BajaNomad - HWY. 5: San Felipe to Chapala (Hwy. 1), July 2011

HWY. 5: San Felipe to Chapala (Hwy. 1), July 2011

David K - 7-10-2011 at 04:18 PM

The following road log was made on the July 4th weekend, 2011.

MILE / KM. Marker

0.0 San Felipe (Traffic Circle by Pemex stations, south turn)

0.8 Pemex station and market on south side of town

6.0 Left Turn off Airport Road, Km. 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(add 6.0 miles to following for distance from traffic circle)

The next 45 miles are well paved, but many short, steep and unmarked dips will require reduced speed to avoid damage.

0.0 / Km. 0 Airport Road/ Puertecitos Road Jcn.

12.5 / Km. 20-21 Rancho Percebu Road

15.7 / Km. 26+ Shell Island Road

18.6 / Km. 31 Bahia Santa Maria Road

19.3 / Km. 32+ Nuevo Mazatlan Road

21.5 / Km. 35.5 Colonia Delicias (markets/ restaurants)

29.6 / Km. 49 El Coloradito Road

32.8 / Km. 54 Campo Cristina Road

35.4 / Km. 58.5 Los Olivos Road

36.1 / Km. 60 Arroyo Matomi

36.3 Rancho San Rafael (well)

43.4 / Km. 72 Playa Destiny

44.9 / Km. 74+ PUERTECITOS (paved) Road
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The newest paved additions to Hwy. 5 are well engineered, wide and are designed and signed for high speed. However, frequent rock slides onto pavement require caution.

0.0 / Km. 74+ Puertecitos Road

5.0 / Km. 83 Bahia Cristina

6.1 / Km. 84.5 La Costilla

7.2 mine road

16.4 El Huerfanito Road

18.9 Bridge at previous end of pavement (July 2010)

20.1 / Km. 311 Change of Km. markers, distance from Mexicali

23.6 / Km. 317

24.1 / Km. 318 END OF PAVED DRIVE, detour onto older road, regraded smooth. Pavement ends just ahead on new roadbed.

25.5 Okie Landing site.

32.0 END OF NEW ROAD CONSTRUCTION and end of smooth dirt detour on older road.

32.4 Campo Delfines Road

35.6 Las Encantadas Road

37.7 Punta Bufeo Road

42.4 Papa Fernandez' Road, roadbed south of here is better/ faster.

43.6 Miltary Checkpoint

45.0 GONZAGA BAY PEMEX/ ALFONSINA'S ROAD/ RANCHO GRANDE MARKET (Pemex closed from 2-4 pm for siesta)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

0.0 Gonzaga Bay Pemex

1.2 Campo Beluga (2.0 mi.) and El Sacrificio (4.2 mi.) Road

7.1 Las Palmitas Oasis (4.7 mi.) and Santa Maria Canyon (4.0 mi.) Road, right.

14.4 First Boojum Trees on Hwy. 5.

14.6 La Turquesa Canyon Road, right.

18.4 Las Arrastras (site) Road, right.

22.1 Coco's Corner (Puerto Calamajue and Mision Calamajue road left).

34.8 Hwy. 1, Laguna Chapala (Cataviña is 33 miles north).

(photos in trip report ('Freaky Fourth') of July, 2011)

mcfez - 7-10-2011 at 06:49 PM

David...you time the ride from GB to SF by any chance? Txs.

David K - 7-10-2011 at 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mcfez
David...you time the ride from GB to SF by any chance? Txs.

Maybe SF to GB, as I was southbound...

SF to Km. 26 is about a 30 min. drive.
We left Km. 26 (Shell Island Road about 11 am) and arrived at the Gonzaga Pemex about 2:30 pm and that time includes a 30-45 min. lunch stop at the wide view point above El Huerfanito.

So my SF to GB driving time is 3.5 hours for the 96 miles.

It took us about 3 to 3.5 hours to go from Gonzaga Bay to El Rosario... 144 miles.

