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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
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Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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| Quote: | Originally posted by mtgoat666
but no longer as interesting, they set a challenge of self-propelling themselves, now they are driving,... really much less interesting to follow
along as an arm chair traveler. |
I agree.
When I saw the map this morning with the obvious ride I, too, lost interest.
But there are enough challenges coming up that it still is the most interesting thread on the website. And it's so positive (think of ramuma's 120
pages of drek).
The fact that they're using this spot device which is sending signals every 10 minutes is perhaps the best thing about this trip. None of the others
did this. It's like we are there. You can look and surmise each thing they do on the journey from the map and where they stop and when they stop and
how long they stop. In fact even this discussion of cheating is brought about by the transparency of this device. They are exposing their own
cheating. Who knows whether the others didn't get rides. There is no verification.
So the spot device usage goes into the pros column.
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Curt63
Super Nomad
Posts: 1171
Registered: 3-28-2009
Location: San Diego, Ca.
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Mood: Fish tacos and Tecate
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One possible reason for the rides and adhering to the schedule/map is they have an inflexible re-supply schedule.
They could find themselves in a lot of trouble in this next leg to BOLA.
I'm losing interest too.
I hope like hell they switch coasts.
No worries
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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The problem is, curt63, that when you make the venture too safe and too easy - that's when you lose interest.
It's solving and overcoming challenges that has the greatest interest value.
The fact that Graham almost passed out from dehydration north of San Evaristo and was found by a boy from a fish camp, made the book hard to put down.
Without the challenges and "the sergeant" telling him to press on the book would have been uninteresting. In fact Graham's current baja celebrity
status would not exist.
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tripledigitken
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4848
Registered: 9-27-2006
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
The problem is, curt63, that when you make the venture too safe and too easy - that's when you lose interest.
It's solving and overcoming challenges that has the greatest interest value.
The fact that Graham almost passed out from dehydration north of San Evaristo and was found by a boy from a fish camp, made the book hard to put down.
Without the challenges and "the sergeant" telling him to press on the book would have been uninteresting. In fact Graham's current baja celebrity
status would not exist. |
Igor,
You know the area they are about to face, as I do. Do you think it is probable that he can push/pull a stroller with 80#'s on it turning left at
Coco's? That scenario has simply got to change. I would not be surprised if we see a change of route to Lake Chapala then Mex 1 to BOLA.
think I'd rather have this "all terrain" unit.
(about 10#'s air???)
Ken
[Edited on 5-19-2012 by tripledigitken]
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Skipjack Joe
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Posts: 8084
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Location: Bahia Asuncion
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Ken,
I'm curious to know how they solved their stroller problem. There has been no posts by them. It's hard to believe they're using it today on that
gravel washboard road.
I have to say that I will be disappointed if they don't turn left at Coco's and proceed to Chapala and the main hwy. It's the first really challenging
section they are facing. They have learned much up til now and I think they can do it.
I spent a fair amount of time trying to figure out the route then would take and I just can't see a way to get from the calamajue plain to the large
plain just southwest of punta remedios. There are mountains in between and google earth shows no trails through this area.
-------------------------------------------
My mistake. They never intended to go through the mountains and agua amarga. They plan to go through calamajue canyon and out to main hwy - a much
easier route. In fact they're skipping all the challenging parts of the gulf coastline (South of San Francisquito and Agua Verde to San Evaristo).
No need for Graham to look into the rear view mirror. 
Planned Route
[Edited on 5-19-2012 by Skipjack Joe]
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sancho
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2524
Registered: 10-6-2004
Location: OC So Cal
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
The fact that Graham almost passed out from dehydration north of San Evaristo and was found by a boy from a fish camp, made the book hard to put down.
Without the challenges and "the sergeant" telling him to press on the book would have been uninteresting. In fact Graham's current baja celebrity
status would not exist. |
G Mack is THE ORIGINAL, especially not having any of the communication
of today, not that the recent treks are not noteworthy
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Curt63
Super Nomad
Posts: 1171
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Location: San Diego, Ca.
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Mood: Fish tacos and Tecate
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Joe, I spent some time looking at the Baja Good Life website and Facebook page. It only reduced my confidence in their chances of actually making it.
They seem like very nice people that got bored and cooked up this unbelievably irresponsible, poorly advised Eco adventure. I sinceerly hope they have
learned a lot in the last week and make significant adjustments.
I found nothing describing their support team. Their gear and packing list leads me to believe they are new to camping/hiking. Her footwear on their
first day of training was a joke. They even took a solar shower. with them 
I hope no one gets hurt
No worries
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Natalie Ann
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2819
Registered: 8-22-2003
Location: Berkeley
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| Quote: | Originally posted by tripledigitken
Do you think it is probable that he can push/pull a stroller with 80#'s on it turning left at Coco's? That scenario has simply got to change. I
would not be surprised if we see a change of route to Lake Chapala then Mex 1 to BOLA.
think I'd rather have this "all terrain" unit.
(about 10#'s air???)
Ken
[Edited on 5-19-2012 by tripledigitken] |
When pushing 80 pounds over rough terrain I always go for my trusty wheelbarrow.
nena
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
.....Oscar Wilde
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Cypress
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7641
Registered: 3-12-2006
Location: on the bayou
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Mood: undecided
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Was a good idea, walking around Baja etc. But? And this is a big but. You better be in very good physical condition to attempt a mega mile walk in
desert country. They were not. End of story.
