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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64850
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Motorcycle run Puertecitos-Cataviņa-Mission Sta. Maria-Gonzaga
I have been on the phone and texting the past 24 hours with some off road racing folks who want to do a casual motorcycle run from Hwy. 5 near
Puertecitos up the Bill Nichols Rock Trail to Hwy. 1 (Cataviņa) then to Mission Santa Maria and try and ride on El Camino Real back down to Hwy. 5 and
end at Punta Final. The trip will be sometime in the next 30 days.
The leader of the group will have a Spot device and has offered to share the ride through me to other Baja back country enthusiasts.
The terrain is very rough and the Camino Real route above the canyon of Santa Maria was built after the Franciscans took over the California missions
in 1768.
I stressed it is dangerous to do on motorbikes, but it has been done (Malcolm Smith, Kevin Ward, and some on Rokons Willardguy mentioned, etc.), so
the challenge is out there.
IF the trail is too dangerous, then the group will go around and use the La Turquesa Canyon route, made famous here on Baja Nomad by The squarecircle
and TW (former Baja racer).
Hopefully we will have a new Baja Nomad who shares the exciting world of desert off roading on the Baja California peninsula.
Related posts: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=22941
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=22775
Region of interest... approx route of the Bill Nichols trail is at the top, the El Camino Real is east from the mission, and the La Turquesa trail is
the optional south route back to Punta Final (called San Francisquito on this 1975 map). New Hwy. 5 location at Gonzaga drawn in.
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TMW
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Sounds interesting, do they need any support help? I have a trip planned over the MLK holiday weekend for several days but otherwise I could carry
some water bottles.
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El Sauz
Newbie
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Registered: 12-13-2014
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Driving motorcycles on a remote part of the el camino real like that seems kind of disrespectful. It is an archaeological feature after all and in
another country to boot. Maybe try to suggest the mine route. Is the el camino real near Santa Maria already so messed up that it does not matter?
[Edited on 12-19-2014 by El Sauz]
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mtgoat666
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Quote: Originally posted by El Sauz  | Driving motorcycles on a remote part of the el camino real like that seems kind of disrespectful. It is an archaeological feature after all and in
another country to boot. Maybe try to suggest the mine route. Is the el camino real near Santa Maria already so messed up that it does not matter?
[Edited on 12-19-2014 by El Sauz] |
Unfortunately, many off roaders disrespect the land. The road was used for foot and animal travel, and has mostly returned to nature. Now idiots want
to scar the land with vehicles, which leads to more vehicles, and pretty soon the roads look like crap, the country is overrun with more drunks in off
road vehicles,.... And another place for solitude is lost.
I am sure DK will support the yahoos, he believes a roadless area must be roaded. We can only hope they faiil and turn back.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64850
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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The El Camino Real route was their idea not mine. I stressed it could be dangerous. The trail is no more than a cow track and not the Jesuit style
road that is south of San Borja. The weather does far more damage than bikes anyway. Nice that the mission route can be enjoyed. Baja is far more
durable than you credit her with. If they find it unsafe then they will use La Turquesa. If you can't enjoy some human adventure the off roading forum
is probably not a rewarding page to read?
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64850
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: Originally posted by TMW | | Sounds interesting, do they need any support help? I have a trip planned over the MLK holiday weekend for several days but otherwise I could carry
some water bottles. |
Hi Tom, I mentioned you. Thanks. These guys do many Baja m/c runs and were referred to
me by Cameron who knows I have been on both ends of ECR east of the mission. See u2u.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64850
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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One more point, much of the El Camino Real has been turned into auto roads or vanished from weather. So please go find it, enjoy it, photograph it to
preserve it with photos, and stories!
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paranewbi
Senior Nomad
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"Unfortunately, many off roaders disrespect the land. The road was used for foot and animal travel, and has mostly returned to nature. Now idiots want
to scar the land with vehicles, which leads to more vehicles, and pretty soon the roads look like crap, the country is overrun with more drunks in off
road vehicles,.... And another place for solitude is lost.
I am sure DK will support the yahoos, he believes a roadless area must be roaded. We can only hope they faiil and turn back."
Really Mr. Goat? Baseless accusations? Desires of failure?
Perhaps you should observe some of the things DK has pointed out to us in his quest to take note of the historical content of the land you have tread
over in Baja, not to mention those easy access paved roads you have driven down.
And as you, DK and I all live in San Diego...this area is rife with "idiots" who have "scar(red) the land with their vehicles"...and might I add, with
their toilets to!
