BajaNomad

¿road?

chrisx - 1-5-2011 at 11:03 AM

Is there a road or trail from Coco´s Corner to Bola road? Or, is there a way from San Felipe to Bola that bypasses M1?

Bola/El arco to San Ignacio, same question? Bypasses M1?

David K - 1-5-2011 at 11:28 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisx
Is there a road or trail from Coco´s Corner to Bola road? Or, is there a way from San Felipe to Bola that bypasses M1?

Bola/El arco to San Ignacio, same question? Bypasses M1?


Yes, but it comes within a couple hundred feet of Mex. 1 in one place (El Crucero).

It is possible thank to the Baja 1000 that had a road made that parallels Hwy. 1 from El Crucero (after coming out of Calamajue Canyon) to the old L.A. Bay road. You will need to ride the pavement for about half the distance or a bit more into L.A. Bay from the old L.A. Bay road where it joins the new paved road.

You can see all this on Google Earth.

The second part of your question... You will need to be on Hwy 1 coming into San Ignacio from a point south of Vizcaino where the original main Baja road meets Hwy. 1. The rest of the old main Baja road has been planted and built over by new farms in a few places, so using more of it may not be easy.

See my posts of the Old Baja road I did recently with Google images.

[Edited on 1-5-2011 by David K]

bajabound2005 - 1-5-2011 at 01:15 PM

chris: you might be interested in this. I'm doing it!
www.rosendaadventurerace.com

Kathleen

motoged - 1-5-2011 at 01:59 PM

Chris,
What maps are you using for your trip planning?

Southeast of Coco's is a lovely stretch known as the Calamujue Canyon wash....it is scenic, offers some water for cooling off in the heat, and is well-traveled enough that it is easy to find ;D

The road from there takes you to El Crucero and the road David described to the BoLA road is also well traveled and scenic.

You will undoubtedly not come across any fat girls in Hondas on either road...it is a section you will be bound to remember for years to come as a great ride...:light:

bent-rim - 1-5-2011 at 03:17 PM

Head east out of Coco's and you'll come to right turn leading up a hill and that road will lead you to Calamajue Canyon. It is one of the most scenic places in Baja and it has water to test out your filter with. It will be an unforgetable expereience. El Crucero can be bypassed and you'll come out about 4-5 miles from LA Bay. I've done it on a dirt bike with some riding buddies. Check out Goggle Earth. You can also stay off road at El Crucero and come out the road to BOLA about 35 miles from town. Lots of whoops in that section.

[Edited on 1-5-2011 by bent-rim]

[Edited on 1-6-2011 by bent-rim]

Calamujue Canyon wash

tripledigitken - 1-5-2011 at 03:23 PM

I agree a very scenic section of road.

Ken


Not too far from where this pic was taken there was a water crossing about 1' deep. (Mar 2006)



[Edited on 1-5-2011 by tripledigitken]

motoged - 1-5-2011 at 05:40 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by bent-rim
Head west out of Coco's and you'll come to right turn leading up a hill and that road will lead you to Calamajue Canyon. ....


BR,
If you head west out of Coco's, you end up at his outhouses...if you go south, you end up at Laguna Chapala....if you go east from Coco's, you end up at Calamujue....


[img]http://motoged.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Baja-Ride-March-05/1236033_WZBRj#60218406_6EKYo-A-LB[/img]


[Edited on 1-6-2011 by motoged]

bent-rim - 1-5-2011 at 05:54 PM

Thanks, Motoged
I made the change in my post.

motoged - 1-5-2011 at 06:54 PM

BR,
Hey, we're just trying to get Chris and his bicycle into deep sand whoops, stinky water, and routes that we love to hate even on motos....so some misdirection might contribute appropriately :lol::lol::lol:

David K - 1-5-2011 at 06:56 PM

Here is the SCORE map for the Baja 1000 from less than 2 months ago... Checkpoint 4 is Coco's Corner and Checkpoint 5 is Bahia de los Angeles.

