Mex 5, again Trip Report Added

Quote: Originally posted by ncampion

The Subaru will be just fine. As David said, have good quality tires and take it easy, no need to air down. Where to stay is a little bit of an issue. If you're trying to make it a two day trip, San Felipe to Loreto is a long day especially now that the sun sets earlier. Someone needs to build a good overnight motel near the 5 - 1 intersection, that would be a money maker. We have made it from San Juan Capistrano to GN via 5 but it's a long day.

Quote: Originally posted by rhintransit

Quote: Originally posted by ncampion   The Subaru will be just fine. As David said, have good quality tires and take it easy, no need to air down. Where to stay is a little bit of an issue. If you're trying to make it a two day trip, San Felipe to Loreto is a long day especially now that the sun sets earlier. Someone needs to build a good overnight motel near the 5 - 1 intersection, that would be a money maker. We have made it from San Juan Capistrano to GN via 5 but it's a long day. Willing, and expecting two nights on the road. San Felipe or Gonzaga are the only choices, right?

Quote: Originally posted by David K

Piece of cake, 23 unpaved, but graded highway, construction crews, lots of commercial traffic now to cut 2 hours or more of their drive from Mexicali to La Paz. Just go slow, tires best is lowered by 1/3, not mandatory. Any Baja traveler should have quality tires, a good electric air pump (deflating for dirt roads or crossing deep sand is just too common in Baja to not practice this), tire hole plug kit... fix on the spot most punctures and refill with your pump. If sand driving, lower by 1/2 or more if needed... don't let tires spin!

Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666

Quote: Originally posted by David K   Piece of cake, 23 unpaved, but graded highway, construction crews, lots of commercial traffic now to cut 2 hours or more of their drive from Mexicali to La Paz. Just go slow, tires best is lowered by 1/3, not mandatory. Any Baja traveler should have quality tires, a good electric air pump (deflating for dirt roads or crossing deep sand is just too common in Baja to not practice this), tire hole plug kit... fix on the spot most punctures and refill with your pump. If sand driving, lower by 1/2 or more if needed... don't let tires spin! DK, most Baja travelers are staying on pavement, doing little or no significant driving on unpaved roads. They don't need air pumps and patch kits. A spare is enough. Also, you give bad advise to say people should travel on under inflated passenger tires like on stock Subaru. That's just asking for a pinch flat. I drive regular P metric AT tires on a 4Runner and very rarely lower air pressure, the vast majority of unpaved roads are fine in tires at normal pressure, in fact 99.9% of the unpaved roads in Baja don't even require engaging 4wd. I suppose if you run rock hard D or E tires you should deflate your tires, as those tires are like concrete and have no dampening effect, just transmit every bump to your kidneys.

Quote: Originally posted by rhintransit

Thanks all. I now have no concerns about taking Mex 5. However, wish I'd decided the route before buying all the stuff and packing it. Too much work to pull it all out again and secure it for the two hours of rough road. So, one more time down Hwy 1. Will do 5 next time going north.

Quote: Originally posted by rhintransit

Thanks all. I now have no concerns about taking Mex 5. However, wish I'd decided the route before buying all the stuff and packing it. Too much work to pull it all out again and secure it for the two hours of rough road. So, one more time down Hwy 1. Will do 5 next time going north.

No one mentioned it yet, but watch your speed and the vados south of the San Felipe airport. They will put your Subaru airborne and you won't have to worry about repacking

am very glad I chose the adventure of the new road. Its not faster, at least from San Diego, and at least with my driving speed, but it's a heck of a lot more scenic, less stressful, and I got to see places I'd only heard of in all my years as a Nomad.

easy drive San Diego to San Felipe. only confusing time was getting thru Mexicali to Hwy 5. I didn't research it, silly me. perhaps someone used to the route will post easy directions thru this big city. stayed at El Capitan in town, clean, basic, walk to malecon, price was 45 US but cheaper at peso rate of 780. at last an overnight city with something interesting to do for the afternoon/evening.

up early for beautiful cruise down to Gonzaga Bay. yes, every warning about the topes south of the airport all the way to Puertocitos is correct. keep the speed down so you don't go airborne. the dips look small but...

quick peek at Puertocitas, not much to recommend it but the bathroom at the Pemex was one of the cleanest I've encountered. new road begins south of there, smooth, wide, wonderful, complete with lovely vistas of the sea. many good pull outs and picnic areas. stopped briefly at Gonzaga Bay, checked out Alfonsina's (it was full or we would have stayed there. in my correspondence with them they recommended at least a three week lead for reservations) the rooms are basic, expensive but the location is superb and the convenience of only one night on the road would have been worth it to me. plus the great location!

about 15 kms south, the 'bad section' started. actually I kept waiting for the "bad" section to begin, and at Hwy 1 decided, what bad section?
graded rock road that almost any passenger car with decent clearance could handle. I can't speak to trailers or RVs, not having driven them, but I think I'd avoid this route for them. watch for sharp rocks and take it easy in the harder sections. we kept the speed down, stopped at Coco's corner for a visit and still made it to Hwy 1 in 1 1/2 hrs. lots of construction, some areas not clearly marked as to which way to go, but figure-out-able. no washboard until a bit on the last long section just before Hwy 1 which parallels the roadbed they are working on.

back on Hwy 1, we found ourself kinda resentful of the few cars and trucks we saw there. in the entire Baja section, from Mexicali to Loreto, we passed less than five vehicles.

since it was too early to stop in Guerro Negro, we headed on thinking maybe San Ignacio but decided to check out Hotel Kadekaman in Vizcaino. great find...clean, well run, nicely decorated, pride of ownership obvious. rates 680-880 p, we chose the larger room, numbers 16, 17, 18, 19. large patios and pleasant outdoor spaces for relaxing. restaurant right next door.

so...pros...beautiful, stress free drive with little traffic (but enough I think if one had a problem). a chance to see a less traveled...for most of us...section of BC. cons...not particularly time saving, at least from San Diego, but from AZ and points east, yes. the limited opportunities for overnight stops is the main reason for this, with daylight hours dwindling hours on road will be more limited

okay, trying for photos. if they load, note Subaru...dust only, no rocks, no damage, piece of cake







[Edited on 10-15-2016 by rhintransit]

[Edited on 10-15-2016 by rhintransit]

Quote: Originally posted by David K

Good to see you through... Nice that you took the time to drive off the highway to look at Puertecitos (was the Pemex open for business?) and Alfonsina's. The pavement ends 20 kms. (12.5 miles) from the Alfonsina's driveway/ Pemex station/ Rancho Grande store. Nice to visit with Coco too! Going through Mexicali (from the downtown/ west border crossing) is best described as "take the street with the train tracks in the center" and there are big signs at almost every intersection pointing the way to San Felipe and other destinations. The nice part of the overall choice between Hwy. 1 & 5 is the number of cities and farm towns and local traffic one must drive through and the curvey mountain roads and grades avoided on the 5. Thanks for the wrap up report!