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Fatboy
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2024 ECR - El Camino Real Hike Part 2
Click HERE to read Part One
Around 1 AM I was startled out of a less than pleasant dream, by some large animal crashing through the brush, outside of that I slept well, which is
saying a lot for a person of my age. Awakening at first light, I lay in the tent listening to the soft, pleasant sounds of the desert in the cool,
early morning light.
CORRAL AT SAN SEBASTION
The motivation to get on the trail was not with me this morning. I dallied around my campsite slowly packing up the camping gear and having a
leisurely cup of coffee before walking over to see the large stone corral at this site.
Dead Cow in Corral at San Sebastion
The start of todays hike was going to begin with a 350 foot climb that was fully exposed to the sun and it would have been much wiser to start early,
in the cool of the morning, before the sunrise. Perhaps the close proximity to a good water source, and as far as I knew, my last water source, kept
me there.
The physical exertion required to get here also played a big part in my reluctance to get going. There is no way that people on horseback went the way
I did, so I must have missed a big piece of the trail that cut out the long sections of waterway that is choked with giant boulders. I believe that if
I had found the trail it would have saved hours of scrambling to reach San Sebastion.
From here on out I would have to carry all the water I would need to reach my turn around point and make it back to here. 2 gallons would be smart,
but heavy, so I settled on 1 ½ gallons. It left no room for mistakes and I would probably drink it all before I reached water again.
With everything packed up and the semblance of plan I walked down to the creek to filter water for the next two days. It was a little bit under a ¼
of mile down to the creek and it was a pleasant walk early in the day. Once at the creek I started walking up stream looking for a good place to
filter water.
People might think that one spot is as good as any other to filter water, but it is not so. When you have a lot of water to filter, and a gallon and a
half is a lot, you want a place you can sit. Ideally you also want a spot with a current to fill up your container and to wash away any sediment you
might stir up.
Upon seeing the ideal spot I suddenly realized I left EVERYTHING at camp! I had no water bottles, no filter, nothing! It was here that I slapped my
forehead while calling myself “Dummy!”. I walk back to camp gather up the bottles and filter and walk back down to the creek and filtered my
water.
It was 10 am before I started the climb out of San Sebastion up to the 'main' path of the ECR. Cresting the ridge I am looking up the two draws where
last year I had chosen the left hand draw and that was the wrong way.
So, turning right, I follow the bed of the wash but at times it is clearly not the way to go. I try climbing out the right hand bank looking for some
sort of trail and when I strike out I head back down to the wash to try the other side.
At this point I discover a hole in one of my water bottles. Stopping in the shade of some large boulders I contemplate my choices. I decide on trying
to patch it with Tenacious Tape. It looks like it is going to hold so I am off again trying to find the trail, this time on the left hand side of the
wash.
There, 50 feet above the wash, I find a trail. It is much easier walking on these sections of trails than it is hiking up the bed of the wash most of
the times. They have there own issues with overgrown sections and with the trail just fading out in to a multiple paths that soon fade out to
nothing.
A GOOD SECTION OF TRAIL
It is along here that another water bottle starts leaking. It is leaking along a seam and there is no way to patch it up. I ended up transferring the
water into my other water bottles, but I getting a little concerned at this point.
When you read about people who get in trouble in the backcountry, you realize it is rarely one large issue that leads to serious trouble, but a
combination of several smaller problems that get you in trouble. A dead phone, followed by a sudden rainstorm, followed by a sprained ankle or A wrong
turn, followed by a forgotten jacket, followed by nightfall, those types of things can get you in serious trouble.
I soon reach another point on the trail where I must make a decision. At the junction of two large washes I must decide whether to go to the right or
to the left. What I have mapped on the GPS goes to the right and while there is a trail heading that way, there is a much more defined and well
traveled trail going to the left.
Last year when I was faced with a similar decision I chose left hand wash and the well traveled trail. That lead to me going the wrong way, getting
stung by a bee and attempting to travel cross country to get back on track only to be forced back very rugged terrain.
DENSE VEGETATION ALONG TRAIL
I eat some lunch trying to decide what to do. Last year I followed the path and not the GPS and that was wrong, so this year I am following the GPS
and not the path. Oh, and while I do not know it yet, not only is it the wrong way, it soon turns into a nightmare.
Heading up the right hand wash the trail soon starts to become very overgrown. At times I am crawling through mesquite thickets, have you ever tried
crawling through a mesquite thicket? DO NOT ATTEMPT! The branches reach down with their long thorns grabbing at your head, your arms, and your
backpack all the while the ground is littered with thorns. A green hell if you ask me.
