Quote: Originally posted by micah202  | great stuff DK.
I'm trying to figure how far down the time tunnel it was that the journey of San Fellipe to Peurtecitos, Gonzaga Bay and eventually Hwy 1 started with
a sign 'peutecitos highway' with a loooong washboard section,, then some narrow mountainous stretches before or after Peurtecitos....I remember being
rather terrified up there. Then the road completely fizzled down an arroyo,,hadn't seen a car for seeming days,,but then a truck of locals towed us
out,refused any pe$o$!
I think my mind was completely fried by Gonzaga, don't remember it at all,, think it was ~4 days from San Felippe out to hwy 1,,,, can
anyone fit the description with the year? Absolutely zero paving between San Felippe and hwy 1 |
Sure, the 52 some mile road to PUERTECITOS was a graded, 2 lane wide (mostly) roadbed (in the 1960's and over 20 years after, when the newer road
along the coast was built ... 1982-83.) It did get a washboard surface, specially on the sand northern half. From the sulfur mine south was mostly
rocky.
Puertecitos to Gonzaga was a single lane mostly road, bulldozed over the volcanic ridges in the late 1950's, very steep... as the years wore on, the
roadbed got rougher and rockier. Two wheel drive trucks would spin their tires trying to climb the steep grades and in doing so would create ruts.
That makes the next vehicle slow down and then it spins its tires, etc. etc. Wrecked truck in the canyons below the steep grades testified to the
dangers of driving 2WD trucks, with bad brakes! Slow, crawling 4WD low range was the only safe way to Gonzaga Bay (or dune buggies and motorcycles, of
course).
By the late 1970s, no more repairs were made south of Puertecitos because the Highway One offered a smoother way (to and from civilization) for the
fishermen and resort needs of Gonzaga Bay.
The graded 2WD, 2 lane wide road south from Puertecitos was built in 1986. It too got very rough from lack of maintenance after 2005.
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