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Curt63
They seem like very nice people that got bored and cooked up this unbelievably irresponsible, poorly advised Eco adventure. I sinceerly hope they have
learned a lot in the last week and make significant adjustments.
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I think that most people agree with you that they were woefully unprepared for the hardships of this journey. I guess the biggest surprise for me was
that they didn't make a more significant preliminary journey, say 7 days, to get all the kinks out. The first day of this journey was 8AM-3PM and
5PM-7PM in temperatures that never dropped below 90.
I also think that they are reading this thread on almost a daily basis. So any suggesions that we may have are greatly appreciated. It's not too late
to change. Graham and Youngblood did as well. If you had been monitoring Graham in his dash to BOLA when he couldn't decide whether to use the stills
or keep moving you probably would have advised him to head for the Pacific and not deal with the heat and dehydration.
Personally I'm glad that all 3 of these trips are/were done by amateurs. I would find it far less interesting if some young professional stud who's
climbed all the major peaks would be doing the trek.
Again part of the appeal of Graham's journey was that here was a fair skinned couch potato that had no desert experience who took on baja in the most
difficult manner. The story to me was not about circumnavigating baja but of the perseverance of a man against the odds.
I see much of the same here so far.
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
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Location: Bahia Asuncion
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Cypress
You better be in very good physical condition to attempt a mega mile walk in desert country. They were not. End of story. |
No, not end of story.
By now they're in great shape. The walking brought them into shape.
I was looking at google earth of a sierra trip I had done in my mid twenties. We went in at Mammoth and came out a week later at Rock Creek. The first
day I just about died climbing up to Duck Lake (4 miles). The last day I virtually flew over 12,000+ foot Mono Pass and dropped down to the pavement
below (12 miles).
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Cypress
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7641
Registered: 3-12-2006
Location: on the bayou
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Mood: undecided
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Skipjack Joe, If you say so? But?
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goldhuntress
Senior Nomad
Posts: 663
Registered: 1-28-2010
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Skipjack, I think the key phrase there might be "in my mid twenties", lol.
I do agree though, they are in better shape now than when they left. That's why I think they may have walked and just messed up with the Spot. 9:51am
yesterday to 3:03am this morning are not accounted for by tracking, that's 15 hours, and that is plenty of time to go 22 miles with support. They
could have left at 3:00 pm had a car take the packs and someone with water and food sticking by them and made it in 7 hours, by 10:00pm. This morning
from 3:03 to 4:41 they went 2.4 miles, no tracking because as you know I think it went off and they forgot to turn it on and finally realized it when
they hit the road at 4:41 and turned it on. Maybe they just decided to try and kick it up a notch. After all they only went 6.6 miles on Friday
morning. Maybe the plan was to rest all day and push to Gonzaga in the late afternoon. I guess we just have to wait to find out. It just does not make
sense to me that they would get a ride then continue walking, why? That would so not be worth the credibility they have lost with some people and it
didn't put them hardly any closer to where they supposed to be at this point either.
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15939
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Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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Mood: Everchangin'
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i think it's cool they are trying. odds are stacked but they are still at it.
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goldhuntress
Senior Nomad
Posts: 663
Registered: 1-28-2010
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Also, an example to support my theory that they forget to pay attention to the Spot is today they stopped and did not check in for almost 3 hours, all
the time the tracking going off in the same place, 16 times, until they remembered to do a check in and suspended the tracking.
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shari
Select Nomad
Posts: 13048
Registered: 3-10-2006
Location: bahia asuncion, baja sur
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Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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both MIke & Donkay were pretty out of shape when they started their trek...but got whipped into shape along the way. I was thinking that it is
overkill to have the SPOT device track every few minutes...wouldnt that take more battery power? Mike forgot to turn his on sometimes too.
I wonder what ever happened to that french canuck who was walking the continent in short shorts along the highway with an off road stroller?
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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I see you remember the short shorts.
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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They should be reaching Coco's oday in about 2 hours if they keep walking at current rate.
They started at 4:30 this morning.
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tripledigitken
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4848
Registered: 9-27-2006
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
They should be reaching Coco's oday in about 2 hours if they keep walking at current rate.
They started at 4:30 this morning. |
will they turn left (as it appears on their route map) or head straight to Chapala?????
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64916
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
| Quote: | Originally posted by mtgoat666
but no longer as interesting, they set a challenge of self-propelling themselves, now they are driving,... really much less interesting to follow
along as an arm chair traveler. |
I agree.
When I saw the map this morning with the obvious ride I, too, lost interest.
But there are enough challenges coming up that it still is the most interesting thread on the website. And it's so positive (think of ramuma's 120
pages of drek).
The fact that they're using this spot device which is sending signals every 10 minutes is perhaps the best thing about this trip. None of the others
did this. It's like we are there. You can look and surmise each thing they do on the journey from the map and where they stop and when they stop and
how long they stop. In fact even this discussion of cheating is brought about by the transparency of this device. They are exposing their own
cheating. Who knows whether the others didn't get rides. There is no verification.
So the spot device usage goes into the pros column. |
Don't forget that between Punta San Carlos and Puerto Santa Catarina he and Don Kay DID walk the coast... until they ran out of land and tried going
around... That is the one time he hit the help button and Nomads (Ron) went into action to help him. He stayed on roads after that!
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