It is not long before several things happen at once. One is that the wash splits again, the GPS says to follow the left hand wash. The trail
disappears and across the way is a unique geological feature. I have a feeling that if this was the correct path then that 'wall' running down the
canyon face would have been mentioned. It is so straight and looks as if it was manmade and if travelers went this way they would have commented on
it.
I wonder if it is time to turn around? If so, that may be the end of this trip, it is very demoralizing to return to a spot you left hours ago after
going the wrong way. Deciding to go up the left hand canyon I start attempting to find a way and it will end up taking several hours to go a little
under a mile.
Writing about it, reminds me about it and I would much rather forget that section of the trail. Dense thickets of thorny bushes, huge boulders to
climb over, steep slopes with loose rock, dead ends…..ugh! Hours later I am near the top and the GPS shows the track on the OTHERSIDE of the canyon.
I was ready to give up right then.
I started at the bottom of this...
Here is the GPS track up the wrong canyon
After a snack I continue the climb and a few minutes later I reach the top of the mesa. With a sigh of relief I decide to follow along the edge of the
canyon for the rest of the day just to see where I end up. On the mesa the hiking is easy with views stretching off to the Pacific ocean.
Continued below.....
[Edited on 10-2-2024 by Fatboy]
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mtgoat666
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There is a reason the Padres had locals as guides!
I never had a water bottle leak, except when cap was loose. REI sells good pba-free poly bottles that last for decades… literally decades, I got
water bottles that have lasted forever, i lose them before I wear them out.
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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Fatboy
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(Continued from above...)
It is not long before I pickup a well defined trail coming from my left and heading in the right general direction. It looks like I am back on the
'main' ECR again. I should have followed my instinct hours ago and it would have saved me a lot of aggravation.
It is getting late in the day and I know were ever I end up today will be it. There is a canyon coming in from my left crossing in front of me where
it goes on to join the canyon on my right that I have been following for the last mile or so.
From my view point on the canyon wall you can see a clearly defined trail leading down and across the canyon before climbing the far side to a low
saddle. The draw becomes my destination, believing that once there I should have a good view of a nice, long, and pristine, arrow-straight section of
the ECR that the Jesuits where famous for making.
About 100 feet from the top of the draw the trail makes a sudden turn to the right to continue up along the high point to the right of the draw.
Another disappointment in a day filled with them. The saddle looks like such a natural path and there appears to be a massive Fig trail at the summit
of the saddle and yet the trail never goes to the saddle.
I follow the trail up and to the right and coming across a small stand of trees I see signs of the Trail Gods. It seems as if I just was gifted a
pleasant surprise. Hanging in one of the trees is a 1 Gallon water jug.
When the gods gives you what appears to be a gift, you should not get your hopes up too high. The water jug was empty. Add another disappointment on
to the day. It is evening now and I must turn around and find a place to camp tonight.
Retracing my steps and crossing the canyon I had just crossed, I camp near a lone tree on the mesa top. I set up camp in the twilight while marveling
at the sharpness of the desert air as the first few stars appear.
I wake up early knowing, in more ways than one, that I had reached the highpoint of my trip and the return was going to be downhill, mostly. The car
was parked at 1,480 feet and my turn around point was at 3, 991 feet in elevation.
I had a slight problem to deal with this morning though, one of my shoes was coming apart and the sole was start to flop around. I taped them up as
good as I could knowing it would not last for long. I ended taping them 6 or 7 times on the way back and they were even worse shape by the time I
reached the car.
I follow the main trail back instead of the nightmare path up the canyon that I was on the day before. It is only an hour or so until I am back at my
lunch spot of the previous day. From here on back it will all be on familiar ground and I only have one big decision left to make, do I go down La
Rabia or back through San Sebastion?
Pot seen in a random spot on the trail
Coming up the wash past Tres Palmas is pretty much a straight forward hike until you arrive at the mouth of La Rabia. Most sources I saw show the
trail that went to the right and through San Sebastion as being a spur or tie trail, while going left and up La Rabia was the more traveled route.
I don't know, I just know that La Rabia was a nightmare last year. While the path I took to San Sebastion was not easy either, it was much easier than
La Rabia. So why then dilemma? La Rabia had several good water holes, while the once you left San Sebastion there was no good water. Then there was
also the fact that is almost 2 miles shorter via La Rabia, which is at least a couple of hours worth of hiking.
