el imposible: The Pioneer Trail and Calamajue Wash
Thursday (2/21) began at Campo La Poma along the north facing Playa Bufeo. Winds from the advancing low pressure system had abated as dark clouds
brought in a double rainbow juxtaposed against a full moon - “A good omen” remarked Victor “Ru KinKon”. After a hearty breakfast and paying
for our $5 camping fees, we filled up our Gerry cans at the Pemex in San Luis Gonzaga. The trailhead was just several miles ahead at the recently
constructed highway bridge along the turnoff to Punta Final.
The Pioneer Trail is a combination of scenic Baja wilderness combined with a Knott's Berry Farm ride. One is enveloped in the recent past where
mining along rocky washes meant traversing along paths of boulders larger than those seen on either The Pole Road or Matomi Narrows. Steep ascents
and multi pointed rocks contorted the Jeep and Toyota suspensions as tires rolled about beneath. In one particularly challenging stretch, David's
Toyota needed to be strapped and pulled back as it high centered on a row of large rocks. Once yanked back, David was able to continue banging and
shifting above the rocky bed of mostly granite rocks which played havock with each vehicles underbelly armor.
Rocky washes eventually gave way to a steep and sometimes off camber shelf road where cactii of various genus could seen as the road continued high
into a patchwork of canyons. The Sea of Cortez became visible once we reached the saddle and dark rainclouds threatened our progress but thankfully
did not stop it. Once on the other side of what is known as Sierra San Francisquito, the trail continues to mining outposts just above Bahia
Calamajue. Though Punta Final and Punta Parajue de Chencho never became visible along the Pioneer Trail, only faint opening revealed the brilliant
Sea of Cortez through openings in the dark clouds that drifted from the Pacific coast and right over into the Cortez.
Our six vehicles were now graced with dry weather and relatively dry trail conditions as we continued into the Calamajue Wash. A natural spring
provided a year round water source to the nearby mission. Green grass and lush vegitation is crossed while dramatic walls of slate rock line the
interior walls of the Calamajue trail. Muddy water crossings never inched above three feet in depth, but in a heavy rainstorm these murky water
crossings could make for a treacherous challenge. As we ambled along the Calamajue Valley, rain became steady, reducing the ubiquitous Baja trail
dust, but producing a new, formidable enemy - red clay mud. Used to build the local chain of Jesuit missions, red clay mud literally sticks to a mud
terrain tires and sheet metal like steel cut oatmeal sticks to cookware. Our tires collected this species of mud and would not eject the stuff until
our tires were eventually aired up and spinning north along Highway one. A trail of red clay could be seen along our entry point onto the potholed
two lanes blacktop, but this red mud only then stuck to sheet metal and our plastic and metal fenders, rearview mirrors and suspension components like
it had claws. Moderate rainfall didn't cause this stuff to flinch, nor did the random jolting of the many potholes make this new friend hitching a
free ride drop off. Rock lights won't stand a chance against red clay mud - neither will clean clothes.
The group drove roughly 40 miles northward - past a newly formed lake in the middle of the desert, bearing the name - Laguna Chapala to our last
destination of el imposible - Cataviña.
advrider - 2-22-2019 at 09:35 AM
Awesome recap, can't wait for pictures! ThanksDavid K - 2-22-2019 at 10:13 AM
Nice, you have Internet to share the story... Sounds great so far!
With so much rain, will you still take on Mission Impossible (Santa María)?fishbuck - 2-22-2019 at 01:13 PM
Yep. Drove home tuesday.David K - 2-22-2019 at 05:52 PM
Great... How was it compared to when we were on it last time?
Your inReach signal ends at the Hotel Diamante and when I saw Ken's posts today from Cataviña, I wondered why you were still in San Felipe, lol!ehall - 2-22-2019 at 08:18 PM
How did the 4Runner get un-high centered? Any mine photos? It is off to the side of the road a bit... History must be found! LOL
Next video looks to be in the desert south of Calamajué (whoops). How was the canyon... a little bit of water?
The 4 Runner required rock stacking to free it.
No mine photos, we had to keep up a healthy pace to complete our run - it was a long trail.Akula - 3-10-2019 at 03:05 AM
[Edited on 3-11-2019 by BajaNomad]6WHEELN - 3-10-2019 at 03:13 AM
[Edited on 3-10-2019 by 6WHEELN]David K - 3-10-2019 at 10:54 AM
Fun video 6WHEELN!
If anyone wonders where the historical sites are:
The gold ore mill ruins are to the left along the edge of the cliff just before the road drops down into the arroyo, about Minute 0:26 of the video.
You need to get out to see the ruins, over the edge.
The mission ruins are on a level bench on the opposite side of the arroyo from the mill. Just after you reach the bottom of the grade, tracks go left
and across the arroyo to a grade going up the other side to the mission site. This is about Minute 0:45 of your video.
The gold mill ruins as seen from the mission, across the arroyo:
The road (you drove down to reach the creek) dropping down into the arroyo as seen from the mission. Mission church adobe wall outline:
6WHEELN - 3-10-2019 at 12:24 PM
Thanks for the info, David.
Do you happen to have GPS coordinates for these sites?
This area was beautiful and I’d like to return and explore more in the future.
David K - 3-10-2019 at 12:29 PM
Just use Google Earth and you can see them and get the GPS. The road from the bottom of the grade ends at the mission. When I get back on my PC, I
will get you the waypoints.
Edit:
Mission site at Calamajué: 29° 25.268'N, 114° 11.711'W
