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Ken Cooke
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Location: Riverside, CA
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Baja Grande - San Felipe to Gonzaga Bay (Part 2)
Waking up in San Felipe after perhaps our best meal in Baja at the El Colorado Restaurante, everyone in our group was treated to an empty campground
at Playas del Sol and nice, hot showers. After a brief trip to the Pemex station and a drive around the Malecon (Boardwalk) along the coast in San
Felipe, our group was off to drive along the 'Cortez clear to Puertecitos.
After 45 minutes of smooth-sailing, our rigs pulled up to the gate at the Puertecitos village. Here, we intended to walk to the hot water springs
which are located against the coast. But, the attendant at the gate was asking a whopping $10 per vehicle! Startled, I told him, "No Way!" and we
pulled our line of 14 vehicles around, and continued past the end of the pavement, where we aired down our tires and disconnected our swaybars. The
road past Puertecitos is being paved, and the Mexican Government intends to have everything from Puertecitos to Highway 1 paved by 2009. With
everyone's vehicles ready for the tire-splitting, neck-brace inducing terrain ahead, our group took off for the 2 hour drive to Gonzaga Bay.
Most everyone traveled along the dirt road, but Paul Childers, "Renegade" Dave, and the Hill Family traveled the less bumpy beach route. Complete
with lava-rock rock gardens, salt water, and the occasional cliff thrown in, this "trail" really builds character! "Team Isreal" consisting of Tal,
Michael, Tuvia, and Avi decided that the endless washboard was too much for them, and they also jumped at the chance to travel along the sandy
beaches. One plus, was that the military checkpoint near the Huerfanito (or "Orphan") island (along with an 18 Wheeler rig) was bypassed on this
rocky road, but "Renegade" Dave took out a sidewall/shoulder on his BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain tire. Roughly 2 hours after we started this route, we
ended up in Gonzaga Bay, and were able by 3 p.m. to begin setting up camp. Dinner was held at Alfonsinas, and our group camped out along the waters
edge - enjoying 2 blissful nights in Baja paradise.
The next morning, some of us woke up with the intention of building a road from Gonzaga Bay/Highway 5 to Catavina/Highway 1. Mike Hendrick, myself,
Nick and Nicholai Kozin, C.J. and Mark Wasserman, and Russ Chung attempted what we later found to be the impossible. Located 8 miles south of Gonzaga
Bay is the turnoff to the La Turquesa mines where turquoise had been mined, and stagnant pools of water exist. The terrain here was ultra-sticky,
off-camber slickrock that entertained us for the 3 hours we spent looking for a route beyond the mine to the shelf road which lies beyond the dense
flora - thick enough that we decided to not attempt a road-building effort. Returning to Gonzaga Bay never felt so good due to the powerful sunlight
and lack of wind in this canyon. Although there was no vehicular damage, my Rubicon nearly fell on its' side while attempting a radical waterfall in
the canyon south of the mine, and Nick's Tacoma ate some cholla cactii for lunch.
--to be continued--
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Barry A.
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If I am understanding you correctly, Ken, the problem with the "road building" beyond La Turquesa is the VEGETATION? If the vegetation could be
handled (cut thru) do you believe that a good 4x4 COULD get thru?
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cpg
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Looked like you had a nice set of rigs! You guys sold out the Cactus motel. Lets see some pictures please!
[Edited on 11-28-2007 by cpg]
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David K
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As I recall when the Squarecircle and others were last there, the arroyo just below the mine heading west was too rough. Roy believes going a bit
south then head west to the switchback was the answer... Of course, the vegetation (as Ken reports) is the obsticle...
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Ken Cooke
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Yep, we sold out the Baja Cactus Motel. Antonio rewarded me with my very own room (free of charge), and everyone was amazed with how awesome the Baja
Cactus Motel in El Rosario is. This place is a treat.
As for the La Turquesa Mine, we could not make it through the vegitation and brush. There were layers of rock along with pits and holes in the rocky
ground which made up the canyon wash. My Jeep fell in one of the holes, and this nearly threw my Jeep on its side. The good thing was the rock was
so coarse that it provided gobs of traction to our tires. But, you had to have the guts to scale waterfalls if your section of road gave up on you.
This was the difficult part that made travel up the wash such a problem. Plus, all of the cactii and trees growing everywhere made plowing the place
with a tractor your only option for getting through.
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surfer jim
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Wonder if one of those "snowplow" options can mount on a jeep?.....
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Ken Cooke
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| Quote: | Originally posted by surfer jim
Wonder if one of those "snowplow" options can mount on a jeep?.....
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Ken Cooke
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
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Ken Cooke
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La Turquesa Mine Road
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Ken Cooke
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BAJACAT
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Thanks Ken I like the pictures,great story like always i enjoy your trip reports.to bad my big Ram can go where your jeeps go..
BAJA IS WHAT YOU WANTED TO BE, FUN,DANGEROUS,INCREDIBLE, REMOTE, EXOTIC..JUST GO AND HAVE FUN.....
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
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| Quote: | Originally posted by BAJACAT
Thanks Ken I like the pictures,great story like always i enjoy your trip reports.to bad my big Ram can go where your jeeps go..
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Bring your big Ram. We all have yank straps, winches, if you don't mind some customized body panels! Hahaha. A big FX4 SuperDuty wanted to visit
Mission Santa Maria "Mission Impossible" and we told him it would be a bad idea. At the first obstacle/canyon, his poor All-Terrain tires were
slipping for available traction and he barely made it up the other side of the canyon!
I told him to turn his rig around and get back to safety. The guy even had a pop up camper on his pickup! These trucks are great on the open dirt
roads, but leave the twisty off-camber stuff to the little guys. You have too much money invested to waste it in one afternoon...
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Paulina
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Great report and photos. You guys know how to have a good time! Snow/cholla plow front ends... I can see it happening!
P<*)))><
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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cpg
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Any photos of the tighter rougher sections?
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motoged
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Ken Cooke
]http://thedesertoutlaw.20megsfree.com/Baja%20Grande%20Folder/Sand%20Highway.jpg[/img]
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What section is that beach road south of Puertocitos??? ....and how long a stretch is it???
Baja Bobcat....a RARE sighting ...saw my first one at Bahia Concepcion
peninsula...
Don't believe everything you think....
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David K
Honored Nomad
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Location: San Diego County
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Looking forward to Part 3 Ken!
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
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| Quote: | Originally posted by cpg
Any photos of the tighter rougher sections? |
Ummm. Not sure, but I will look for some and post as time is
available...
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4baja
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nice and thanks for the pics. will be going soon and thats a good fixs.
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