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willardguy
Elite Nomad
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Registered: 9-19-2009
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yeah yeah yeah....and im sure the Indians complained about the Franciscan's beating up their pristine foot trail with their pack animals!
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64850
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: Originally posted by willardguy | | yeah yeah yeah....and im sure the Indians complained about the Franciscan's beating up their pristine foot trail with their pack animals! |
It's a trail over natural desert, quite more friendly to the environment than bulldozing a graded road or paving a highway, with all the death and
destruction to Nature that causes!
Let's enjoy other's Baja adventures, they are going to happen even if nothing is posted here. At least this way, others can learn about the back
country of Baja, the history, and many other things. To not ever post here about Baja adventures (because they don't jive with the PC crowd) is like
putting your head in the sand and pretend it doesn't happen.
Thank you to the leader of this ride for wanting to share his group's fun with others. Many of us can no longer ride motor bikes, or hike, or even
leave home due to age, health, finances, etc.
Viva Baja... thanks to Baja Nomad, adventure isn't just for the few!
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StuckSucks
Super Nomad
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Registered: 10-17-2013
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| Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666 | | Now idiots want to scar the land with vehicles, which leads to more vehicles, and pretty soon the roads look like crap, the country is overrun with
more drunks in off road vehicles |
sniff ... sniff ... do I smell Barbara Boxer?
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MEXICOMA
Newbie
Posts: 1
Registered: 12-19-2014
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OFFROADERS
our group lives for Baja, we cherish the land as well as the people.
we do trail maintenance and trash removal from the sites we ride to.
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ehall
Super Nomad
Posts: 1906
Registered: 3-29-2014
Location: Buckeye, Az
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Mood: It's 5 o'clock somewhere
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I am very interested. Was planning a bike trip in Jan.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64850
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: Originally posted by MEXICOMA | our group lives for Baja, we cherish the land as well as the people.
we do trail maintenance and trash removal from the sites we ride to.
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WELCOME to Baja Nomad! Glad to have you on board as we together try and treat our addiction and happily suffer with 'Baja Fever'!
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Martyman
Super Nomad
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Yeah Goat - we are the dominant species here and it is our god given right to scar and screw the world. Where's my gill net?
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4x4abc
Ultra Nomad
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Location: La Paz, BCS
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so, Seņor paranewbi, no Moon or Mars exploration either? Imagine all the tracks on virgin ground!
By the way, the reason why you have a comfortable life in San Diego is that someone blazed a trail, made a road, built highways - many highways. We
kinda need them to move around - since we are not birds.
I am with you on criticizing the ones who damage dirt roads and trails. But it's kinda human, we tend to damage stuff when we use it. Then leave the
repairs to others. Nothing new here.
Your bottom line seems to be, that we should all have stayed in Africa?
Harald Pietschmann
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64850
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: Originally posted by 4x4abc | so, Seņor paranewbi, no Moon or Mars exploration either? Imagine all the tracks on virgin ground!
By the way, the reason why you have a comfortable life in San Diego is that someone blazed a trail, made a road, built highways - many highways. We
kinda need them to move around - since we are not birds.
I am with you on criticizing the ones who damage dirt roads and trails. But it's kinda human, we tend to damage stuff when we use it. Then leave the
repairs to others. Nothing new here.
Your bottom line seems to be, that we should all have stayed in Africa? |
Actually paranewbi was "quoting" MtGoat666 in the first half, he just didn't use the quote feature to separate goat from his thoughts (which share
ours Harald).
[Edited on 12-19-2014 by David K]
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4x4abc
Ultra Nomad
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Location: La Paz, BCS
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my apologies to Seņor paranewbi
Harald Pietschmann
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El Sauz
Newbie
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Registered: 12-13-2014
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Oops, didn't mean to start something. I have been lurking long enough I should have known better 
I am not against off roading, actually it would be great if a fun off road route was built in the section where people feel compelled to use the old
mission trail. That would be a win-win.
The biggest draw of back country travel is the freedom. That freedom means we often have to decide for ourselves what is or isn't appropriate. One
could make the argument that the mine road is just as important as a historic feature as the mission road. I guess for me the line lies somewhere
between a bulldozed mine road and a mission trail hand built by a people who no longer exist.
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rts551
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6699
Registered: 9-5-2003
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Sometimes I can not believe the people on this site. To say that vehicles do not change the landscape in absurd. They do.
Now, we are off-roaders, with many more explorations and races under our belts than the so-called experts. Please, if you see something of
historical importance like an ancient trail....do not ride on it..it is akin to painting over cave drawings.
If some continue to abuse the country side in their occasional visits to this beautiful country they will ruin it for everyone.
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