BajaGeoff
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San Ignacio to San Juanico - salt flats
Has anyone driven the road from San Ignacio to San Juanico along the salt flats recently? I am heading down there soon and will be pulling a
trailer...just wondering what kind of shape it is in. I have a 2WD V8 4Runner with plenty of pulling power...just mostly concerned with really soft
sand. Any insight would be appreciated!
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David K
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http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=57386
(some recent notes)
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rts551
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I would try and get some RECENT reports. In Abreojos we had rain in Feb and it looked like that are did too.
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BajaGeoff
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Gracias....yeah....I did see the post from January, but was hoping for something a bit more recent.
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Desertbull
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Well, when you say the Salt Flats that means you will only have a single section of sand to navigate and that's the south end as you travel towards
San Juanico after you go through El Datil.
Pulling a trailer shouldn't pose too much of a problem just keep the momentum going right!
However some people take the "sand highway" heading south INTO El Datil from the north and if that's the case or route you're taking, I wouldn't pull
a trailer down that route cuz its sandy for a long ways. I only take this route when the tide is high.
I usually drop off the washboard as soon as I make the left at the "Y" and push right to the flats where you can cruise at 50-55 all the way to El
Datil, faster over the moonscape to pass out candy to the kids.
Go this way with your trailer Geoff.
Call me tomorrow if you need details.
DB
DREAM IT! PLAN IT! LIVE IT!
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BajaGeoff
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Haha! Thanks DB! I was about to send you a U2U.....
You rock!
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bajario
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Geoff, Let us know how it is. We're taking the south road in from Loreto in July but want to take the north road out.
Never taken the north road or the one thru Purisma but wanted to avoid the extra distance of looping all the way back to the south road and home.
Geoff, were you the one that went down last weekend to the orphanage with Dane?
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Sunman
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Geoff,
Wide open as of 2 weeks ago, another friend of mine gave the same report last week. Never thought about using 4wd. Not sure if any of this rain is
gonna make it that way though...food for thought.
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Sweetwater
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OK, I can give you my update from February......
Three of us on moto's did a wonderful whale watching session out of Pete's Campo....recommended and reserved by the folks with the yurts in San
Ignacio. We then began to follow a gentleman with a Sportsmans Club in San Juanico named Fred. He took us south along the flats until a very impatient
Rick decided to pre-run the F350 4x4 that we were supposed to follow. His lack of respect took us down the "sand highway" which Fred later told us was
not necessary.
I was on a KTM 990 with knobby tires, the Tenere was sporting some expensive Heidenau tires, the 1150 GS wore Anakee's. All three bikes were loaded
with camping gear.
When we hit the sand, the Yamaha and BMW really began to have problems and the Ford needed to stop and help the Yamaha, I shepherded the GS. The 4x4
was borderline stuck at one point, having to stop and restart to keep the Yamaha going. He cut us loose at Datil and said we should not have any
problems but that the sand had been entirely the fault of the impatient rider.
As we continued south to San Juanico, there were several other sections of sand which had drifted into the "road". Most of it was around a rocky wash
that was adjacent to a "rancho". Once I climbed up off the beach, the road was mostly graded dirt with rocks until a few miles north of San Juanico.
Then, another stretch of sand into town. I did see traffic on this road and it was 2x4.
Your current weather and conditions are subject to change of course. We were in the Laguna during some pretty good chop and it appeared to be raining
to the south. That rain was not evident on road however. I would be suspicious of a 2x4 through that sand highway, particularly if I had to stop or
deal with traffic in the other direction. If the tide is out and you route correctly, I understand it can be avoided. Trailers always compound
problems in tough conditions......Good Luck and let us know how the trip turns out.
Everbody\'s preachin\' at me that we all wanna git to heaven, trouble is, nobody wants to die to git there.-BB King
Reality is what does not go away when you stop believing in it. -Philip K Dick
Nothing is worse than active ignorance. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe(1749-1832, German writer, artist and politician)
When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I\'ve never tried before. - Mae West
Experience is what keeps a man who makes the same mistake twice from admitting it the third time around.
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Sweetwater
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The "sand Highway" on an overloaded Tenere:
Everbody\'s preachin\' at me that we all wanna git to heaven, trouble is, nobody wants to die to git there.-BB King
Reality is what does not go away when you stop believing in it. -Philip K Dick
Nothing is worse than active ignorance. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe(1749-1832, German writer, artist and politician)
When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I\'ve never tried before. - Mae West
Experience is what keeps a man who makes the same mistake twice from admitting it the third time around.
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Ateo
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Desertbull
I usually drop off the washboard as soon as I make the left at the "Y" and push right to the flats where you can cruise at 50-55 all the way to El
Datil, faster over the moonscape to pass out candy to the kids.
Go this way with your trailer Geoff.
DB |
This is EXACTLY the route I'd take if I had a trailer. Get into those flats as early as possible. I used to do the sand highway into Datil but the
sand gets really deep and last time I had to help push some locals out. When I came back northbound from Datil I stayed in the flats forever and
basically came out at the "y" you mentioned. Cut some time and stress out of the trip.
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Ateo
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And this would be the "Sand Highway" that you'd want to avoid towing anything......
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Ateo
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And of course the beautiful view of the mesas from the flats......I'm getting jealous!!
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Ateo
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And a wave that's down in that area................
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BajaGeoff
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Well.....the trip to San Juanico was a success and the north road along the salt flats was awesome! There were a few sandy spots here and there that
we had to plow through, but we kept the momentum up and got through it. The only real rough area was once you get to the south end of the flats, the
road veers east and takes you inland towards Cadeje. We took it slow through the rough stuff and gassed it when we got in to the sand and never had an
issue.
I ended up hauling 6 barrels of race gas and all of our pit gear....all told probably 5,000+ pounds in the trailer. Thankfully we had a brake
controller and definitely put it to good use on the highway going south.
Very proud of the 4Runner too....hauled all that gear like a champ and still had plenty of giddyup when we needed it. Full trip report with pictures
is coming soon!
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Sweetwater
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Thanks for that update.....glad to hear a good story when you post that report.....
Everbody\'s preachin\' at me that we all wanna git to heaven, trouble is, nobody wants to die to git there.-BB King
Reality is what does not go away when you stop believing in it. -Philip K Dick
Nothing is worse than active ignorance. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe(1749-1832, German writer, artist and politician)
When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I\'ve never tried before. - Mae West
Experience is what keeps a man who makes the same mistake twice from admitting it the third time around.
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David K
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Go go Toyota! Looking forward to the report Geoff!
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woody with a view
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yeah, THAT wave is something! but everyone is on it so they can have it.....
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Ateo
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Awesome. Can't wait to see some pictures. San Juanico will always hold a special place in my brain.
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woody with a view
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it's a great place. unique to the world for sure. one wave like your picture will change your life, it did for me. now i focus on other places...
cmon Geoff, spill it!
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