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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8940
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Its Pole Line Road time
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Neal Johns' 'Bad Hill' goes from 'Bad' to 'Worse'!
Will experienced electrical problems, and his 90's Bronco was completely DOA as a result. It took the combined efforts of our entire group with Carl
pulling the big Bronco down the Bad Hill without proper brakes nor steering!
I will post the video this weekend...
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64739
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Thank you Ken for the photos!
Edit: Here are mine (day 1 of 4 just posted): http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=78437
[Edited on 4-9-2015 by David K]
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PaulW
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3059
Registered: 5-21-2013
Member Is Offline
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Thanks for the pics
PW
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TMW
Select Nomad
Posts: 10659
Registered: 9-1-2003
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Member Is Offline
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Thanks Ken. It was a fantastic trip with some really good people helping each other along the way. I want to especially thank Chuck for his expert
spotting. I had a wonderful time.
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Mexitron
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3397
Registered: 9-21-2003
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Member Is Offline
Mood: Happy!
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Wow, you pulled a Bronco thru that...wow. If your truck has any weak spots the Pole Line Road will find them!
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8940
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Its Pole Line Road time
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Quote: Originally posted by Mexitron  | | Wow, you pulled a Bronco thru that...wow. If your truck has any weak spots the Pole Line Road will find them! |
Thanks to TW, Carl, Larry, and EHall for the towing they did. It got pretty extreme on the Pole Line Road as a result of the broken-down Bronco on
the trail combined with washed out trail.
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4x4abc
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4243
Registered: 4-24-2009
Location: La Paz, BCS
Member Is Offline
Mood: happy - always
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did not notice anything extreme on our trip - or was it that difficult for Jeeps?
Harald Pietschmann
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64739
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8940
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Its Pole Line Road time
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Extreme Bronco pull to Hwy 5
The Pole Line group had to rebuild a section of road that was washed out during recent rains across the region. EHall's RUBICON drove straight up a
steep drop off, but many of the vehicles could not handle such a steep grade. For example, Will's Bronco needed to be pulled to Hwy 5.
Joe 'Frigatebird' driving up the Pole Line washout with Chuck spotting
Huitzi and Will stabilize Frigatebirds Tacoma
The 2015 Baja Pole Line Run was a great success. Although, there were some breakdowns, the run was fun, the weather pleasant, and the excitement
level ran high thanks to everyone's hard work at getting Will and his Bronco back to civilization. Thanks to MICK for your hard work and hospitality
in putting Will's Bronco back together and feeding his crew!
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4x4abc
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4243
Registered: 4-24-2009
Location: La Paz, BCS
Member Is Offline
Mood: happy - always
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why do you need to stabilize a level vehicle?
Harald Pietschmann
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8940
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Its Pole Line Road time
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Pulling the Bronco behind a tire-spinning pickup up steep inclines wasn't exactly mild. EHall's RUBICON hooked up the pickup and the two vehicles
pulled the Bronco in tandem. It got pretty wild. EHall's RUBICON pulled serious hillclimb duty. Not a problem for his Jeep.
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8940
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Its Pole Line Road time
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Free ride back to the RUBICON.
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4x4abc
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4243
Registered: 4-24-2009
Location: La Paz, BCS
Member Is Offline
Mood: happy - always
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you should do the Rubicon Trail one day, Ken (and that's only moderately difficult - not extreme). PLR was mild wheeling.
The pulling was quite entertaining though.
Harald Pietschmann
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8940
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Its Pole Line Road time
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I would like to run the Rubicon trail. I might get altitude sickness, though. I always do.
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ehall
Super Nomad
Posts: 1906
Registered: 3-29-2014
Location: Buckeye, Az
Member Is Offline
Mood: It's 5 o'clock somewhere
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Rubicon is fun and I highly recommend the jeepers jamboree. They take real good care of you.
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Taco de Baja
Super Nomad
Posts: 1913
Registered: 4-14-2004
Location: Behind the Orange Curtain, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Dreamin' of Baja
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Looks like a fun trip, aside from the break down....
Thanks for taking us along with the photos.
Truth generally lies in the coordination of antagonistic opinions
-Herbert Spencer
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64739
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: Originally posted by 4x4abc | you should do the Rubicon Trail one day, Ken (and that's only moderately difficult - not extreme). PLR was mild wheeling.
The pulling was quite entertaining though. |
In all fairness, this was not a mild wheeling for most of us... I know you have done far more extreme four wheeling (and I loved the book you wrote,
even if I don't read German).
When an 'Off Road' model truck has some body damage and the severe scratching from brush and trees, requires spotting to drive over or through rocks,
and most of the run done in low range 4WD, it rates up there when compared to other Baja dirt roads. Only the road to Mission Santa Maria was more
difficult, and not by much...
