Baja Ken's Guadalupe Canyon Trip Report
< Posted by request for Ken. R.O.C. is 'Rubicon Owners Club'>
The R.O.C. club completed it's first international
club run down to Guadalupe Canyon, in the canyons
southwest of Mexicali, Mexico. Seven parties in all
were present for our big run on Saturday, and these
parties included;
Brock - traveling in his lifted Isuzu Trooper,
David K. - traveling with his son Chris and friend
Jimmy in David's Toyota TRD 4WD pickup,
Russ T. - traveling in his Rubicon,
David McGhee & Susan - traveling in David's modified
XJ,
Ken Cooke & Suzanne - traveling in the Tomb Raider,
Bob "RubiDog" & Kim - traveling in Bob's "RubiDog"
w/neice Madison.
Friday:
Friday was spent meeting up with trip members, running
in circles to find CB equipment south of the border in
Tecate, obtaining gasoline for our long-range trail
run on Saturday (in La Rumorosa down in Baja), and
finally, making the long trek along the leeward spine
of the Baja mountain chain to the scenic Canyon de
Guadalupe.
Friday evening:
In camp that evening, David K
[http://www.vivabaja.com] showed up with his son Chris
and Chris' friend Jimmy. With the three extra guys in
camp, the dynamics changed entirely from talking about
Jeeping to talking about the wilds of Baja. David is
a highly-experienced Baja traveler and back country
guide, with his first published guidebook hitting the
shelves nearly three decades ago! David had some
serious 4 wheeling in mind for our group, and his
choice in canyon trails did not disappoint a single
member of our highly-equipped group.
Saturday Morning:
Saturday was amazing. We first started off with a
top-notch hike up to "The Pool of the Virgin."
Guadalupe Canyon contains three waterfalls that can be
observed only by a rigorous hike into the mouth of the
canyon. Adequate footwear, attire, and drinking water
are necessary to make it there and back without harm
from the elements. Bob, Kim, Madison, David McGhee,
Susan, Chris, David K., Jimmy, and myself all ascended
the hiking trail which included scrambling atop
boulders, jumping from one boulder to the next, and
skipping across narrow passages atop narrow waterways
that doubled as water-soaked cliffs that could send a
hiker to the emergency room. Suzanne and Russ
attempted to start the hike, but with Suzanne
suffering from Lupus, and Russ looking out for
Suzanne's well-being, the two returned safely to camp,
and waited for the group to return.
The Rubi Run:
Once our group returned from the amazing Waterfall
hike, we regrouped for a brief driver's meeting.
David McGhee and Susan decided to skip the 4WD run.
They were enjoying the canyon hike so well, they
decided to return to the waterfalls, take pictures,
soak in the hot tubs, and spend some relaxing moments
with each other. Not a bad choice, since they were in
a destination that is sometimes booked months in
advance each winter.
David K. was elected to lead our group for the day.
First, starting with the 7 mile trip out of the
Guadalupe Camp access route, with its' sandy washes
and rocks that sometimes swallow sedans and minivans,
we quickly headed east towards the smooth-surfaced
salt flats named "Laguna Salada." From there, we were
able to reach speeds upward of 50 m.p.h. until we
arrived at the S.C.O.R.E. checkpoint COHABUZO JUNCTION
(31055.74'/ 115036.22'). From here, things got sandy,
with desert washes, quick hillclimbs, and arroyos that
needed to quickly be traveled through. We eventually
reached a sandy wash at the base of the series of
mountains we were about to ascend that provided
adequate shade for our lunch break. 45 min. later, we
were back on the trail, climbing a rocky trail that
reminded Russ T. of the Pinto Basin in Joshua Tree.
Only longer, rockier, and containing some of the most
beautiful cactus species on the planet. We were truly
taking in the Baja experience.
