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edm1
Senior Nomad
Posts: 568
Registered: 8-23-2006
Location: Oak Hills, Ca
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Sure, Al; details coming up. I think this place where I was stuck is where no other RV's have ever been. It's definetely not Shell beach, it's
farther south of where I think is Shell Beach. I say "I think" because I have not found the Shell beach the you guys speak of or post pictures of,
where you can park an RV or even a pickup truck. It's not a beach either but it's only 150 feet from the waterline during full high-tide. I'll post
the GPS track I stupidly took.
But the short answer to how to get out of a ditch is not to get in it in the first place. :-)
[Edited on 7-20-2007 by edm1]
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BajaWarrior
Super Nomad
Posts: 2307
Registered: 9-27-2006
Location: Mission Bay, San Diego. Playa Hermosa, San Felipe.
Member Is Offline
Mood: Anxious to get south
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Shell Beach is actually an Island (San Martin Island is it's former name, it is what we call it), which it's turnoff is just south of Rancho Percebu
and north of Campo Santa Maria, which are 6 miles apart. The turnoff, which favors just closer north to Percebu, takes you directly to the Beach
(Island) and has two block columns serving as an entrance very near the highway that are light grey or white in appearance and that's it. No sign,
nothing.
That road alone which is two miles from the water is a challenge for the wrong vehicle as it is sand as well, not unlike the rest of the desert.
After passing through this roller coaster road of a mile and 1/4, it enters a salt flat, visible to the north is Percebu, and to the south Santa
Maria, cross it, and head straight to the water. Now, if it has been a "high" high tide recently or currently, this area leading to the actual beach
(island) will be wet and very slippery. We are talking about a small area, smaller than a residential culdesac, after crossing that challenge, you
enter the beach, and it is thick sand. Even camping at the actual entrance is not that good because of the traffic entering the beach.
The next time you're in the area my reccomendation for camping in this area would be the north end of Bahia Santa Maria (open space and southern tip
of Shell Island), or two miles south at Campo Nuevo Mazatlan (actual campground with trees, restrooms and water).
We are heading to Lake Havasu in the a.m. but would love to hear about your trip when we get back on Monday.
Also curious where you were stuck temporarily, south of Santa Maria it is more populated and with hard packed roads leading to the beaches, so I'm
thinking you were in the area between the two communities I mentioned.
Haven't had a bad trip yet....
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edm1
Senior Nomad
Posts: 568
Registered: 8-23-2006
Location: Oak Hills, Ca
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2 miles from the water?
When I say I think I found Shell beach, I was within 300 feet from the beach/water at LOW tide. There is a fishing shack and a dark pickup truck next
to it, but no one was there. Why didn't he take his truck with him, I don't know. I was also only 300 feet from the shack when I couldn't go any
further (I was going to park next to the shack). There trail leading there also forked to the left that actually lead to a "muddy" path, which I
quickly refused to get into. There was a concrete pedestal the size of maybe 15 by 12 feet and maybe 4.5 feet high in the middle of nowhere where
water surrounds it at high tide. Not a bridge or a dam but what is it for?
Anyway, I've posted the first installment of my trip report in the Trip Report section, of course.
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BajaWarrior
Super Nomad
Posts: 2307
Registered: 9-27-2006
Location: Mission Bay, San Diego. Playa Hermosa, San Felipe.
Member Is Offline
Mood: Anxious to get south
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You were there! Yep, that was the bridge that was never finished. That is the exact entrance to Shell Island. Enter to right of unfinished bridge, but
the sand does get very thick there.
BW
[Edited on 7-20-2007 by BajaWarrior]
Haven't had a bad trip yet....
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edm1
Senior Nomad
Posts: 568
Registered: 8-23-2006
Location: Oak Hills, Ca
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To the right and before that "bridge" platform was like a creek and I went down and felt the sand/clay-looking mixture and felt it and it was soft and
it looked like I had to cross 50 feet of that stuff and it was 7:45 PM, although the sun was still up. I'm not easily scared (not of sand 'cause I
know it's self packing and abrasive and easy to shovel), but mud? slippery and dark as in "dark forces" and could be bottomless. And how do you shovel
mud? I'm not going through there without an escort vehicle or at least a tireless strong digger in the early mornings and who can bury a 5x5 ft steel
tire carrier along with the tires at least 6 feet below ground level so I could winch my 10,000lb rig out. Perhaps the time I was there was a bad
time/situation in which to cross?
So, anyway, I reversed and turned around and chose to go to the right-hand fork toward the fishing shack. It was deep sand, so as I said I'm not
scared of sand and so I floated for about a hundred feet until can't do it anymore. Reverse won't move the RV either. The rest of the story I will
cover in that section of the trip report.
[Edited on 7-20-2007 by edm1]
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edm1
Senior Nomad
Posts: 568
Registered: 8-23-2006
Location: Oak Hills, Ca
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
I sure hope he doesn't try to drive into Mision Santa Maria in that 2WD boat! |
Thanks a lot, David  for the encouragement. Is it sand, mud or rocks the
challenge in Mision Sta Maria?
[Edited on 7-20-2007 by edm1]
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64859
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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edm1, first off please know that we only want the best for you and to not have problems!
You GOT to have 4WD for many places in Baja... period.
The road to Mision Santa Maria (I have posted tons of photos) is rock, sand, and STEEP grades... A 'Jeep trail', that I wouldn't recommend a full size
pick up to drive as they could get hung up.
Please read my Shell Island comments on your trip report thread... But, here is a photo of the bridge onto Shell Island (that's Surfer Jim).
It was completed, and we used to drive over it to get onto the island.
What happened over the years since it was built, is the elevated road (causeway) across the lagoon mud flats has been 'melting' back down into the
flats since this road was built in 1984.
Apparently some project fell through and nothing beyond the road and bridge was built... As you can see from this photo, the road bed is about 18"
lower than the bridge.
So, you will see ruts going to the right, detouring the bridge and the low mud hole under it... That's one way onto the island. The other are the
tracks that go at a diaginal/ right to the beach about halfway to the bridge from the desert. That is the original access road before the causeway
was built in '84.
[Edited on 7-20-2007 by David K]
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edm1
Senior Nomad
Posts: 568
Registered: 8-23-2006
Location: Oak Hills, Ca
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
edm1, first off please know that we only want the best for you and to not have problems!
[Edited on 7-20-2007 by David K] |
I'm sure you do, David. I said that in jest .
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