The point where it looks like the course touches Hwy. 1 is El Crucero and it does not... there is a parallel dirt road along the east side of Hwy. 1 used for the racers. It runs south to where it meets the old L.A. Bay road and turns left... passes the historic El Desengaño mine...

motoged - 1-5-2011 at 07:17 PM

Yeah.....and that stretch just south of El Crucero is a few miles of soft sand whoops....first time through on a dirtbike I almost turned back, not knowing what was ahead on the way south (I HATE deep sand whoops:fire: )

Since then, I have learned to grin, curse, and bear it:barf:...the rougher hardpacked whoops and holes/ruts further south are a blessing compared to the sand....that road comes out at the BoLA road at KM 11 I believe....

Coco's to El Crucero 2010 B1000:

http://contour.com/stories/2010-baja-1000-cocos-corner-to-el-crucero


El Crucero to BoLAa:

http://contour.com/stories/2010-baja-1000-el-crucero-to-bay-of-la

chrisx - 1-5-2011 at 08:23 PM

Sound s like a plan. Strong tail wind. My national Geographic (2008) map shows a mission, Calamajue. Photo of ground water. I have a Sawyer in line drip water purifier, (no moving parts), and the only known water purifier never known to break, miniature tea kettle, complete with bandanna filter.

San Ignacio to Vizcaino is an easy 1 day pedal, even into a head wind. Unfortunately; this is also the last known whereabouts of the fat lady in the silver Honda. After her high speed fly by, (100 mph), I walked the sand trace next to M1 for 2 kilometers. And yes, I really saw 4 separate crosses in that 2 k.

Also, I neglected to mention, Although I have the widest 29 inch tires available, 2.55 inches, I can´t really pedal in the sand. Think football coach standing on a sled yelling at guys to push harder. (Walked the sand trace). Rocks, packed sand, cow path, Honda free area. Even sand for a mile or 3, but not all day. I´m not going to admit turning back from Bahia Tortugas because of deep sand. 1 hour, 1 kilometer = insufficient water.

(SQ)
BR,
Hey, we're just trying to get Chris and his bicycle into deep sand whoops, stinky water, and routes that we love to hate even on motos....so some misdirection might contribute appropriately lol:" (EQ)
Note to dirt biker, I loaned you buddy my pump last year, even after he tried to pocket my valve core removal tool.

Now, SW from San Ignacio seems to be a multiple choice ¿? Seems as though all roads lead to Honda free adventure down there. (note to fat lady: large rocks in road). The last tienda ¿20? miles SW of San Ignacio is better stocked than any in town.

Soon I will provide a false start time, and bad directions for my own safety. Until then, consider this, Speedy Gonzales got there first, Slow Poke Rodrigez had a big piece of cheese and a smile on his face.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLdy0GbPtmo

[Edited on 1-6-2011 by chrisx]

bent-rim - 1-6-2011 at 10:56 AM

I'm not sure how you're getting to Coco's, but about 22-23 miles south of Catavina is a trail that heads east and drops down to a wash that will dump you out near the graded road that leads to Coco's, to the south. If you head north on the graded road it will take you to the Rancho Market in Gonzaga where you can stock up on supplies. The trail is steep in some sections going downhill. It might be the La Turquesa route that I've seen mentioned on this site in other threads.

David K - 1-6-2011 at 11:43 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by bent-rim
I'm not sure how you're getting to Coco's, but about 22-23 miles south of Catavina is a trail that heads east and drops down to a wash that will dump you out near the graded road that leads to Coco's, to the south. If you head north on the graded road it will take you to the Rancho Market in Gonzaga where you can stock up on supplies. The trail is steep in some sections going downhill. It might be the La Turquesa route that I've seen mentioned on this site in other threads.


Since he is coming down from San Felipe (see his first post in this thread)... He won't get to enjoy the thrill of the La Turquesa Grade (Kacey's XR Ride/ Coco's Shortcut)!

Roy 'TheSquarecircle' with help from TW and others made it UP in his Land Rover after finding and clearing a route from the turquoise mine.

In Feb. 2007, I went from Hwy. 1 (near El Pedregoso) east to the peninsular divide on the abandoned mine road:



There I saw the road dropping down the mountain side... A much better road than I was expecting after reading Kacey's book.



