edm1
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Registered: 8-23-2006
Location: Oak Hills, Ca
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Solo and First-time Baja Norte Trip - Part 3
Intro: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=25757
Part 1: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=25799
Part 2A: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=25839
Part 2B: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=25844
Part 4: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=26055
Relieved, after finally locating Shell Island, I set my sights to continue the trip. It is already
Monday evening and I'm still in the vicinity of San Felipe. I'm many days behind schedule;
otherwise, I would be at El Rosario La Bocana beach by now. I'll do with what I have left - 2 days,
I count. I decide to just drive the Puertecitos highway to the unpaved road to Gonzaga, to Coco's
corner and then start my journey home via HWY1 to the Tijuana border.
I wake up early so that I can prepare for the long drive - the usual routine plus clean up inside
the RV, dispose of trash (to be burned, Marco says), take out RV's toilet cassette and bury the
waste in the sand (with permission, of course), etc. After my walk to the beach,
Marco and I have breakfast, coffee and pastries. I crank up the music and let Luis Miguel belt out
his rendition of Besame Mucho, Quizas, Quizas, and Noche de Ronda, among others. You have nice
music, Marco quips of the Luis Miguel 4-CD set playing randomly in the carousel. Do you know what
that means, he asks of Noche de Ronda. No, I answer, but I love this music (I know noche means evening or night but
that's it). Then Marco continues: it means you're walking in the evening with your girlfriend,
something like that, he says. In my mind, I say to myself, maybe the girlfriend's name in the song is Rhonda,
but I seriously doubt it. Then he says, over the background of Quizas ..., that means I'm thinking,
I'm thinking . . . perhaps . . .
Then as the jazzy rendition of Besame Mucho starts (my wife without fail pulls my hand and starts
dancing in front of me when she hears this piece plays), it's my turn to ask Marco. You live here
alone, you can't do the things you need to do without a woman, Canelo can't replace a wife. How
often do you see your woman? That's just to tease and to see non-verbal response on his face.
Intentionally, I don't wait for a response, but rather quickly change the subject.
It's time to bid Marco goodbye. Since I know my trip's cut in half because of the troubles I've had
in previous days, I leave with him the remaining Pacificos and half of my food supply. Because my
tire carrier had gone unreliable, I take the 2 spare tires and lay them flat, one over the other,
in the middle inside the RV.
Photo: Road to Puertecitos
Who in their right mind would drive this trail for hours and hours?
The Hwy 5 pavement leading to Puertecitos is good and the drive along the coast is relaxing and
pleasing. It is uneventful until after 30 miles when the unpaved road starts. Tires aired to
highway 40psi, I could only drive comfortably at 10 - 15 mph. The trail has many large
rocks at times requiring one to avoid them or drive over them very slowly. At times I shift to 1
for engine braking and even a couple of times earlier shift to 4LO for even more engine braking.
After a few miles into the trail, I consider airing down the tires so I can drive faster but I
reject the idea because of the upturned sharp rocks I've avoided along the way. To my calculation,
there's only 17% probability that many of those skinny long pointed rocks could stand upturned the
way they are. It's like they are there placed meticulously by nature at strategic places waiting to
stab my tires. I know my 14-ply treads can take on those rocks; however, I don't ever want those
pointed rocks to even touch the sidewalls. I, therefore, decide to leave the tires' inflation alone
and resign to the certainty of reaching Coco's Corner at dusk. On the other hand, my consolation is
that driving slowly gives me a closer and more thorough look at the views at hand.
Photo: Start of Unpaved Road
It is not a lonely drive after all, I murmur, when an SUV honks at me while it passes at my left.
An hour later a pickup truck zooms past my right, as I'm driving at the left side of the trail to
avoid rocks or just be on the better side; and then another one passes. These pickup trucks of
course are moving at a faster rate, perhaps 2x or 3x my speed. These drivers I'm sure are experts
at these trails, I say, while I'm a newbie at it. I count 4 other vehicles during this leg of the
trip.
The drive through the trail is truly a scenic drive consisting of ocean views, hills, reefs,
islands, a couple isolated mini-beaches nestled in the middle of miles and miles of reefs, several
campgrounds along the way, wildlife, etc. It is undisturbed nature for many many miles. I stop at a
few breath-taking spots for me and my dog to take brief breaks and take photos. It would be nice to
stop by and stay at each of these spots for 2 hours or so if I'm not behind schedule in this trip.
