seth - 12-11-2004 at 05:53 PM
has anyone done this recently? i'm thinking about either that loop or going from san ignacio through san juan de la pila to san jose de magdalena and
back up on the 1.
thoughts?
KurtG - 12-11-2004 at 08:11 PM
I've motorcycled the San Jose de Magdalena to Mulege loop many times over the years, last spring being the most recent. Any good 4wd with low range
will do fine. Its been a couple of years since I went through the San Juan de la Pila road, it was rough but again 4wd with low range fpr the steep
grades will be needed. The road has been obstructed by landslides some years but I was told in October that it was passible. The scenery is
incredible back there but do not underestimate the difficulty of that route.
seth - 12-12-2004 at 11:27 AM
gracias,
we've alot of experience with lowland baja, driven most of the pacific coast, not much in the mountains. sierra de guadalupe seems like a nice area to
explore if the surf is small.
an interesting part of the world
seth - 1-3-2005 at 01:36 PM
wow.
we have an '87 4runner, basically stock. it did fine, but the road from san ignacio through san juan de las pilas to san jose de magdalena surely is
quite nasty. we got 2 flats, but both were fairly slow and didn't occur at bad times. the directions/mileages in "backroad baja" were generally
accurate, though having a GPS helped us find our way into the bottom of the canyon. once you are in the canyon, it's beautiful and slow driving. goat
ranches, californios, rock art, all that. the initial climb out of the arroyo @2miles after san juan de las pilas is interesting. the long climb out
of the valley and over the Sierra de Guadalupe is amazing, something like 2000+' elevation gain on a 1 lane baja dirt road. the descent to the san
jose de magdalena road is pretty interesting as well. we were in 4 low for over 2 days....
an excellent little trip.
Magdalena and beyond..........
Pompano - 1-3-2005 at 02:08 PM
The road was very passable about 3 weeks ago when we took the loop...but conditions now are deplorable. We have had rain the last 3 days here and the
mountains always get more than us...especially the western half. You might make it but you would do very severe damage to the trail. Wait until dry
conditions prevail and protect the rancheros roads.