I walked about halfway down the grade to see if it was possible to drive it without a need to turn around. Not being able to see the end, I decided not to chance it without another vehicle along.



In May, 2007... Roy went in from the Hwy. 5 side, to the turquoise mine and tried to scout a route beyond to the bottom of the grade:









Roy needed more help and time to find the lost road across the valley floor. Nomads Steekers and Ken Cooke made trips in to see if they could get across.

Steekers took this photo from the turquoise mine area showing the grade coming down the mountain...



Roy, TW and others helping forged a road across the valley from the turquoise mine to the foot of the mountain:





Only motorcycle tracks could be seen on this former mine service road... It was very steep, but the Rover with Roy at the wheel, made it up!







The top of the grade... where I was the previous year...



The road on to Hwy. 1:



For more on finding this La Turquesa Canyon shortcut: http://vivabaja.com/207

chrisx - 1-6-2011 at 12:09 PM

Quote:
For more on finding this La Turquesa Canyon shortcut: http://vivabaja.com/207


these roads all appear bike / hike a bike able

David K - 1-6-2011 at 12:15 PM

It is just a off road shortcut to get to Gonzaga Bay (or Coco's Corner) from Cataviña/ Hwy. 1

There is also the Camino Real mission 'road' from Mision Santa Maria down to the desert near Gonzaga Bay... It is just a foot trail and is steep in places.

chrisx - 1-6-2011 at 12:24 PM

If memory serves, my map shows 3 or 4 missions not to far apart in the South, closer to La Paz. I think one of my darts landed on the map near there. Not yet time for planning a southern route, hummmmm

David K - 1-6-2011 at 12:35 PM

There are 27 Spanish mission established in Baja and many of them were moved during their operation, and sometimes those get counted as seperate missions instead of just newer locations.

Calamajue and Santa Maria are the same mission, just two sites... The water at Calamajue was poisonous so crops wouldn't grow there... They moved the mission up to Santa Maria after a few months... Good water, but not enough land to plant on... When San Fernando was founded 2 years after Santa Maria, they closed Santa Maria... San Fernando Velicata had lots of land and good water.

Bajatripper - 1-6-2011 at 02:03 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by David K

The water at Calamajue was poisonous so crops wouldn't grow there...


David
While I agree with you that the water at Calamajue won't support crops, I believe that it is attributed to its heavy mineral content and not poison.
Clavijero states that the water was undrinkable to Spaniards, so they dug wells about a league away and brought the precious liquid back to the mission site. But he also says that the natives of the region, not much into digging wells, had no problems surviving on the stuff.
The mineralization is evident by the soda mound on the west side of the canyon wall, where a small spring geyser errupts on top of it. The next time you're out there, try breaking off a little of the material and dropping it into the water to watch it fizzle away into nothing (I'm easily entertained, obviously).

So, if our biker friend happens down that canyon, he should be OK if he needs to rely on it for survival. If it turns out that you are right, and the natives had built up an immunity to the poison, then at least he will become part of the lore that is Baja, a much more interesting way to go than becoming a hood ornament on a passing motor home:lol:

[Edited on 1-6-2011 by Bajatripper]

chrisx - 1-6-2011 at 03:02 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bajatripper
Quote:
Originally posted by David K

The water at Calamajue was poisonous so crops wouldn't grow there...


then at least he will become part of the lore that is Baja, a much more interesting way to go than becoming a hood ornament on a rolling beer can home:lol:

[Edited on 1-6-2011 by Bajatripper]


¿I wonder, is there a water source information thread/guide here, there, somewhere? perhaps a warning label for bad water thread? Even boiling doesn't remove high acid content

[Edited on 1-6-2011 by chrisx]

David K - 1-6-2011 at 06:44 PM

Sorry... Poisonous to CROPS... but seeing so much mineralization along the sides, would you even want to try it?

The source is a warm spring up the canyon, and it is reported you can drink it there and suffer no ill effects.

When the Jesuits planned the mission for Calamajue, it was after a wet season and the water was well diluted, so it seemed fine... some historians believe.