It is not long before I am the point were a decision has to be made and I decided to try going down La Rabia. It starts off easy enough and I have
smooth hiking in the upper reaches before I again forced down into the wash. It is another nightmare of boulder climbing and pushing through dense
thickets of brush.
Upon reaching the large pools, which is two-thirds of the way down I find myself cliffed out above the pools. I need to backtrack and then cross over
to the opposite side of the wash to continue downstream. I really detest backtracking when I am this tired.
Crossing the wash requires walking along fallen palm tree trunks and picking your way across deep piles of fallen palm fronds. I hate having to do
that, I am constantly imagining snakes, spiders and scorpions in the dead fronds below my feet and of me falling through fronds in to a mass of
creepy, crawling, biting creatures.
It is frightening to me the whole time I am walking on those huge piles dry, crackling palm fronds. I am worried the whole time while working through
dense brush that my phone, which is also me gps device, is going to fall out of my pocket. Patting my pocket every couple of hundred feet gives me
some relief that it is still there.
Reaching the far side allows my fear of spiders and snakes to recede and another fear to become reality. I now need to climb high above the wash on
the steep mountainside and traverse my way downstream until I can regain the wash. There appear to be trails high up on the mountain but they only go
on a short distance before they fade out. It so easy to get turned around up there and have something bad happen up there that it actually scares me a
little.
High above the wash I find the same fence and gate I came across last year so at least I know am in the right area. Hours later, after several dead
ends, I pat my pocket to check on my phone only to find it gone. Hurriedly I check all my pockets several times but my phone is gone.
I am tired and thirsty and now I am worried about having lost my phone. Deciding to backtrack hoping to find it is tiring and I decide to leave my
pack. Now I am worried that my phone is lost and I will not be able to find my pack again!
After 15 minutes of walking I come to a wash that looks familiar, I remember checking the map on the phone here to see which way to climb out of the
wash. I stop and look around but there is nothing to see. There was a section of the 'trail' where I had to get down on my hands and knees and crawl
along a cliff face, did the phone fall out there and slide down the cliff?
Turning around to leave and go look for my backpack I lean over a boulder to look and there is my phone! What a relief! Now, if I can just find my
pack.
It is no problem finding my pack and I continue on working my way back down to La Rabia. Once there I soon find a pool and fill up my belly and my
bottles with water.
It appears that a storm had come through since last year and there are uprooted trees and piles of brush everywhere. The section of easy trail I had
followed through here last year is completely washed away. Hours later, just past sunset I reach the San Sebastion wash and at the first possible
campsite I set up camp and go to sleep.
Tomorrow I will be back at the car and I am laying there reminiscing about my last night on my previous hike on the ECR. I had camped near here in
2023 and the wind had howled all night long and I had trouble sleeping, while tonight was calm and quiet and I slept well.
Awakening on my last day I quickly broke camp and was on the trail early. Today had a small surprise in store for me. I found a nice section of the
ECR, wide and almost perfectly straight. From there it wasn't long before I was back at the ranch where I had parked several days ago.
No one was home so I left a 8-pack of gatorade on their picnic table and opened the gate to leave. As I went to drive away, Juan and his wife pulled
up. They invited me in for a 'Torta' but I sadly declined.
Now it was just a matter of driving the 50 miles of dirt road back to Mex Hwy 1, and then northwards to Villa Jesus Maria and from there a much
longer drive to the border and then home.
There was several Deja Vu moments on this trip, one was in 2023 when Francisco at Rancho Nuevo invited me in to his home at the end of the trip, and
in 2024 it was Juan at Los Corralles. Of course, there was the issue of taking the wrong path which I did in both 2023 and in 2024.
Then, at Jesus Maria in 2023, I had a conversation with a young couple, they were down Baja for the first time, were surprised at how nice the people
were and they where just heading to where ever the winds blow them and on this trip it was a guy on a motorcycle, he was down here for the first time,
and he went on how the locals have been extremely nice and helpful (he did not speak so kindly of all the tourists that passed him while he was broken
down on the road) and how he to had no set plan on where he was going either.
Other than a rainy day in Southern California it was an uneventful trip home.
To Read about my 2022 Hike click HERE
To read about my 2023 Hike click HERE
[Edited on 10-1-2024 by Fatboy]
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Fatboy
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Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666  | There is a reason the Padres had locals as guides!
