Doing it with mules (Jan. 3-18 trip)

Always up for an adventure, Mike Younghusband (of Tecate to Cabo trek fame) and I went on a 6-day mule trip to San Jose de Comondu.

Day One:



Day Two (the Mex. 1 snarl south of Jesus Maria – I waited there 2 ½ hours while a brigade offloaded tomatoes from the stricken semi::





We started our mule journey near Rancho Viejo where I rented a mule from Bule (sp?) (ph: Boo Lay). There was a lot of water in this area – less so as we progressed west.





Mike with his new sombrero:





I had a crash course in muleskinning 101:



We made it as far as Palo Chino, where Taquel and Rosa made us welcome on their ranch, allowing us to camp. They couldn’t have been more hospitable, helping unsaddle the mules, bringing fire wood, a rake to smooth my tent site, alfalfa and water for the animals.







Rosa does beautiful work making these 2-litre bottle covers:



Taquel shows us an old set of spurs:



Found this guy while clearing my tent space:



On the road again; the landscape is some of Baja’s best:



Mike’s mule, Mula-Hey, spooked occasionally when approaching unfamiliar forms, such as these scarecrow type figures which (we determined) were meant to keep the owner’s own mules from straying:



At the end of the day we found this abandoned rancho (might be El Chipi) which had an adjacent reservoir with water for the animals. All the comforts of home:







Approaching Comondu the third day about 1:00 pm. We lucked out – Chamo found us on main street, and offered his spacious lot to camp. We spent 2 nights there. Chamo is the local penache maker, using the sugar cane he grows. The area had a kitchen, well water with hose, a coral for the animals, and supplied alfalfa.





This was home, under the grape arbor:



Mike prepares potatoes and onions for breakfast:



On our layover day, we walked to San Miguel in search of specialty wines. We found the furniture maker/vintner, Filiberto Gastelum. What a remarkable experience.







Back in town we explored the mission buildings:



We had an opportunity to see the indigenous pictographs, a short hike from main street, Comondu:





In Comondu, the police truck is also the local school bus:



More “in the saddle” time:



It was a wonderful time, experiencing the ranch life and small town hospitality of the Sierra Gigante.

On my 5-day trip home, I stayed at El Requeson (80 pesos to camp), some ranch property north of Mulege (where I ended up after looking for pinturas), two nights at Ojo de Liebre, and Los Olivos campground.





This erosion on the adjacent cove revealed a fascinating strata of midden:







Although cold and windy, I’m comfortable:



Very windy at Santa Rosalia, and then headed to Ojo de Liebre where I knew there were those nice palapas to shelter out of the wind:





What’s this guy?





One of the best camping spots in all of Baja:

Great trip, you guys !!!! Thanks for the info and pics.

Could you please let us know where is Rancho Viejo ?

Is it west on the road to Comondu from the road up to San Javier from Loreto ??

[Edited on 1-23-2013 by motoged]

" ... where is Rancho Viejo? Is it west on the road to Comondu from the road up to San Javier from Loreto?"

It is off the paved road to San Javier - it is on some maps (past Las Parras). Bule's ranch was about a mile before Rancho Viejo on the other side of the street. He is well known in the area. This is a view of Bule’s rancho:



Rancho Viejo is immediately past this point on the paved road:



We went through Rancho Viejo to get on a dirt road heading to Comondu.

"It is off the paved road to San Javier - it is on some maps (past Las Parras). Bule's ranch was about a mile before Rancho Viejo on the other side of the street. He is well known in the area."


Gracias....that's what i was guessing.

Great trip and report! Thank you for all the pictures and details.

It's a trip I'd like to do someday. So you rode from Bule's to Tista's and cut from there to the short (er) road
to Comondu? Did you stay on the road the whole way, or did you do some desert riding too? And it was about 2 1/2 days from Bule's to Comondu? About how many hours did you ride in a day?

I've driven to Comondu many times, only once on that road It's so beautiful up there, be nice to see it from on top of a mule

Cindi, what a great trip report and excellent photos! What fun it was to ride between two mission sites... Mike looks healthy, too!

To help Nomads visualize your route, here is a close up map of the region...

See Rancho Viejo (on the Loreto-San Javier road).

[History note: Rancho Viejo was the first location of the San Javier mission from 1699 to 1710.
The San Jose de Comondu church that you saw was originally a 'side chapel' to the 1750's constructed mission church, torn down in the 1930's to make room for a school, that has since also been torn down! San Jose de Comondu was the largest mission church in all of California, before it fell into ruin.]

See also 'Palo Chino' mentioned in the report.

El Chipi is about two miles north of El Horno on the map...

Thank you Wilderone, and I hope you don't get crucified for posting photos of rock art!



[Edited on 1-24-2013 by David K]

Mike suggested this mule trip when I was trying to scare up someone to have an adventure with.
We did stay on the road the entire way - three cars passed us the first day - the busiest. We'd walk for 45 minutes or so in the middle of the day to ease stiff knees, sore as___s. It took us 2 1/2 days to get to Comondu, and only 2 days on the way back, approx. 9 am to 4 pm. Sunset was 6 pm. A longer day riding would have been pretty uncomfortable. It was nice having a little time to enjoy where we ended up at the end of the day too - visiting with people, or hiking around. We camped at El Horno on the way back. Starting the day at 9:30, having to stop and re-tie the duffle on the back of my mule 2 or 3 times, stopping to look around El Horno, a 1/2 hour lunch, taking a photo break to see the El Camino Real, stretched out the trip at the beginning.

Our one overnight camp at El Horno – water, a corral and food for the animals:



The pinturas are signed on the road, although you need permission from the guy whose land you need to cross to get there. He guides you too - no indication at all of this starting point at his house!

More pics? oh gosh - I have 384!!

El Horno:







El Camino Real:



As we were coming into Comondu a couple cars passed. It's not a problem, you hear them coming and can move out of the way - they pass slowly and the animals aren't spooked.

Thank you Cindi... those are great!

Here the mission roads "El Camino Real" in that area...



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Paula, the secret on really rocky, bad roads is to go slow.... It usually amazes us to see some of the old, 2WD autos that Mexicans drive over these 'Baja 1000' type of roads... but they do. As Baja Bernie says, "no hurry,no worry"... and there you have it. Norte Americanos are usually in a hurry, as we have limited time to see things being on a vacation... so we want to get in as much of Baja as we can. Having an off road vehicle means faster travel, less damage, and good off road or all terrain tires means less flats (with some of the air removed). 4WD allows one to climb steep, slippery roads without momentum that the 2WDs need... slower= less damage!

So, go to Comondu and other places, but go slow... place the tires on the higher rocks so they don't damage the underside of your car (oil pan, gas tank, exhaust, drive train)!

[Edited on 1-24-2013 by David K]