Phil S - 7-10-2011 at 09:56 PM

David. Great report. Thanks. Want to comment on our bringing our 2011 Toyota Sienna (sort of low clearance) down this winter in first of November.???? If I left today, would we have any problems with "factory tires". We are used to driving on Toyo's in Baja roads. I remember one trip down in our Dodge pickup some years back, that we "cut" deeply, two of the new Toyo 10 ply we were driving on that year???? road clearance is our main issue here. Speeds not a problem. Can't wait for it to be totally paved. Of course then, ALL the freight trucks will be coming south on THIS road???????????????????????????????????//

David K - 7-10-2011 at 10:06 PM

Hi Phil,

I won't recommend it for you until those last 10 miles of older road (that is still very rough) is regraded while they work on that last section to Papa Fernandez' road.

10 miles of rough road doesn't seem like much, but it could break something on a street car/ van...

Seriously, if you love Baja... don't you belong in another model from Toyota (Land Cruiser, Sequoia or 4Runner)?

The highway between San Felipe and Puertecitos will need to be replaced by a high speed, direct route (without the stupid 10 mph sharp dips) before commercial traffic can use it, I think... and that is already planned... as we have read here... The road won't go into San Felipe and will head straight south from near the arches... perhaps go through the sulfur mine as the original Puertecitos road did?

mcfez - 7-11-2011 at 06:08 AM

stupid 10 mph sharp dips...my kids love those dips especially when I am not paying attention.... I smoke the brakes upon approach :lol:

Txs 4 the info David.

J.P. - 7-11-2011 at 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mcfez
stupid 10 mph sharp dips...my kids love those dips especially when I am not paying attention.... I smoke the brakes upon approach :lol:

A few years back we almost unloaded a new to us pop up camper on one of those vados It messed up the tiedown on the truck. :bounce:

bufeo - 7-11-2011 at 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Phil S
David. Great report. Thanks. Want to comment on our bringing our 2011 Toyota Sienna (sort of low clearance) down this winter in first of November.???? ....

You don't mention if your Sienna is the front-wheel drive or the all-wheel drive version and you don't say what size tire you have on (16" or 17" can be fitted to the Sienna).

In any case, we had visitors come to our house at Punta Bufeo in a Camry and another bunch in a Buick (front wheel drive Enclave). So, it can be done. Just have to go slowly and maybe ride a berm or two.

Allen R

David K - 7-11-2011 at 09:21 AM

One of the dips near Punta Estrella used to be well marked... A few months ago, the warning was removed (but that dip seemed to be much improved)... Other ones near Bahia Santa Maria and closer to Puertecitos remain to catch the speeding truck, however!

2009 oh sh dip - xmas 175-r.JPG - 42kB

David K - 7-11-2011 at 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bufeo

Quote:

Originally posted by Phil S
David. Great report. Thanks. Want to comment on our bringing our 2011 Toyota Sienna (sort of low clearance) down this winter in first of November.???? ....

10-4... driven slow enough, damage is avoided... make sure tires are in good condition... 4WD is not needed on the main road.

TMW - 7-11-2011 at 03:41 PM

From a friend in San Felipe.

My curiosity got the best of me this morning and I decided to take a little drive south from San Felipe, past Puertecitos to the end of the pavement.

I spoke with a friend of mine, Agustin the owner of Campo 5 Islas,
He also shared some interesting news that he just got at his recent Ejido meeting. First of all he confirmed that the 10 km section of new road is nearing completion, most of the bridges and culverts are finshed and the road bed is under construction in some areas. More importantly, he said they were told that the current Governor of Baja wants as much of the new Hwy finished as is possible during his remaining term in office, so instead of bidding the next section of ten km, as has been the practice, they are bidding 31 km in the next section to take the new paved road past Gonzaga Bay. He says that should speed things up because there has been a lot of time lost in each of the lengthy bidding processes between the 10 km segments.

So now you know all I know, which isn't much.

BAJACAT - 7-11-2011 at 09:31 PM

for sure I would not miss the old rd, it was far worst thant the firts time i was there, and then i did the 50 miles or so, this time its about 10 miles of the old rd, but it feels like 50...bad roads good people, good roads no broken parts, right Lou...