I never had a water bottle leak, except when cap was loose. REI sells good pba-free poly bottles that last for decades… literally decades, I got
water bottles that have lasted forever, i lose them before I wear them out. |
Very true about the guides!!!!
I have used a lot of different water containers over the years and nothing has been perfect for everything yet....too heavy, too fragile, too bulky,
too expensive.... I cannot wait for the the perfect water bottle that is free, light, and super durable while packing down to a small size when
empty....
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surabi
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Interesting hiking log, thanks. As for water bottles, while you say "too expensive" as one of your criteria, you get what you pay for- if I was a
hiker in an area where water could be scarce or non-existent, I'd spend the money for something that wouldn't leak, would collapse, wasn't toxic like
those thin clear plastic bottles are, and was durable. It pays off in the long run to have the right equipment.
I'm not familiar with any of these, but looks like there's a lot of choices out there.
https://www.travelandleisure.com/style/travel-accessories/be...
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Fatboy
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Funny, that in the article you link I actually own and use 2 of the nine products listed. Which is a pretty good percentage considering just how many
water bottles are out there.
But, yes, my response was meant to imply the traits the PERFECT water bottle might have. 
Your right that when buying from a reputable seller you get what you pay and paying more usually has it's advantages.
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4x4abc
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what a cool trip!
Harald Pietschmann
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Fatboy
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Thanks, Harald!
Maybe someday I will do than a 20 mile section at a time.... need to shuttle a vehicle so the 45 miles I do hike can all be in ONE DIRECTION!
Plus, now I have several pieces of the puzzled solved.
I just need to find the 'easy' way to do the last couple of miles into San Sebastion then it should be straight forward at least to El Parasio.
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David K
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I am so thrilled to read your newest installment of a truly epic adventure, John!
Hiking the El Camino Real trail, here built in 1759-1762 as San Borja grew from a visita of Santa Gertrudis to being a mission of its own, has sure
been difficult for you... and most anyone, I imaging.
The erosion of trail dirt leaving just bare rocks where a rideable trail had been plus the growth of thorny brush on the 260 year-old road, shows how
Nature reclaims what man has done, left to its own.
A review of Harry Crosby's (RIP) book ('The King's Highway in Baja California', 1974) and the recent Google Earth map notes by Kevin & Genevieve
in this section ( https://caminorealbaja.com/ ) will be interesting... Thank you!
For readers to orient on your hike area and ranch names, here are ECR maps of that region...
This is the land north of El Arco and south of San Borja in the center of the peninsula.
[Edited on 10-1-2024 by David K]
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cupcake
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Thanks for the good read and photos for your most recent ECR trek.
I have an old Nalgene one-liter bottle that I have been using for 30+ years.
For the last four months I have been hiking, trail camping, and car camping in the San Gabriel mountains of southern California (with some disruptions
by the summer forrest fires). During this time, for water I was using plastic one-gallon jugs that originally contained Arizona Ice Tea. The tea was
too sweet for me, but I did manage to drink enough that I ended up with many empty jugs, which are great for car camping and on the trail as well. The
jugs don't collapse, but I also have a collapsible Gregory water bladder that holds 3+ liters (quality gear bought at REI). Jugs like I have descirbed
can be reinforced by wrapping them with duct tape; I have done this with good effect in the past.
[Edited on 10-1-2024 by cupcake]
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Fatboy
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| Quote: Originally posted by David K | .......
Hiking the El Camino Real trail, here built in 1759-1762 as San Borja grew from a visita of Santa Gertrudis to being a mission of its own, has sure
been difficult for you... and most anyone, I imaging.
......
A review of Harry Crosby's (RIP) book ('The King's Highway in Baja California', 1974) and the recent Google Earth map notes by Kevin & Genevieve
in this section ( https://caminorealbaja.com/ ) will be interesting... Thank you!
.......
[Edited on 10-1-2024 by David K] |
Thanks, David! I do need look at Kevin and Genevieve site again to se what they show.
Crosby's book is kind of vague on the route they took from Rancho Nuevo to San Sebastion, but he did clearly state that they did go to San Sebastion.
I need to read that section closer, it seems that some of the times listed do not seem to fit?
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Fatboy
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| Quote: Originally posted by cupcake | Thanks for the good read and photos for your most recent ECR trek.
I have an old Nalgene one-liter bottle that I have been using for 30+ years.
For the last four months I have been hiking, ...... Jugs like I have described can be reinforced by wrapping them with duct tape; I have done this
with good effect in the past.