I am just making this point so other Nomads don't do this run alone or with a stock rig and expect a mild run. Lockers or 4WD Traction Control, good
tires aired down, and experience is required for the Pole Line Road, IMO. Here are three photos of the 'mild' road I was able to take:
[Edited on 1-9-2022 by David K]
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8940
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Its Pole Line Road time
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Condensed Trip Report
On Saturday, April 4th a group of Jeeps and Toyota Tacomas met in Calexico for a three-day run in the scenic desert just outside of Mexicali, Baja
California. After crossing the US/Mexico border, and getting some of the best grilled Mexican food along Hwy 2 at Asadero El Morlan, our group headed
to Cohabuzo Junction where our numbers swelled to 15 vehicles. Our group of Tacomas and 4 Rubicons was joined by a Ford Ranger, a big Bronco, a 70s
full-size Blazer, and two Mercedes Benz G-Wagons that traveled north from La Paz, Baja California!
Our first objective was to reach the entrance of the abandoned telephone line road that was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1942 as
a communications link for the U.S. in the event of German Submarines attacking the U.S. from the Colorado River. We reached our camping location
below Portezuelo de Jamau. Cold winds howled all night long, letting up at sunrise where our group was treated with a discussion of the Missions of
Alta and Baja California by Author David Kier. He presented his book, "The Old Missions of Baja and Alta California"
[https://www.facebook.com/oldmissions] to our group while three vehicles had to return to Rio Hardy due to a leaking transmission gasket on the Ford
Ranger on 35s. Now, down to 12 vehicles, we entered the Pole Line Road, traveling the forgotten hand-laid path built by U.S. Troops that begins at
the crest of a hill above Caņon Enmedio, and follows the rough and rocky canyon to the big obstacle of the day - BASKETBALL HILL.
Recent rainstorms have claimed sections of Basketball Hill, turning it into a semi-serious hillclimb with 2' deep ruts, washouts, 3' and 4' rocks and
a burnt-out Z-71 pickup near the top of the hill for added entertainment value! Our group of 12 vehicles competently made the climb to the top of the
Hill before descending into Cowboy Canyon and the massive Jaquegel Canyon below it. Telephone poles line the route - some cut down by ranchers,
others left idle for 73 years. As the telephone road crossed the lower Jaquegel Canyon, the crushed Suzuki Samurai that once graced the lower Enmedio
Canyon just below Basketball Hill could be seen - all smashed like it entered a trash compactor! Our group stopped to take photos and marvel at the
size of this little Suzuki - parts of it still intact. We continued to reach the end of the trail and possibly Rio Hardy for our evening at Mick's
river house. As we traveled a tall mesa named, "Bad Hill" by Pole Line researcher and military veteran Neal Johns, the big Bronco lost its entire
ignition system. Without spare parts for the aftermarket system, two vehicles returned to the Suzuki in hopes that the distributor would fire up the
Bronco. No doing.
With the heavy-gauge Teraflex yank-strap I keep in my Jeep at all times, Will's Bronco was yanked by Karl's G-500 Mercedes down "Bad Hill!" Caught on
video for all to see, this spectacle ended our day at dusk in the Jaguqel wash where we turned in for the night. Early the next day, we had realized
that our road had washed out! With no way to return to Hwy 5, Ed Hall's TJ Rubicon took for the sandy wash at daybreak where he determined that our
only way out to Mexicali would be to rebuild our washed out road! With a pick, shovels and determination, our group of six determined laborers
(myself included) shoved and stacked rocks for the next hour and a half. We took a road with a 26 degree slant, and leveled it in order that the
Tacoma with a pop-up camper and the big Bronco being pulled (now) by a Tacoma could make the grade (literally). With some tire-spin, Tom Wimberly's
Tacoma pulled the big Bronco up the connecting road and away from possible disaster.
Our normal route to Ejido Jose Saldaņa had been washed away by the winter storms that claimed the entire lower Jaquegel wash. Our only way to Mex Hwy
5 was Arroyo Grande. Larry's Mexico-only Nissan Diesel pulled the big Bronco throughout mid-day, ending up at La Ventana at 3:30 pm. We aired up our
tires, and I also aired up Will's Baja Claw's for his tow back to MICK's house 20 miles up the hwy near Campo Mosqueda. With a Bronco in the campo to
scavenge from, Will's truck was up and running for his drive back to Rosarito Beach that evening with friend Larry and their two seņoritas.
Everyone on the trip had a wonderful time. Through hardcore teamwork, we accomplished the impossible. A dead Bronco was brought back to life thanks
to a trail-tested yank strap, a Tacoma kept the Bronco from going off of a cliff, and our group of U.S.-bound travelers crossed the border on a Monday
afternoon into Calexico before 6 pm! We all had an unforgettable time that will have to one day be repeated south of the border on the Baja Pole Line
Road.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64739
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Looking forward to the video and the GoPro film from in front of Chuck's Jeep! He was behind me some of the time, so maybe I will see what rock hit my
bumper and tweaked it a little?
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4x4abc
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4243
Registered: 4-24-2009
Location: La Paz, BCS
Member Is Offline
Mood: happy - always
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| Quote: Originally posted by David K | | Looking forward to the video and the GoPro film from in front of Chuck's Jeep! He was behind me some of the time, so maybe I will see what rock hit my
bumper and tweaked it a little? |
we have the same phenomenon on the Rubicon Trail - some rocks seem to be alive. They attack you when you are not watching. I have had trees kick dents
into my doors. Needs to be studied!
Maybe the video helps.
However, you might get accused of causing harm to those endemic rocks.
Harald Pietschmann
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