Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8946
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
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Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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Are we really "Off-Road" when in Baja?
I have seen this question/comment come up again and again. This thread is to explain how we drive our vehicles when, "Away from pavement" while in
Baja. On sand, in the deserts, in the mountains...of Baja.
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
Posts: 10007
Registered: 11-30-2003
Location: Redding, Northern CA
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Mood: optimistic
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I have been driving to Baja for some 55 years, and 95% of that time I have been going to primitive and near-roadless areas in both modified 2-wheel
drives, and 4-wheel drives-----------------I have never in that 55 years driven my vehicle "cross country"-----never, not once. But I HAVE driven my
vehicle along beaches below the tide line, and on roads that can barely be called roads, and on roads that were built many years ago by whoever, and
on trails that the locals have pioneered to gain access to areas of interest and that provide access to their homes and ranches.
In all that time I have seen very little evidence of indiscriminate "cross country" travel by full size vehicles.
The recent use of ATV's is another matter, and yes there is a problem with them, it seems to me. But I believe that the "cry" of some that we
operators of full-size 4x4 vehicles are somehow tearing up the land is vastly overblown, and in fact it seldom happens.
That is just my observation, and I hope that this is what Ken was looking for in this thread.
Barry
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Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
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TURTLE KILLERS!! Yes we have our cake and eat it too!
Barry, it doesn't take long before a route can go south.
DON\'T SQUINT! Give yer eyes a break!
Try holding down [control] key and toggle the [+ and -] keys
Viva Mulege!
Nomads\' Sunsets
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
Posts: 10007
Registered: 11-30-2003
Location: Redding, Northern CA
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Mood: optimistic
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Sharksbaja
TURTLE KILLERS!! Yes we have our cake and eat it too!
Barry, it doesn't take long before a route can go south.
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Sharks, you are probably right, but do you have any examples? I know a few, but not many. Baja is pretty darn resilient, and generally too
rough/tough for "road building" by indiscriminate 4x4 operators.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64854
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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A human foot print is deeper than a floatation tire track in the sand... safer for sand creatures to have a quad or 4 wheel vehicle drive over them
than to be stepped on!
"Off Road" of course is a bad term, as it really means "off highway" or "off pavement". Off road racing is on roads, never cross country. Four
wheelers drive slow and easy on dirt roads or arroyos in the desert... we don't disturb native brush.
The photo by Ken looks like the coast between Nuevo Mazatlan and El Coloradito (south of San Felipe), which has been a 'vehicle route' since the
1950's... and is not a turtle breeding zone, either.
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TMW
Select Nomad
Posts: 10659
Registered: 9-1-2003
Location: Bakersfield, CA
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Off-Road has always been synonymous with off-highway/off-pavement and not cross country. For those that don't know that it's their problem for being
ignorant. If a bridge or culvert was washed out and your only way to continue was to drive off into the dirt around it crossing virgin land would you
do it and why?
[Edited on 4-23-2008 by TW]
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Gadget
Senior Nomad
Posts: 851
Registered: 9-10-2006
Location: Point Loma CA
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Mood: Blessed with another day
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| Quote: | Originally posted by TW
Off-Road has always been synonymous with off-highway/off-pavement and not cross country. For those that don't know that it's their problem for being
ignorant. If a bridge or culvert was washed out and your only way to continue was to drive off into the dirt around it crossing virgin land would you
do it and why?
[Edited on 4-23-2008 by TW] |
Yes I would and have.
Heres another example:
In 02' we were on our way to San Ignacio for an overnight at rice and Beans and to meet up with our crew for the 1000. I was traveling along with
Paul and Stewart in Pauls BSB ( 4 link, I-beam 400+ hrspwr Bronco prerunner ) in our GSB. We were doing the loop from Visciano to Abreojos to
purchase seafood for Ricardo to cook the crew for dinner that night.
BSB was out front with Stu at the helm. He doesn't drive it much as it is a handfull. Pauly has it wired and Stu prefers the co-dog seat. BSB rolls
on 37s, has 24" of front suspension and 30" rear. Its a 100mph + rig and kind of has a mind of its own.