[Edited on 10-1-2024 by cupcake] |
Thanks!
As to the water bottles, Nalgene are/were really popular, but for me I was never one to use them. Part of the problems in the desert are thorns
puncturing them, duct tape could certainly help with that.
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cupcake
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| Quote: Originally posted by Fatboy | | Quote: Originally posted by cupcake | Thanks for the good read and photos for your most recent ECR trek.
I have an old Nalgene one-liter bottle that I have been using for 30+ years.
For the last four months I have been hiking, ...... Jugs like I have described can be reinforced by wrapping them with duct tape; I have done this
with good effect in the past.
[Edited on 10-1-2024 by cupcake] |
Thanks!
As to the water bottles, Nalgene are/were really popular, but for me I was never one to use them. Part of the problems in the desert are thorns
puncturing them, duct tape could certainly help with that. |
I doubt duct tape would give much protection against a serious thorn; It can strengthen seams against exapansion and compression. The Arizona Ice Tea
jugs I mentioned are quite rugged (or at least they were - maybe they are made thinner now, I don't know).
The hiking I've been doing the last few months has mostly been on either maintained trails or decent 'use' trails...a world of difference from your
ECR trek, which amounts to cross country travel with considerable route finding challenges.
I've added a small bear horn to my hiking kit, as I had two close bear sightings recently. The horn should also work well for dogs, coyotes, lions,
etc. The horn I have weighs next to nothing and is relatively inexpensive.
Bear Horn Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07xYYn64uXU
[Edited on 10-2-2024 by cupcake]
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David K
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| Quote: Originally posted by Fatboy | | Quote: Originally posted by David K | .......
Hiking the El Camino Real trail, here built in 1759-1762 as San Borja grew from a visita of Santa Gertrudis to being a mission of its own, has sure
been difficult for you... and most anyone, I imaging.
......
A review of Harry Crosby's (RIP) book ('The King's Highway in Baja California', 1974) and the recent Google Earth map notes by Kevin & Genevieve
in this section ( https://caminorealbaja.com/ ) will be interesting... Thank you!
.......
|
Thanks, David! I do need look at Kevin and Genevieve site again to se what they show.
Crosby's book is kind of vague on the route they took from Rancho Nuevo to San Sebastion, but he did clearly state that they did go to San Sebastion.
I need to read that section closer, it seems that some of the times listed do not seem to fit?
|
I sent Kevin the link to this thread and he replied. Let me see if I can share his reply here... in short, they found that going from north tom south
on ECR made it easier to spot the old route in these difficult places.
I recall Harry going via the San Sebastian arroyo rather than the La Rabia one on his travels. Likely due to it being a better route to use in 1967 or
that is what his guide used or believed to be the missionaries trail.
Interestingly, on his 1977 edition of the El Camino Real maps, he has the trail north from San Sebastian as being 'well-definesd' (a double line): https://sandiegohistory.org/journal/77winter/images/p24-25.g...
Below is the 1974 'King's Highway in Baja California' Map of that section, followed by the 1977 map:
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cupcake
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The link in David's post ^^ took me to an error page, but copying this part of the link and pasting it into a browser takes me to the image list page,
from where pp. 24-25 can be accessed. Looks like more info/maps can be accessed via the list page as well.
https://sandiegohistory.org/journal/77winter/images/
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cupcake
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| Quote: Originally posted by David K |
in short, they found that going from north tom south on ECR made it easier to spot the old route in these difficult places.
|
That is interesting, as in looking at the starting (1,480 feet) and turnaround (3,991 feet) altitudes in Fatboy's trip report, I would think a better
view would be had from travelling south to north in the section covered by this trip report. A lot would depend on how much up and down travel there
is (and where it is), among other things, but Fatboy does report a considerable difference in altitude between his start and turaround points. My
understanding in reading his trip report and looking at the maps you (David) have provided, is that Fatboy traveled south to start his trip and then
returned in a northward direction. Sarting high and descending might give an 'overview' of the upcoming terrain and thus be better for routefinding.
I don't want to confuse routefinding with physical movement. For most people, ascending a steep section is easier and safer than descending a steep
section (especially when seeing it for the first time). But this applies more to ground that requires the use of hands (3rd class) versus normal cross
country hiking.
In studying the place names in Fatboy's trip report and matching them to locations pinpointed on the maps that David has posted, it quickly becomes
appearant, as expected, that the first map in this thread that David posted is the one to take if you were going to try and actually do the trek. A
detailed, well-marked topo map.