After 3 hours of 10mph driving, I keep asking myself, despite of the really scenic and relaxing
atmosphere: who in their right mind would drive this trail for hours and hours? This is just taking
too long! I have to be able to drive this rig faster through this trail in the future, perhaps give
it a better suspension tuned for this kind of driving.
Soon the terrain changes slightly from rocky to gravel covered washboard. I soon discover that my
tires prefer to drive over the gravel collected over the center of the lane, rather than over
previous tire tracks. This gives a smoother ride. Then there's this military camp in the middle of
nowhere, and this is in Huerfanito, and this camp looks like it houses a hundred soldiers. Some
soldiers are playing basketball in the heat of the early afternoon. In front of the camp is a
checkpoint which is a very convenient place to stop, to give my dog his pit stop. Next, I stop at
the Pemex in Gonzaga to top off my gas tank. Then, I drive across to the mini-mart to replenish ice
in the chests. There are several vehicles parked around the market and quite a few folks gathered
in the patio enjoying their drinks. Vehicles come and go. I see them going back to a number of
campgrounds along the nearby Gonzaga bay.
Then I continue on south to the washboard trail, still along the shore, later, I hear this cyclic
clicking at the front passenger side. I stop and investigate but I couldn't find the cause. Then it
becomes a cyclic banging under the floor. I stop again, for the third time, and find that the right
front shock mount had come off the frame. I grab my tools, go under there and remove the shock
absorber completely. This makes the 3rd of the casualties: 1) the transverse panhard trackbar, 2)
one shock absorber, and 3) spare tires carrier. None of them seem to make any difference in my
driving at this point.
There are lots of alternate trails that snake in and out and parallel to the main washboard trail.
I try a few of them but they are not much better, and in some instances worse than the main trail.
I settle on driving over the thick gravel in the middle of existing tire tracks.
To go in or not to go, that is the question
It is now 6:15PM and I'm at a crossroads. I see the entrance to the La Turquesa old mine. I look at
the map and the mine is only 2 miles into the trail. Maybe I will camp there tonight, I say to
myself, instead of spending the night with Sr. Coco. I stop and go 100 feet into the trail and
again I'm faced with another decision to make. Before me is a sand-covered path that looks like the
sand bogs that I've been through the previous days. Not again, I'm taken aback. As I'm now in the
last 2 days of my trip and I'm beat up by the all-day drive since early morning, I decide to
backout of it: I'm spending the night at Coco's corner.
[Edited on 8-3-2007 by edm1]
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Roberto
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A tip on driving dirt roads. The "troughs" that others have driven through may well be rougher than driving on the "gravel" in the middle or sides -
but think about this - where do you think all the "sharpies" have ended up?
You are more likely to get flats not driving in the path set by others. ESPECIALLY on roads that have seen race cars.
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edm1
Senior Nomad
Posts: 568
Registered: 8-23-2006
Location: Oak Hills, Ca
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Roberto
A tip on driving dirt roads. . .
You are more likely to get flats not driving in the path set by others. ESPECIALLY on roads that have seen race cars. |
Roberto, thanks for the tip. I didn't know that.
| Quote: | Originally posted by Roberto
where do you think all the "sharpies" have ended up?
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I don't know, but they did not end up in my tires!
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David K
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I wish you would have pulled into Alfonsina's for a great dinner and then camp at Rancho Grande's beach next to Alfonsina's or at Campo Beluga to
really enjoy the area! You missed a really nice beach! It would have been a reward for your hardships and slow drive to Gonzaga Bay.
Here is the view from Alfonsina's last November...
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Cypress
Elite Nomad
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Location: on the bayou
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edm 1. Thanks for the report and the pictures.
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edm1
Senior Nomad
Posts: 568
Registered: 8-23-2006
Location: Oak Hills, Ca
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
I wish you would have pulled into Alfonsina's for a great dinner and then camp at Rancho Grande's beach next to Alfonsina's or at Campo Beluga to
really enjoy the area! You missed a really nice beach! It would have been a reward for your hardships and slow drive to Gonzaga Bay.
Here is the view from Alfonsina's last November...
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David, are those footprints on the sand?
[Edited on 8-3-2007 by edm1]
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CaboRon
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3401
Registered: 3-24-2007
Location: The Valley of the Moon
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Edm1,
Have enjoyed the detail and the photos in your trip reports. Wishing you many more great journeys . 
- CaboRon
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