Ps. thanks for the info, David.. so whats the next mission imposible..

redhilltown - 7-11-2011 at 11:52 PM

I'll miss it. After Puertecitos it was another world. A bumpy crazy rock infested nightmare but there are thousands of miles of "good" roads in this world and for the most part, you don't remember a single mile of them.

But THAT road...you will remember and it will never be the same.

dizzyspots - 7-12-2011 at 05:35 AM

the 1st time we went to Baja (2007)...we stopped to air down at Puertecitos..then on to Gonzaga..then Coco's, San Ignacio and whales

when we returned...we stopped at Chapala to air down again...and my wife refused to do that road again..
well, after discussing alternatives (Mex 1 thru San Diego back to Tucson) we pressed on..
second time is much better when the "Baja rookie" husband learns about airing down and 35mph instead of 5-10 and the sandy "bypasses"...been back 6 times since..

Bob H - 7-12-2011 at 06:14 AM

We drove our F250 with a Lance Cabover camper through this route about 7 years ago. Wow.... what a trip @ 5 to 10 mph. The camper was rattled to death (almost). It was nice to get to Papa's and it was dark! Woke up the next morning and we were almost in the water at high tide!

Great trip ..... and I will never forget it.

Martyman - 7-12-2011 at 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mcfez
I smoke the brakes upon approach

I always wondered what you were smoking :cool:

baitcast - 7-12-2011 at 11:13 AM

I know I show this pic to much but when I see comments about my favorite road I just can,t help myself :lol:

Some of old hands know what I,m talking about Redhilltown put it all to well You would never ever forget your first trip down that monster :lol:

but would always be looking forward to your next.

It was Bufeo,s playground,my wife who threaten to get out and walk the first time started to make plans for the next trip within days

and there were many more,hell we used to see someone every trip or so.

bufeo - 7-12-2011 at 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bob H... The camper was rattled to death (almost). ....

No further comment.

Allen R

mcfez - 7-13-2011 at 07:52 AM

Martyman ...legal to smoke your brakes :lol:

I tell you all...the VERY WORST part of this road was that &&*(^%$##@ potted paved road ....before Pueritcitos! That was insane.

baitcast - 7-15-2011 at 12:24 PM

Mcfez are you going to tell us what it was like back in the old days again :lol:

Rob

David K - 7-15-2011 at 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by baitcast
Mcfez are you going to tell us what it was like back in the old days again :lol:

Rob

Yah... 'paved road' to Puertecitos...Finished mid 1990's, then full of pot holes within a couple years, and misearable to dirve in 1999.

How about before then... when the road went through the sulfur mine? Rafael (owner of Puertecitos) would grade it every couple of years... it was pretty good after that!

Imagine having a 50 mile long driveway you had to maintain!?

redhilltown - 7-15-2011 at 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mcfez
Martyman ...legal to smoke your brakes :lol:

I tell you all...the VERY WORST part of this road was that &&*(^%$##@ potted paved road ....before Pueritcitos! That was insane.

You mean that after pothole after pothole you would hit a decent stretch of blacktop-accelerate a bit- and then suddenly come upon the mother lode of potholes and have to swerve over to the far left OR far right onto the dirt and whip against a few trees before realizing you had to basically SLOW down all the way to Puertecitos?

Once again I will miss all of that the first time on the new road I am stuck for an hour or two because some big rig is splayed across all lanes wheels to the sky...

Hell...I miss it now and I am stuck inside of Long Beach with the Cortez blues again.

baitcast - 7-16-2011 at 08:22 AM

What you don,t hear anymore is about the road crews of old :lol:

or lack of,I think David has a pic or two of the crew between Puertecitos and Papa,s.

The crew could normally be found in the Sister climbs,no trucks,no cats,the only equipment was a wheelbarrow,shovel and rake and a guy who would attach a beer can to a brush for payment,we always left a dollar both ways when we could find the can.
Rob
Mcfez.......You were all of 10 when I first ran the gauntlet with my family,with a VW bus no less :lol:

and I dare say it was a bit rougher :lol:

[Edited on 7-16-2011 by baitcast]

[Edited on 7-17-2011 by baitcast]

David K - 7-16-2011 at 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by baitcast
What you don,t hear anymore is about the road crews of old :lol:

and I dare say the stretch you speak of was just a bit rougher.

