BajaNomad

Agua Verde road report ?

cliffh - 1-3-2014 at 09:52 AM

Has any one been in last 30 days? thanks

David K - 1-3-2014 at 09:56 AM

Did you see TW's report? He talked about it: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=70830

"Saturday it was on the road to Mulege and the pig roast at the Serenidad hotel. Along the way I was interested in how the road paving into Agua Verde was doing. As of now no paving just road grading etc. as seen from hwy 1"

Here's another thread with comments about the road last month: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=70823

"I haven't driven down the AV road recently but friends there report lots of road work being done on the first stretch including grading and I believe paving. Most of the way to AV is still slow going however."

Nomad Search to the rescue!



[Edited on 1-3-2014 by David K]

motoged - 1-3-2014 at 11:08 AM

Wait a week and I will tell ya :biggrin:

I hope to camp over and also check out the bottom entrance to the road leading out of the sand was just before AV that leads to Ciudad Constitucion....that's if I do some more riding and less "vacationing"...:coolup:

cliffh - 1-4-2014 at 08:09 AM

thanks for the info. and report from Motoged when re returns. thanks Cliff

Baja Bucko - 1-4-2014 at 11:04 AM

Came from Agua Verde, headed to San Javier, just a few weeks ago while riding La Mula Mil from San Jose del Cabo north to eventually Tecate.

Arrived at Agua Verde via the coastline from R. Los Dolores after crossing the peninsula from waaay north of Todos Santos at the Pacific Ocean. MAJOR work going on and TONS of huge equipment at work night and day preparing the road for paving. I do not recommend driving into or out of at night because the detour set-ups are really "guess which way and where" in many spots. Pulling a trailer can be done but not mine.

Yes, the paving is on its way.

[Edited on 1-4-2014 by Baja Bucko]

elfbrewery - 1-4-2014 at 03:37 PM

I'm not sure where your path was "Agua Verde via the coastline from R. Los Dolores."
Did you take a boat? (tee hee)
Thanks for a reply.

David K - 1-4-2014 at 07:46 PM

There is a mission trail (a branch of El Camino Real) along the coast from the 1720's... Marv and Aletha Patchen (and others) wrote about it... "We Hiked a Mission Trail" I recall was the story name... and Marv also published it in his book:

Baja Bucko - 1-4-2014 at 07:50 PM

ElfBrewery--I was on a mule...get it? La Mula Mil? The Mule 1000? Once we hit R. Los Dolores, we rode up the coast to Agua Verde on mules.

So the only way to get to R. Los Dolores is either by feet of some sort or a panga......

TMW - 1-5-2014 at 11:34 AM

Baja Bucko do you ride for long periods or do you walk part of the time. I've never rode horse back for more than an hours or two when I was much younger.

Kencito - 1-8-2014 at 03:53 PM

I just drove back from Rancho San Cosme on the AV road this Saturday. Yes, the first few miles from Highway 1 are paved. However, for some reason you can't drive on it yet but have to drive along the sides on passable but slow going dirt lanes. A lot of folks ignore the detour signs and just drive on the new paved part anyway. In response the gov't has added dirt piles to make that harder but not impossible for various stretches. In any case a normal car could still take the side roads.
Supposedly the paved part is going to get another layer of asphalt to top it off.
But when? Depends on who you ask. Some say soon, others say the money has already run out. Quien Sabe? No work was happening Saturday.
After the paved part the road is in as good as shape as I've ever seen. A great area to explore and enjoy.

for TW

Baja Bucko - 1-8-2014 at 05:30 PM

TW-----well, on the first half of la Mula Mil in November ('13) there were a few days of moving animals with a cowboy or 2 where I rode HARD for over 10 hours...all dirt road riding for the most part, trying to get from waay west of the paved highway east and north of Todos Santos to the otherside ---going east and north eventually to R. Los Dolores on the gulf coast. That was tough especially since I'd been riding over 21 days w only a couple of days of rest early on. We rode in to the dark of night and I was pretty much just barely able to unload animals and crash for the night...in a place where the rattlers were very alive and active!! I actually got off and walked in the dark here for a few kilometers because I hurt so bad (which helped) UNTIL I had the up-close-and-personal rattlesnake family adventure. Then I KNEW at THAT MOMENT, I did NOT belong on the ground but was too damn exhausted to get back in the saddle....my legs were like spaghetti. It was one of the most difficult physical and mental moments I have ever experienced. I almost quit the trip.

That said, I am glad that I did stay on as the first 500 miles of la mula mil is one of the most incredible things I have accomplished-I call it the agony and the ecstacy.

Most other days were several hours in the am, afternoon break for animals, and a few more in the evening, always looking for the night spot that had either food or water for the mules. MANY long days.......ibuprofen is my friend.

