and maps….just too busy at the moment getting ready for this summer’s trip. Lets went to Mexico!





[Edited on 7-14-2010 by degoma]

Welcome to Nomad! Maps are great to visualize things...

The first one is TW's route:



The general area:



Back in 1962:

I too have met Maria Luiza, the owner of a large area of coastline, and her husband (Pepio, or something like that), she does most of the talking...... Very nice woman. We too have paid for camping on her property, although she collects while we are there. Last I heard she had sold some of her land to a preservation group in 2009, don’t know if it is true or not, but we did not see her last year to collect dinero, so maybe it’s true. She often asked it we wanted to buy land....but with the Federal Zone, issues with gringos buying land, the remoteness, and not really wanting to risk the money, etc we always declined.

Can't comment on the road as we access that portion of the Coast from San Jose, which is usually a decent drive, albeit slow in some areas south of San Jose because of washouts and steep hills.

When I read this I say to myself.....

I want to go.
I don't want to go.
I want to go.
I don't want to go.

Where does it end

Yeah, I hear you TW. If you make it through there is no story to tell , but you will always remember the times it wasn't so easy.

Oh silt, why for art thou? A few years ago Wild Bill told me he was stopped in a big silt stretch (I didn’t ask how he happened to be, “stopped” there) and when he got out he sunk right to his knee cap (he’s 6’-4” so figure about 2’ deep). No wiggling or anything…just wooosh down. My truck is on the frame at 18” and there’s plenty hanging below the frame here and thee.

Silt is here and there all around the peninsula but this stretch between Bahia Blanca and Pta. Cono seems to be particularly pesky. My sense is that bit of road is practically impassible now. The race always freshens up the silt but I think the spate of beach rock hauling last year might just have been the coup de grace.

It doesn’t matter if you take the yellow road or the green road (see the map in my first post ….thanks David K.) The silt is very serious. Two years ago we were headed north through Silt Hell and congratulated ourselves upon reaching the 4 way intersection…we made it, the worst was over. We freshened up our coffee and headed west on the yellow road.

The last time we went via the yellow road was a few years before and it was a piece of cake. Not this time (7-08). Always trying to hit the right line at the right speed I realized I had missed something and it wasn’t good. Visibility went to zero, we were bogging…oh no! I gunned it (yea right, try gunning a 7.3 normally aspirated diesel) and held the line since there was nothing else to do other than stop and I’ve never voluntarily done that in the silt. All of a sudden myself, my girlfriend, her brother-in-law, the dog and our coffees were all pinned to the ceiling. About the time we returned to our seats the truck came out of the silt fog onto Tierra Firma. Whew! We came very close to having some, “fun”. I’ve had my share of, “fun” over the years and it’s true what TW says about the unforgettable adventure of it all. We were glad to be out anyway.

There is a way to transit that area…we took it in summer of 08. I call it the Costal trail. But like TW said, the roads are different every time. Like now, what’s it like after the Swamp Turn Off? It’s been pretty wet sometimes. Transiting the south side of the Estero on the blue road/trail was very hummocky with tight little turns (a bother for an xtra cab truck). From the point at the south end of the, “nice beach” the trail does a moderate steep climb up the hill. With heavy rain I could see this developing the oh so bothersome deep gully’s parallel to the trail. After that climb out there a numerous ups and downs and the downs look like the could wash out in a heart beat and require hours if not days of filling.

It was a fun ride…just the right amount of adventure for a heavily loaded pickup traveling alone. We are headed down next week but after the heavy rains I think we will just whimp out and come in from the south this time. Perhaps I’ll take a run up that way after we are setup.

We would love to get away from the single vehicle mode and hook up with someone else for some…..fun.

Only one time did I start to see a climb and that was a very hot summer day, north bound up the Cajon Pass (returning from Mexico) AC running of course and, a screaming tail wind. Of course it could have been caused by that pelican head I crammed in there that trip.

I was concerned about cooling when I did it so did a quick lash-up and drove it all around in the summer. No problem so I made it real.

Your story of gunning it and getting airborne sound all to familiar. I did pretty much the same thing and in the end ripped two of the eyebolts out of my Four Wheel Camper, had to use tie downs for the rest of the trip. I made it, but no friggen bueno.

Southbound in a few hours...tic-toc .

have fun Sunman...... too bad the swell wont be filling in past the viz.......

Gracias Woody, I'll be plenty south of that land mass!

That sounds like a good strategy. If you do high center you are not to far from a good surface.

In some ways it's like doing a ford. Slow and steady. My sense is that deep silt like what's being reported now could cause problems with the radiator fan (among many other things) much like water can, i.e. fan collision with radiator.

Gunning it is a tactic only when I have mis-judged my slow steady speed/gear and feel that I'm going to stall out (there's just no speed shifting my tranny). Now, after reading your post and thinking about it I have probably been going too fast even though I felt it was, "slow".

The diesel tends to lull me into carrying too high a gear. An automatic would be very handy in the silt I suspect. In any case upon my next encounter I will try slower....maybe even creeping through.

As for the road getting worse, don't forget the fact that there are just more folks using it each year. The first time I went through there was around '84' in a '66' VW bus. Imagine that today There was silt to be sure but it was no big deal.

I think my first trip through the dust was around 1993 and it wasn't bad at all---it was in May so the winter rains had packed it back down. I made the mistake of leaving my window down while driving through the silt on the Canoas road about 9 years ago...my CD player has never really worked since.

i get a chubby.....