Rancho El Mano:
"El Mano" in Spanish means "The Hand." And that is
what some of us were about to need once we reached
this treacherous canyon. After traveling across a
barren plateau - miles from any sign of civilization,
we began to drop into a canyon along a steep shelf
road. Baja travelers dumped concrete along the trail
to make it more negotiable, but there were still signs
of vehicles banging their undercarriages on the quick
cement touchups provided to this road. Further down
we went, rounding a curve, before we spotted the road
to what David K. described as "Baja's Premiere
Engineering Marvel." He was speaking about the
amazing buildings that adorned the canyon - "Rancho El
Mano." What we found did not contain a ranch. What
we encountered were differential-scraping boulders,
deep sand, sharp, protruding lava rocks, narrow-walled
chutes, and a quick dead end filled with sand and more
boulders. David K. was the first in. His '01 TRD
pickup contains a driver-selectable rear locking
differential, 9" of clearance, LT 265r16 tires, and no
lift. The bed of his pickup truck slammed on the
skidplates as his rig bucked like a wild stallion.
David alerted the rest of our group of the surprises
in the canyon, and next in line for some fun was Russ.
His non-lifted Rubicon featured all of the stock
running gear that makes enthusiasts green with envy.
Russ banged his Skid Row Automotive skid plates on the
rocks, spun tires in a few places, but made it through
the tight stuff without much difficulty - great
driving, Russ! Next in line was "RubiDog." Bob also
traveled to Baja in a stock '04 Rubicon. With a
SunRider soft top, he really looked cool out there on
the trail. Under his hood is a QuickAir compressor,
making his Jeep not-exactly stock. He easily traveled
through the trail with ease, making things look quite
easy. I decided to cut around Jason Leaf in my '03
Tomb Raider, since Suzanne was in the canyon below,
gripping onto her N70 camera, ready to snap the next
action picture of the day. As I rounded the tight,
rocky wash bottom, I began to pay less attention to
the boulders, and more attention to Suzanne's camera.
STUCK!:
Well, I found the boulder - or, my front U-Joint found
the boulder. My entire front driveline was resting
upon it. Jeep engineers equipped the Rubicon with
heavy-duty 1330 u-joints, strong enough for my Rubicon
to rest its entire weight upon it. The trick was, to
get a wheel in the air, stack enough rocks under the
wheel, and drive out of this canyon with my 4WD system
in tact. Jason provided me with his HiLift jack, and
the new HiLift base which helped me raise my Jeep up
in the air without having the base dig itself into the
deep desert sand that was under my Jeep. Thanks to
the Mopar boulder bars that came bundled in my Tomb
Raider package, I had a stout jacking point,
absolutely no body damage from use of the HiLift jack.
Rocks stacked, Jason and the guys spotting, and I was
outta there in less time than you can say, "Gimme
outta here!" I drove the Rubicon through the boulder
field w/o incident. The front driveline performed
flawlessly, never wobbling, or making any noises - one
more reason to own a RUBICON!
Next through the trail was Jason in his Big Dawg Rubi.
With 5.5" of Rubicon-Express lift, 35" MT/Rs, and
enough altitude to swallow anything I got hung up on,
Jason's Rubicon came prepared to save the day.
Adventures with an R.T.I. Lava Rock:
We eventually decided to turn around, and play around
on a volcanic rock that begged to be driven up "R.T.I.
style." First up was "RubiDog." His stock suspended
Rubi w/swaybars connected raised a rear wheel near the
top of the R.T.I. lava rock. Next up, my Tomb Raider
reached the top of the lava rock, w/o raising a tire.
Brakelines extended, tire lugs rubbing against the
flares, I knew this was as much as my short-arm
Pro-Comp 4" suspension could handle. Even with the
Tera-Flex swaybar discos providing more articulation,
I looked like I was at my vehicle's limit. Next up
was Jason Leaf, and the big dog Rubi. Jason walked up
the lava rock w/a much better approach angle than the
rest of us, and with his tire firmly planted at the
top of the rock, the rearend of his Jeep was hardly
tilted, indicating that he was ready to handle much,
much more. That Jeep was amazing. David K. marveled
at how we only wanted to play on the rocks, try and
lift tires, pose for photographs, and try to see how
far we could push our limits down in Baja. I later
insisted that, "It's a Jeep Thing, David..."