On my other trips (not mula mil) I've ridden from 4-6 hours one day and twice that or more others. You know mules, horses you can get moving at a good rate. Mules just GET YOU THERE safe and sound...slowly.

I will be 63 soon and you have to keep doin' this stuff while the body parts allow. I have my inspiration from my dear friend, Eve Ewing, who still was able to ride the first 10 days of la Mula Mil from San Jose del Cabo and she is over 75!!!. She started on this stuff a few years before me and I've only been riding Baja California since 1969.

I will return to finish up the last one quarter of la mula mil in a few weeks, hitting Tecate in March. I have already ridden the route from San Ignacio/San Casimero to Catavina in the past which they are starting this week so I will have completed my own personal "best" of over 1000 miles by mule on the peninsula.

As an added note, I bring my own saddle and gear so everything fits "like a friend, with no secrets left to tell" (stolen from a song!). No surprises just different mule personalities.:bounce:

Now riding cross country or el camino real is another story-there is no going fast there and the ole' 4WD (4-legged type) really keeps one alive and in one piece! ECR can be one tough you-know-what.....:wow:

TMW - 1-8-2014 at 06:25 PM

Wow, what can I say. Tough going for sure and it's the saddle backs like you that make us humble for sure. Thanks and hang in there.

Mulegena - 1-8-2014 at 08:43 PM

Teddy and Eve are living legends of Baja backcountry history.

Simply said, I admire the heck out of you women!

Mulegena

Baja Bucko - 1-8-2014 at 09:57 PM

Don't forget Trudi...she's got the mule miles that put me to shame!

Mulegena - 1-8-2014 at 11:03 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Baja Bucko
Don't forget Trudi...she's got the mule miles that put me to shame!
Absolutely. Thanks and good travelin' to you all, La Mula Mil Mujeres.

motoged - 1-10-2014 at 10:58 PM

I rode my moto into Agua Verde today and here are my road impressions:

After a great Huevos Rancheros at the store-cocina at the corner of the AV road and the highway, I was immediately confronted with a barrier to the new paved road and took the detour/side road....for 20 feet and saw vehicle tracks onto the pavement, so I rode on and off paved sections until the paved sections ended whenever I could.

Locals have done the same and there are numerous on/off tracks created that bypass mounds of dirt or rocks barricading access to the pavement.

The pavement ends at what I will call the south end of the alto-plano section....others will consider this the place where the last two ranchos are situated on the south side of the road shortly before the road approaches the cliffside section.

The detour/side road is generally in good shape and I believe could be negotiated with any average sized car ...no real clearance issues, ruts, silt beds, or slides to worry about....and it crosses the pavement from one side to the other in many places. It is a typical doubletrack sand/gravel/rock road that many Baja folks are used to when plunking into places you want to see.

The pavement looks mostly like a "first layer" of asphalt....or is a poor paving job if it is the final layer.

The road past the paved sections is in very good condition....and the cliffside road was also in good condition.....as it was to Agua Verde.

I would not hesitate to travel it by 2 wheel drive anything...but would not want to pull a trailer of anything unless it was essential.

I made a helmet cam video of the entire trip in that turned out well but haven't posted it yet....probably will figure that out back in Canada in a few weeks.

[Edited on 1-11-2014 by motoged]

ligui - 1-11-2014 at 08:08 AM

Motoged , looking forward to seeing that video , havn't driven AV road for awhile but loved it .

Anybody have some pics they could share ? Need a baja fix , getting tired of the cold and snow . :barf:

motoged - 1-11-2014 at 08:57 AM

Ligui,
Now that I am only taking video of my adventures, I hope to post this ride and others once I am back home (and over my post-Baja withdrawal depression ;D) I plan on posting the best ones once I figure out how to do it...

Ged

ligui - 1-11-2014 at 09:23 AM

Thanks , have a great trip ! :tumble:

Desertbull - 1-11-2014 at 09:43 AM

The dirt trail from Agua Verde to Constitution through the canyon is currently impassable on dirt bikes, I know, sounds crazy, but the trail is literally cut away by with 60-80 foot drop offs that were impassable as of January 2.

motoged - 1-11-2014 at 09:52 AM

I scouted the entrance to this trail from the road a bit....the trail starts with a sign indicating it is an ejido restricted area....and it looked like the last storm clogged up an already rough entrance to that arroyo....thanks for confirming what I did not go far enough to see.

Mula was asking me about it as it is part of a ride she wants to do through that area....thanks for the intel.

David K - 1-11-2014 at 10:31 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by ligui
Motoged , looking forward to seeing that video , havn't driven AV road for awhile but loved it .