Great website by Genevieve and Kevin, previously linked by David earlier in this thread. Could well help a trekker avoid trouble on the ECR (see their
'Dangers and Concerns' section).
[Edited on 10-2-2024 by cupcake]
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bajaric
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Great report, describing second half of the hike north from San Sebastion, then returning south to the rancho where the car was parked. Gabb, in
1867, mentioned seeing some old arrastras at San Sebastion from an abandoned prospecting effort.
I find it usually takes a couple of trips to get the "lay of the land" when exploring an unfamiliar area without any landmarks. Very easy to get
disoriented and stray off of the intended route. Maybe those pots hanging in the trees were like "ducks" to help someone remember where the trail
was.
The El Camino Real web site has some detailed "waypoints" or "breadcrumbs" all along the route, I would think some techie person could load the
satellite view of Google earth on to some sort of electronic device with the trail and waypoints shown on it.
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David K
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From Kevin of www.CaminoRealBaja.com:
Yes, you may post this and I hope John has better luck next time. I wish I could walk with him for at least part of the way. Genevieve and I love this
section. It is both beautiful and interesting!
You can also mention, if you want, that we found a tiny tinaja with some unappetizing water near Las Cabras and in the canyon of El Paraiso. That was
it, but it was enough. Actually, it was a lot better than on some other parts of the trail.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
La Rabia is NOT the usual route of the ECR today, but it possibly was long ago. The standard trail today is the one that is obvious on Google Earth
and I do believe it was an ECR option in the day. I know it was mentioned in the mid-1800s. It is used today, but even there you need to be cautious
about selecting the correct trail out of the occasional cow trails.
We have been in that part of ECR twice, both a few years back. We probed once from a ranch a little higher in elevation and then we backpacked the
entire section from San Augustine. That time we travelled north to south and it went very well. We did have to scout around at times, but it wasn't
too bad. North to south is definitely the easier direction for route finding. Water is a problem. From El Paraiso heading south we found a tiny pool
near the lip of the canyon, at El Rodeo, at El Rancho and then at San Sebastian. Not a lot of water but enough. We always carried plenty of water in
our packs just in case! Our first camp was in the canyon of El Paraiso. The next camp was at El Rodeo and the third camp was at San Sebastian. We like
to move fast for safety.
We both really enjoyed that part of the trail and we would like to backpack it again.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64888
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: Originally posted by bajaric | Great report, describing second half of the hike north from San Sebastion, then returning south to the rancho where the car was parked. Gabb, in
1867, mentioned seeing some old arrastras at San Sebastion from an abandoned prospecting effort.
I find it usually takes a couple of trips to get the "lay of the land" when exploring an unfamiliar area without any landmarks. Very easy to get
disoriented and stray off of the intended route. Maybe those pots hanging in the trees were like "ducks" to help someone remember where the trail
was.
The El Camino Real web site has some detailed "waypoints" or "breadcrumbs" all along the route, I would think some techie person could load the
satellite view of Google earth on to some sort of electronic device with the trail and waypoints shown on it. |
The thousands of waypoints do make a breadcrumb trail. Nomad map guru 'geoffff' made some versions (linked) as well as the Benchmark Baja Atlas put
their track onto the Atlas...
https://octopup.org/img/misc/davidk/ecr/ecr-davidk.jpg
https://octopup.org/img/misc/davidk/ecr/caminorealbaja-com-t...
The above two and more are on my website page: https://vivabaja.com/hgreal/
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Fatboy
Senior Nomad
Posts: 747
Registered: 6-28-2005
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: Originally posted by cupcake | | Quote: Originally posted by Fatboy |
.......
I've added a small bear horn to my hiking kit, as I had two close bear sightings recently. The horn should also work well for dogs, coyotes, lions,
etc. The horn I have weighs next to nothing and is relatively inexpensive.
Bear Horn Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07xYYn64uXU
[Edited on 10-2-2024 by cupcake] |
Roughly, what part of the country you in? Bears are interesting, in Grizzly country I carry bear spray but here in Northern California I rarely carry
anything for bears.
I do have a winter hike planned in February of 2025 here in Plumas County that I will most certainly be carrying bear spray on.
One reason is, of course, there are lots of Bears around here, but now there are also wolves.
Second reason is because of an odd set of circumstances I will start hiking around midnight and hike until the next morning on the first day.
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