The Ride Home:
Just before 4 p.m., we decided to hit the trail back
to camp. The hot tubs were waiting our return, and
our stomach's were beginning to grumble. As Russ
idled past a large cactus, he drove over a camoflauged
Rattlesnake. This Rattler was coiled and ready to
strike as Jason passed the rattler, and snapped its
picture w/his camera. As we passed the poor snake, we
could only hear it hissing loudly. We're sure the
Maximum Traction/Reinforced tread section caused no
harm to the rattler, although Suzanne wanted to stop
and investigate...
As we passed the Cohabuso Junction, our speeds raised
from 4 to 40 m.p.h. As Russ and I (trail sweeps)
steadily moved along, we came upon a local man in an
old, early 70's GMC pickup. He was traveling towards
the desolate Cohabuso Junction, with its rocks and
sandy arroyos en route to Mexicali! As we pulled up
beside him, Suzanne noticed his lack of orientation or
exhaustion. He pleaded with us the directions to
Mexicali, and we told him to follow us. One hour
later, we arrived at the Laguna Salada/Canyon de
Guadalupe junction. We told the man (who moved at no
better than 30 m.p.h.), that he could now reach
Mexicali. Night was steadily approaching, so, he
decided to sleep at Guadalupe Canyon for the night,
and head out early the next morning. I awakened to
the sound of his lumbering pickup as it inched down
the rocky path below our campsite back to Mexicali
just before sunrise.
Got Gas?:
The RUBICON is not known for getting great gasoline
mileage. With all of our low-range madness the day
before, we were all at or near 'empty.' I had brought
two 5 gal. Jerry cans, and had them filled in La
Rumorosa. An eighth of a tank still remained in my
tank, but Jason with his big 35's on heavy 16"
Rockcrawler wheels was completely on empty. His 5
gal. Jerry can hardly would make a dent in the 70
miles back to La Rumorosa with its steep grades and
strong headwinds. "RubiDog" was also on empty
(huh???). So, I filled the guys up with my gasoline,
I put 2 gal. in my tank, and loaned the rest (3 gal.)
to Russ. The nearest PEMEX station was located 10 mi.
(East) past the turnoff to the Laguna Salada and
Guadalupe Canyon. Jason and RubiDog decided to split
up from the group, and head towards Mexicali in their
quest for go-juice. As Russ and I headed north
towards Hwy 2 behind David K. and Brock (David McGhee
and Susan decided to stay behind and enjoy the hot
tubs until noon), I also decided that I would be
chancing it if I were to travel in the middle red-zone
up a 5,000 ft. escarpment for 30 mi. So, we pointed
our DC rigs East - towards Mexicali.
Our Mexicali experience:
After a quick 10 mi. drive towards the megalopolis'
edge, we happened upon a shiny, new PEMEX gasoline
station. By this time, I was completely on empty, and
happy with our decision to play it safe and get gas in
the low-lands. A whopping $45 ($2.65/gal.) filled me
up with 91 Octane PEMEX. I had great performance with
this gasoline, no pinging or rattling like I had
experienced in my Ford Ranger and Suzanne's YJ, so no
complaints thus far. Russ and I were able to quickly
find the "Garrita" or "Gate" or "International
Border." After a fast 30 min. border crossing, we
were both at the Shell station on Imperial Blvd. in
Calexico saying our "Goodbye's." Russ had a wonderful
time which made Suzanne and I very happy. We have
decided to return for more rocky canyon action, so
please stay posted. Because there were many
unimproved roads waiting for our Rubicon's stamp of
approval.
-Ken Cooke
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