Anybody have some pics they could share ? Need a baja fix , getting tired of the cold and snow . :barf:


December, 2001:

Photo from the top of the grade...



Our camp on the beach near the old village, in the distance is the mountain the road came down...

TMW - 1-11-2014 at 12:51 PM





The Explorers




cliffh - 1-11-2014 at 01:08 PM

thanks motored great report Cliffh

David K - 1-11-2014 at 05:27 PM

Great to see The Squarecircle and BajaTripper in your photo TW... both great four wheeling Nomads!

bajarich - 1-12-2014 at 03:40 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by TW




The Explorers






The first photo is the site where a couple named Fred and Rainy live for about 15 years in a 5th wheel they had pulled in there. Fred built the road down the arroyo by hand. Rainy has passed away now and Fred still lives (as far as I know) in Juncalito. The fifth wheel was abandon on the beach several years ago and has mostly disappeared now. Fred and Rainy built the palapa that is there. The land there belongs to Rancho Palo Blanco.

As I understand it the road is being paved because the hombre who owns the giant home across the lagoon at the bottom of the hill contributed a lot of money to the Mayor of Loreto's campaign, and he has been trying to develop the AV area for some time. Out of all the roads in Baja that need to be paved, why else pave this one.

TMW - 1-12-2014 at 07:15 PM

It is a beautiful place. The palapa was pretty run down and over grown when we were there in April or May of 2012.

Jdub - 2-4-2014 at 08:17 PM

I traveled AV road two weeks ago 4 the first time & camped the fish camp, absolutely beautiful! Its doable but long & slow, loved it.

apple - 2-18-2014 at 11:42 AM

Any one been more recently? Is this a must see camping spot?
How long is the drive in by jeep?

Hola Apple

captkw - 2-18-2014 at 05:15 PM

I think you will find that in travel and camping anywhere outside of a state park there is many varible's.....the road to A.V. is long and a real Baja road..that said,,,yes its a nice, off the beaten path area and has a lot of goats in the village !!! bring more than you will think that you need for a few days !! its worth the drive IMO and you will not regret it...just air down a little and take your time...I have found going in early and leaving early is the best gig...that way if you have any problems a rancher may be passing by on the way into town..."muy temprano" early bird gets the worm...BTW good trigger fishing from shore on the south side...strong hooks and wire leader a must!!! K&T

TMW - 5-28-2014 at 08:17 AM

Bump

Any update on the paved road. How far from hwy 1.

BajaRun - 5-28-2014 at 11:05 AM

I was down early for NORRA and had a few days to kill. Went over to Scorpion Bay from Loreto. On my way back to Loreto I decided to go to Agua Verde, I had never been there. I have GoPro video of the entire road into Agua Verde, but I haven't had time to edit yet. In my best approximation the pavement is approx. 5-6 miles in from Hwy.1. There is a livestock market exchange area or it's possibly a stockyard on the right side approx. 5 miles in and the pavement extends approximately 1 mile past that and then it ended.

I was surprised the amount of trash on the beach that was left from previous campers. Maybe from Semana Santa???

David K - 5-28-2014 at 11:26 AM

Looking forward to your video!

Fernweh - 5-28-2014 at 12:09 PM

Great memories from our 2012 trip.
Too bad to road from Aqua Verde to Constitution is gone for right now. Just after a hurricane in Oct of 2012 that road was damaged hard, and I had to turn around....doesn't happen often to me ;D

Enjoy,

Karl










David K - 5-28-2014 at 12:10 PM

How much Cuban Rum had Roy drunk before that first photo??? Viva The Squarecircle!!!

TMW - 5-29-2014 at 10:32 AM

Thanks Karl. That was a great trip. The beaches north of Timbabichi were fantastic. We'll be down to La Paz for the Baja 1000 race in November and on the way back we'll check on the road from Auga Verde to Constitucion to see if anything has been done.

[Edited on 5-29-2014 by TW]

TMW - 5-29-2014 at 10:36 AM

Roy and Blanche were the perfect couple the whole trip.

TMW - 5-29-2014 at 10:38 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by BajaRun
I was down early for NORRA and had a few days to kill. Went over to Scorpion Bay from Loreto. On my way back to Loreto I decided to go to Agua Verde, I had never been there. I have GoPro video of the entire road into Agua Verde, but I haven't had time to edit yet. In my best approximation the pavement is approx. 5-6 miles in from Hwy.1. There is a livestock market exchange area or it's possibly a stockyard on the right side approx. 5 miles in and the pavement extends approximately 1 mile past that and then it ended.

I was surprised the amount of trash on the beach that was left from previous campers. Maybe from Semana Santa???


Thanks for the update.