[Edited on 7-16-2011 by baitcast]

baitcast - 7-16-2011 at 05:06 PM

Thought I remembered that pic, Thx David
Rob

David K - 7-16-2011 at 11:29 PM

My pleasure... That photo is from Cliff Cross' Baja Guide of 1970.

I remember seeing the wheel barrow with a pick, shovel and a sign asking for a donation (nobody around)... back in '67...

mcfez - 7-21-2011 at 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by baitcast
What you don,t hear anymore is about the road crews of old :lol:

and I dare say it was a bit rougher :lol:

[Edited on 7-16-2011 by baitcast]

[Edited on 7-17-2011 by baitcast]

baitcast...
no doubt you were eating dust and rock way before I discovered Baja......however...I can tell you that road is no worst than the roads of Tulum back in the 70's. We ate mud and vines. Tough roads are nothing new to me.

TMW - 8-4-2011 at 12:24 PM

From a friend who was on a border tour in Calexico.

"one of the guys on the tour is the director of the state highway agency. I asked him what the timing was on the Puertocitos to Chapala road. He said two more years, late 2013. It will be done."

motoged - 8-4-2011 at 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mcfez
baitcast...
no doubt you were eating dust and rock way before I discovered Baja......however...I can tell you that road is no worst than the roads of Tulum back in the 70's. We ate mud and vines. Tough roads are nothing new to me.

McFez,

Yah,

The hongos from Agua Azul made the road seem like fun, I bet :biggrin:

David K - 8-4-2011 at 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TW
From a friend who was on a border tour in Calexico.

"one of the guys on the tour is the director of the state highway agency. I asked him what the timing was on the Puertocitos to Chapala road. He said two more years, late 2013. It will be done."

Well, it has taken them 4 years to build 24 miles of new highway... yah, through pretty tough terrain....

It is 80 miles from Puertecitos to Chapala on Hwy. 1, so they are only 1/3 done in 4 years. They will need to really pick up the pace!

bajalou - 8-4-2011 at 08:18 PM

Much easier terrain for the rest of the road.

it only took them 6 months to go around Puertecitos

beercan - 8-4-2011 at 08:47 PM

I was there the day they really started . Then for the next 6 months I was busy listening to all the trucks, dozers and blasting !

David K - 8-4-2011 at 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by beercan
I was there the day they really started . Then for the next 6 months I was busy listening to all the trucks, dozers and blasting !

If you look at Google Earth, it has photos of the area with the pavement well south of Puertecitos now, and the Puertecitos bypass looks pretty straight an easy... and less than 2 miles long... 6 months to go 2 miles... GEEZE

So, 4 years to build and complete 24 miles means 6 miles (10 km.) a year average (so far). With a little under 60 miles still to go, that means 10 years of work! Yah, easier terrain means they could go faster... I did read here that they are doing a shortcut to the west of Coco's Corner and bypassing poor Coco completely by about a mile.

TMW - 8-5-2011 at 10:05 AM

I think in all fairness the Mexicans are building the road much better than in years past and the bridges are much better. It took over two years here in Bakersfield to get a bridge exchange put in (hwy178/Fairfax) then had to redo the west bound ramp. I think there is a push to get to Gonzaga ASAP but after that who knows. The Presidential election in 2012 may result in a stopage on the road to hwy 1 or slow it down a lot. There could be a lot of pressure from business interest on the pacific side to slow it down. Once a hwy is open thru Gonzaga to hwy 1 a lot of traffic will be diverted from the pacific side. Money talks on either side of the border.