Stu finds himself too hot into a downhill chicane (sp) "S" turn and has no other choice than to straighten out the corner. As I come up on the turn I
can see the 2 foot sand berm on the right has been freshly blasted through. There is a 4 foot drop off into a gully and sharp hill climb back onto
the road on the other side.
The dust is still clearing in the gully and we fully expect to see BSB upside down in the bottom. What we see is tracks up the otherside and another
berm blast as they re-entered the road.
We felt obliged to stop and repair both berms, check for any wild or insect life that may have been disrupted, rake out the tracks and water the
dusted down plant matter ( we had to take a leak ). Kidding, that was for
mtgoat666.
Seriously, after they both got their heart rates back down and fresh underpants on Stu gladly gave the helm back to Pauly. Their excursion at near 70
mph into the ditch could have been an ecological disaster had it not been for the even unpracticed skill of Stu to keep BSB rubber side down. Gas,
oil or fluids could have spilled, fire could have started, who knows. A few tire tracks was well worth the alternative.
So moral of story if you encounter an unplanned trip off the beaten track into the bush....PIN IT!
And yes folks we were being very careful with our speeds up only when we had a good look out ahead for dust or traffic and were in radio contact with
each other the entire time. 
"Mankind will not be judged by their faults, but by the direction of their lives." Leo Giovinetti
See you in Baja
http://www.LocosMocos.com
Gadget |
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Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
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Let's hear it for bad boys with big toys! That's a greatlittle story there gadget. Amazing what controlled momentum can accomplish.
"Sharks, you are probably right, but do you have any examples? I know a few, but not many. Baja is pretty darn resilient, and generally too
rough/tough for "road building" by indiscriminate 4x4 operators."
Barry, I was referring to Ma Nature but yes, the desert can and does change easily. Washed out roads are just a regular affair in some areas. Blowing
sand alters tracks by the minute.
I think it would be dumb to go cross-country unless you were in a bad position because something had changed and you had to.
DON\'T SQUINT! Give yer eyes a break!
Try holding down [control] key and toggle the [+ and -] keys
Viva Mulege!
Nomads\' Sunsets
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Mexitron
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3397
Registered: 9-21-2003
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
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Mood: Happy!
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I've seen some pretty serious damage from the 1000 road races...but most explorers like us don't tread too heavily on Baja.
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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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Juan always amazes me when he takes a turn off a dirt road and into an arroyo...not a road...and we go for miles weaving around bushes, rocks, cactus
etc..it's really cool...no tracks to follow....Juan just follows his inner GPS, I guess that would be his MPS for mexican...he has also taken me to
look at lots through dunes I can't even imagine a vehicle going...I wouldn't dream of it...but somehow he manages and I have to wipe the smug look of
"Oh man,you are gonna get sooo stuck out here" look off my face.
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Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
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Good point about arroyos. They most certainly are an important element in navigating Baja. I think that this is the PC way of travel because little
can grow in these continually changing roadstreambeds.Just watch out for the turtles
DON\'T SQUINT! Give yer eyes a break!
Try holding down [control] key and toggle the [+ and -] keys
Viva Mulege!
Nomads\' Sunsets
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64854
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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One of the longer arroyo drives is the 32 mile run in Arroyo Matomi from Hwy. 5 to the oasis at Rancho Matomi...
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8946
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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This being 'Arroyo Enmedio' gets the nod for being so tough, it took hours of teamwork to get into and out of. One of the toughest stretches in Baja
IMO, but our crew treaded lightly the entire route and back.
Rockcrawling in Tecate. This is considered Level 4 (out of possible 5 - 5 being 'extreme'). Tread lightly, or you won't make it home in your
vehicle...
Whenever I lead a group into Baja, I make sure we stay on established roads, trails, rocks, etc., and we respect the land. Locals tend to break
bottles and leave trash, we try to bring back or dispose of waste appropriately if at all possible. I always bring back recyclables for processing in
the USA.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64854
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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"Locals tend to break bottles and leave trash"
Ain't that the truth... glass, trash and diapers.
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