BajaNomad

Road Condition West across Laguna Intermitente after the 1000

sandpoint - 12-13-2018 at 11:48 AM

Hi all

Headed south mid Jan '19 and would like to take this road/track West. Anyone been on it since the 1000? Are the folks at the restaurant/tienda just South of the junction likely to know if the lakebed is firm enough to cross? If not, can it be driven around? I'll be in an appropriate 4wd Toyota. Just wondered if it was wet or if the track between the Laguna and the coast has been hammered by the race. It seems like a shorter (And quicker) distance than the more Northerly El Faro option. I'll be exiting South and am assuming the high tides may flood the estuary tracks along the coast.

Thanks.

David K - 12-13-2018 at 11:59 AM

Laguna... where?

Sounds like you are describing the Laguna Chapala to Punta Blanco road that crosses Laguna El Islote (what the topo map calls it), just west of Laguna Chapala.

Baja Nomad StuckSucks (Tacoma driver) is well versed on that road and has photos/ video of it from a few years ago.






[Edited on 3-3-2023 by David K]

StuckSucks - 12-13-2018 at 12:27 PM

On Google Maps, Laguna El Islote is called Laguna Intermitente, so I am assuming they are one in the same. I have not been out there since the 1000, so no idea of current conditions.

Be prepared for endless silt out there, especially closer to the coast.

sandpoint - 12-13-2018 at 12:40 PM

Yep, I'm talking about the road across Laguna El Islote/Laguna Intermitente. I figured there'd be silt where it wasn't flooded or muddy. Basically want to explore the area 5 or 6 miles north of it's coastal ending and work my way South to meet up with my Brother who'll be in a much larger truck/camper combo.

Thanks again.

David K - 12-13-2018 at 02:39 PM

Intermitiente is almost the same in English and is not a place name but indicating there is water in it "intermittingly". Google Maps is so funny in Mexico!

Glad StuckSucks saw this... and the 1000 was just a few weeks ago, so that was pretty recent road info!

TMW - 12-13-2018 at 06:07 PM

If the lake bed is flooded with water there is no way around it. If you are going south from the beach area and the lake bed is flooded take the road from KM252 shown above going to R. La Miseria. That will take you to the road south or to Bahia Blanco. There are silt beds on the west end but should not be as bad as the other road to the north since there has been no racing on it for a couple of years.

David K - 12-13-2018 at 06:57 PM

The K252 road is very rough and was deeply rutted where it goes down the mountain west of San Antonio (in 2017). In a Tacoma 4x4 it was no problem, but that is a very remote area!

sandpoint - 12-14-2018 at 11:19 AM

Thanks all. If it is flooded, I'll head in the paved road further South and come up the coast. The KM252 road looks long and slow enough to be a wash time-wise, especially if the coast road is graded from the South. I always try to obey the 1st rule of Baja: don't break the truck. 35 days to go...

David K - 12-14-2018 at 11:27 AM

Quote: Originally posted by sandpoint  
Thanks all. If it is flooded, I'll head in the paved road further South and come up the coast. The KM252 road looks long and slow enough to be a wash time-wise, especially if the coast road is graded from the South. I always try to obey the 1st rule of Baja: don't break the truck. 35 days to go...


Good option... avoid the road passing La Miseria if solo or short on time. The road north from the paved Santa Rosalillita road is excellent... a dirt highway as far as the Punta Cono road. North of that point you will find silt (moon dust) that is like talc. Shake out your air filter when you are back to the highway. Tacoma Love!






[Edited on 3-3-2023 by David K]

StuckSucks - 12-14-2018 at 11:55 AM

I shot this video five years ago, running eastbound from Punta Blanca to Laguna Chapala. While it's old news, it might give you an idea of what to expect.

TMW - 12-14-2018 at 01:10 PM

We never had any problem with silt or dust on the coast road in November from Guayaquil at KM133 to Punta Canoas to Santa Rosalillita.