David K - 8-5-2011 at 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TW
I think in all fairness the Mexicans are building the road much better than in years past and the bridges are much better. It took over two years here in Bakersfield to get a bridge exchange put in (hwy178/Fairfax) then had to redo the west bound ramp. I think there is a push to get to Gonzaga ASAP but after that who knows. The Presidential election in 2012 may result in a stopage on the road to hwy 1 or slow it down a lot. There could be a lot of pressure from business interest on the pacific side to slow it down. Once a hwy is open thru Gonzaga to hwy 1 a lot of traffic will be diverted from the pacific side. Money talks on either side of the border.

These are valid points TW!

The people of Santa Rosalia, Mulege and Loreto that count on highway business have obviously hoped to halt or postponed the San Ignacio to San Juanico/ Insurgentes as that cuts over 100 miles from the Ensenada-La Paz run and eliminates two major grades up and down the mountain near the gulf coast.

The San Felipe to Puertecitos highway will need to be re-built or re-aligned away from the coast as the current road with steep vados will only be the cause of a lot of damage or the laughing stock of Mexican highway building.

North of San Felipe and south from Puertecitos we see the new wider, modern highway construction with bridges instead of vados... There needs to be that caliber of road between San Felipe and Puertecitos before the pavement gets to Laguna Chapala for truckers to be diverted onto it (I would hope).

I think Desert Bull posted he heard of the new route, that would stay out of San Felipe and head straight for Puertecitos, much like the older pre-1982 road did, through the sulfur mine.

sancho - 8-19-2011 at 01:37 PM

DK, I'm goofing around with the idea of taking a Bus, TJ to the
Chapala turnoff/Coco's Corner, then riding a Mtn Bicycle
up to San Felipe, by your detailed info I have that at
about 130mi. I understand from El Huerfenito to SF is
decent pavement. My question is the surface condition
of the road from Hwy 1 to the pavement at El Huerfenito,
I have that distance at 60mi. or so,
do you think it is rideable on a Mtn Bike? I probably don't
need severe, deep, close together washboard or sand
of much depth
thanks for your time

David K - 8-19-2011 at 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sancho
DK, I'm goofing around with the idea of taking a Bus, TJ to the
Chapala turnoff/Coco's Corner, then riding a Mtn Bicycle
up to San Felipe, by your detailed info I have that at
about 130mi. I understand from El Huerfenito to SF is
decent pavement. My question is the surface condition
of the road from Hwy 1 to the pavement at El Huerfenito,
I have that distance at 60mi. or so,
do you think it is rideable on a Mtn Bike? I probably don't
need severe, deep, close together washboard or sand
of much depth
thanks for your time

Oh I think it is quite doable on a mtn. bike... It has been for ages, before so much paving and regrading. See Peterson' 'The Baja Adventure Book'... a photo of mtn. bikers south of Puertecitos in the 1980s.

It won't be a picnic, but what kind of Baja adventure would it be if it was easy?

Be prepared to make many tire repairs from sharp volcanic rock chips.

The road from Hwy. 1 (Chapala) to Rancho Grande (35 miles) is in good shape (as graded Baja roads go)... and the next 3 miles to Papa Fernandez' road past the military check, are fine, as well.

It is the next 10 miles that are still rough and un-graded for many years... to the Los Delfines road.

Then you have good, freshly graded road (parallel to new highway construction for 8 miles before the pavement begins near Okie's Landing... as of July 3, 2011).

TMW - 8-19-2011 at 04:55 PM

Use a foam insert instead of a tube and you will have no flats. Walmart sells them for a 26 inch tire. However you will lose about 2 gears since it is harder to pedal with the foam insert. I've been riding on them for years. No flats.

sancho - 8-19-2011 at 05:06 PM

Ridden Mtn Bikes for decades, not so much
off road though, have the Tuffy Liners on the rear,
but I have to admit, I learned something here,
foam inserts, never heard of them,
makes sense, especially for a road like that

[Edited on 8-20-2011 by sancho]

woody with a view - 8-19-2011 at 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by baitcast
What you don,t hear anymore is about the road crews of old :lol:

and I dare say it was a bit rougher :lol:

[Edited on 7-16-2011 by baitcast]

[Edited on 7-17-2011 by baitcast]

you're the man, Rob. wish i could share some of your knowledge of that side in trade for some spotfin chasing.....
:cool:

Baja Bucko - 8-19-2011 at 05:38 PM

And be prepared to carry LOTS OF WATER....Gallons and gallons....

proneman - 8-19-2011 at 05:40 PM

Crossed at Mexicali.......down to San Felipe and next day down and over to Hwy 1.
Was told it was a 5 hour drive from S.F. by a guy in the Pemex. It took me 4:50.....once off the pavement......I probably saw only 3 or 4 other cars

kinda fun.....but best to go with another vehicle I reckon....
roger

dizzyspots - 8-21-2011 at 12:42 PM

on one of our last trips...we spotted a guy southbound at Puertecitos (before paving was started) on a SKINNY tire bike (friday) on Monday morning, as we prepared to depart Campo Beluga...he was camped a few palapas down.....we asked if he needed anything...just some more water..he had enough food
he was from Britain...started in Alaska and was on his way to South America!!!

freediverbrian - 8-21-2011 at 04:42 PM

At a year per 10k/6mi It will take two more years to reach the pemex rancho grande roads . It is not an easy road to build many river beds and hills . If there was a pot for a date to hwy 1 i would guess Nov 2016 Anyone else ? A buck a guess payable in beer at rancho grande .

[Edited on 8-21-2011 by freediverbrian]

[Edited on 10-12-2012 by freediverbrian]

David K - 8-21-2011 at 10:23 PM

The pavement was 21 miles from Rancho Grande last month... and 8 miles of that was along the new roadbed, under construction. If they pave those 8 miles before this year is over, then the remaining 13 miles would be 2-2.5 years at the rate they are going. So, the guess is March of 2014 from me

redhilltown - 8-25-2011 at 11:57 PM

You guys are using calculations and logic when the topic is Mexican road construction?

How silly. :tumble:

David K - 8-26-2011 at 08:23 AM

Right you are... that is why it is a gamble! Your bet is ?

redhilltown - 9-2-2011 at 12:03 AM

I have been pretty consistent that I don't think it WILL be finished unless there are big big big bucks behind it and very very powerful people with vested interests....which of course may be the case. But that said, 2016-at the earliest- sounds good to me! I can't imagine it making any sense unless it becomes a toll road but I think you pointed out that is illegal under Mexican law unless a free road parallels it.

It has already messed up one of my fave Corvina holes for that area so I am no fan. Rancho Grande as a truck stop just doesn't seem right...

TMW - 9-2-2011 at 09:10 AM

["I can't imagine it making any sense unless it becomes a toll road but I think you pointed out that is illegal under Mexican law unless a free road parallels it."]

The toll road at La Rumorosa does not have a free road paralleling it down the mountain.

David K - 9-2-2011 at 09:22 AM

That has to be a rare exception. Maybe the poorest travelers are using the switchback down the mountain that SCORE used for a Baja race? I remember your photos of your GMC on it.

TMW - 9-2-2011 at 01:41 PM

That race road has a steel gate that I think is sometimes locked. I thought the Mexican Govt was going to give the residence in La Rumorosa maybe a pass or somekind of discount but I don't know if they did. It was a big deal when they opened the up side as I think the down side was keep as a two way free hwy for a while longer.

redhilltown - 9-2-2011 at 05:37 PM

I can only see it working as a money maker. The amount of money they are spending is amazing! Maybe the trucking industry in Mexicali has put money into it for their trucks going south but even then they would tear up the road between San Felipe and Puertecitos in days with heavy usage rendering all of it useless.

There is a lot of cash being spent in a very very poor country in a very poor economy and after years now I have yet to see or read a plausible explanation about what is going on. If it is a new highway between San Felipe and Chapala why would you start in the middle? If it is a new road for a major resort in Gonzaga why would you not start at Chapala and have it finished long ago?

I have read it is the ex president's wife putting up the money. I helped a five islands local once with his car and he swore it was Pat Butler of El Dorado fame. It is all so very bizarre.

Gotta love Mexico! Off to La Gringa tomorrow! Will somebody please turn on the a/c????