David K - 12-14-2018 at 04:01 PM

Quote: Originally posted by TMW  
We never had any problem with silt or dust on the coast road in November from Guayaquil at KM133 to Punta Canoas to Santa Rosalillita.


Last year there was less than when I did the coast road in 2007 with Roy.
In 2017 I encountered only a small patch of silt near Punta Canoas and then a bit more just north of Punta Cono, where the coast route meets the inland route, south of Bahía Blanco. In 2007, this was a major silt bed, like near Laguna Chapala was in the days before Hwy. 1 was built!

sandpoint - 1-28-2019 at 02:38 PM

So we chickened out; I talked to three guys on a dirt bike tour at Mamma Espinosa's who ran the route and got stuck 3 times. The desire to explore was overcome by the desire to get there and begin play. We went around from the South but didn't go farther north than Maria. Gave one of the local Vigilancia a ride back into town after they snapped the suspension. Reports of the flies are not overblown unfortunately.

Ateo - 2-9-2019 at 08:54 PM

Anyone else do any of these roads since the recent rains? I may give it a shot next week....

Skamper - 12-3-2019 at 08:48 PM

I too am wondering if there are any more recent updates on this route; specifically, how it compares to the San Antonio-Blanco route, which I drove in 2009 and found to be not too bad for my standards. How are the silt beds on the Chapala-Vibora route compared to the more southerly San Antonio-Blanco route? Thanks.

TMW - 12-3-2019 at 09:39 PM

John M and I did the route a couple of months ago in June I think and there is a lot of silt at the beginning off Hwy 1 for a couple of miles. There is more silt as you get to the coast. We bypassed that on a road as we went south. The San Antonio route we found very little silt. We didn't go out to KM252 but to KM 271 since we were headed to LA Bay. If you take the San Antonio route bring some extra food etc especially cokes. The man and woman at R. La Miseria would be happy as well as the family at the ranch to the west where a closed gate is. There was a sign at the gate that said no paso or something like that. A young man came to us and was friendly and said we could pass. He also wanted food if we had any and a coke. Neither of the men at the ranches wanted a beer, go figure.

[Edited on 12-4-2019 by TMW]

Skamper - 12-3-2019 at 10:32 PM

Thanks TMW.

Trip with TW

John M - 12-4-2019 at 07:02 AM

Skamper - at the north end of Chapala the turn off to the west is near Km 235. Actually we found the road immediately north of the restaurant. Very good food, if it's open. Tom is right, heavy silt right off the bat for a couple of miles. The road west to the coast is well-defined though we didn't see any evidence that it is much used except for a couple of abandoned vehicles that had been pretty well stripped. The second silt bed, about 25 miles in was enough for us so we took another well-defined road south where the black arrow shows on the google map. We were heading south anyway, and at that turn you are still maybe four miles from the coastal road. On this map you can also see the coastal road in yellow, and where we turned off it, to reach our destination at Km 270, 12 miles north of the Bay of L.A. road.






start of the dirt road at Km 235

[Edited on 12-4-2019 by John M]

sandpoint - 12-22-2019 at 09:50 AM

Thanks for the reports. Last year I came across a couple of guys on dirt bikes at Mamma E's who said they got stuck. I wasn't sure that they knew exactly which road they were on, but being solo in my truck and meeting my friends in Catavina that night who were hesitant made me decide to go in from the South. My brother, Bajajoaqin, was down there over this Thanksgiving break during the rains and it rained hard! They delayed a day to let main N<>S road dry out and have it's gullies filled with rocks and agave. Maybe that means the silt will be a bit better now....

I'm going back down in early February and was planning to head South from El Faro San Jose and out via the harbor. I'll post a trip report after.

matthew_mangus - 12-4-2020 at 05:41 PM

I'm looking to run this route starting at Laguna Chapala and taking it W to Bahia /Punta Blanco and then turning back NE to connect up to Catavina. Any recent reports of either of these sections?