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Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
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Trapped in Baja
Trapped in Baja
There was odd feeling that day that we were being watched closely. What could be more unnerving to a solitary traveler far off the pavement in Baja.
It was not the first time something made me look back. There was nothing unusual about my four-wheeling around in the backcountry alone. The weather
in October was a comfy 85F with night temps in the sixties. Great weather for exploring.
I had my dog, my sat phone and at least 10 days of food, water and TP. I felt at home skirting the gigantic boulders by just inches along the black
volcanic heel of a mesa.
Buzz always comes along on the trips. He's a "regular" traveler to isolated arroyos, coves and beaches in Baja. Like me, he finds relaxation and
solace bouncing along with surreal landscape vistas at every turn. If the time came I know Buzz would save the day -with his Collie intelligence and
physical prowess.
Then all of a sudden Buzz reeled to the back window staring acutely as a dog does. What is he looking at back there in the rocky canyon. I swear the
next time I won't miss it, whatever it is. But let's be real.
We've been poking along the steep canyon bottom hours from the pavement. I can look back down the track behind me and see a plume of dust for at
least a mile, it just hangs there floating in the air. It's strange stuff, this dirt. I can't see anything traveling behind us, the dust would be that
much more intense.
The road or rather dirt track here is very old. You can tell it was built for those narrow wheelbase models by the number of deep scratches the
length of my truck. That's normal for Baja though and I have pledged to plow them wider and be the sacrificial lamb for future trekkers.
We love passing by old corrals and abandoned ranches, beautiful azure blue pools. This area is one big adventure with grand towers of stone colored
with hues of red and blue. A photographers' and geologists' paradise.
This time we were both startled when we heard a loud crashing sound behind us. I couldn't believe it. There was a gigantic boulder that smashed down
upon the road maybe 10 feet behind us. Damn thing was the size of a VW bus and was squarely between us and our exit.
There is no way to skirt back around this monster from what I can see. There is log jam of boulders all over this narrowing of the canyon walls. I
suppose those rocks came from the same place that one did that almost killed us. Should we keep going farther?
I don't have a winch but I don't think one would do squat here anyway. Now I started to get a little antsy because I checked out the maps with the
GPS I realized there is only one way in and out.
The sandy arroyo leading up that remote canyon serves as the road for many miles. The terrain changes from soft sand to a coarse grained rocky
texture to finally large out-croppings of various types of beautiful stone and an ever-narrowing gorge.
Sometimes the sand can be very deep and the rocks sharp and treacherous. Getting stuck out here is not an option, more like a nightmare.
Why the hell did that rock fall where it did when it did? Who is back there that catches our eye occasionally, the military? How in the world am I
going to get my truck out of here? Oh hell, how are WE getting out. Who gives a darn if this place is secret.... oh boy.........now what do I do?
Next: Three days of hell and high water
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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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
Member Is Offline
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Good writing, Corky. Keep'em coming.
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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I'm looking forward to the next episode. To see how you managed to get out of this one.
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Sallysouth
Super Nomad
Posts: 1835
Registered: 10-9-2003
Location: Capo Beach
Member Is Offline
Mood: missing Baja...
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On the edge of my seat,,,,,,waiting.
Happiness is just a Baja memory away...
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vandenberg
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5118
Registered: 6-21-2005
Location: Nopolo
Member Is Offline
Mood: mellow
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Great yarn Sharks.
May I suggest some SEMTEX 
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64722
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Go Corky, go!
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BajaGringo
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3922
Registered: 8-24-2006
Location: La Chorera
Member Is Offline
Mood: Let's have a BBQ!
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Maybe he hasn't gotten out yet and the entire adventure is being transmitted via sat-phone???
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by BajaGringo
Maybe he hasn't gotten out yet and the entire adventure is being transmitted via sat-phone???
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No, he got out. He's a lifeguard in Newport, Oregon.
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Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
Member Is Offline
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You should see the truck now!
Ok so the rock wasn't quite that big. Oh yeah, about that stupid Globalstar sat
phone. I found out right there how well they DON'T work in east-west facing deep canyons. I'll explain soon.
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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Iflyfish
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3747
Registered: 10-17-2006
Member Is Offline
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Did he die?
Iflyfishwhennotholdingmybreathinsuspense
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Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
Member Is Offline
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Trapped in Baja
Hell and high water
The panic had not set in yet. I've been stuck before all by my lonesome more than once. Usually just a flat tire or buried in the sand. I do have
some stuff to help recover though. A 3 ton floor jack, a 5 ton bottle jack, two comealongs, a sheet of 3/4' plywood cut lengthwise, rope,chain, my
trusty HI-lift plus tons of tools.
Moving giant boulders like that would be new to me. I've had to move some pretty big rocks before but never anything like that. I had to take pause
and figure out my next move.
I took another look at the maps I had and before the trip I GoogleEarthed the entire canyon up close. With my setup I can follow tracks unseen to the
driver. My position is shown granted you can catch at least a couple satellites to tringulate the exact position. My Garmin works well in most places
even indoors. Now I hoped that my prerun on GoogleEarth got cached on my harddrive. That would give me more detail on exactly what's ahead or around
me.
I knew those sheer canyon walls were high and the topo maps indicated the rim was about a 1000 feet above the canyon floor. There was no way to
climb up here if I wanted to. I was either going to go forward or back the way I came. I fired up the laptop and plugged in my Garmin which indicated
a fair sat connection. That was a good sign.
This trip may take a bit longer than I expected. I felt fortunate to have packed all the stuff I did. I'm always teased by folks about what I have in
the truck. I like comfort and I like to have something to work with. So I scouted around there for a place to put up the tent this night.
Not to far up the canyon, perhaps a hundred yards, was a little wider spot in the track. Flat and sandy. I should have taken a clue then. It was a
beautiful evening and Buzz sat and watched as I set up a nice little campsite. I got out some Mulege tortillas and fried up some with queso and beans
and Herdez sauce over a nice campfire.. Yummy. Buzz had some cheese and kibbles and some Milkbone treats. I cranked up the stereo and filled the
canyon with the sounds of Stevie Ray and Dick dale. Man did that sound badass in there.
Somehow I wasn't that worried. I did have a phone afterall. Sometime in the night the wind started whistling up the canyon and woke me up. These
instant blows happen all the time in Baja so I got up and made fast all the corners of the tent and then crawled back in and went back to sleep.
The next morning was glorious. The sun was rising up through the canyon projecting vivid hues of orange across the volcanic faces staring down on us.
I got out some bacon and eggs and made coffee. My head was clear and I was determined to find an escape route.
I booted up the computer and lo and behold, the canyon divulged itself via GoogleEarth. The images were still cached on my hard drive. I scanned up
the canyon for three miles or so and it looked the same as this place. Sheer walls to the end of the track.
Now I had to think hard about traveling farther east up the huge crack in the earth. I had a least a 1/2 tank of gas and a jerry can full so I
wasn't too concerned about running out of gas. Maybe water would be a problem if I couldn't get out soon. I didn't savor the thought of hiking the 10
or so miles out of here but did not dismiss the idea if it got to that point.
After I got fueled up I decided to see if that sat phone was going to perform. I tried three or four places around camp to no avail. I hate that
phone. I have used it a number of times but the service is marginal. One time I couldn't get it to work so I drove up a nearby mountain seeking more
bars. What a piece of doo doo same amount of bars up there on the mountain, none. Other times however it has worked just fine.
This sucked, if I wanted to make a call I would probably have to scale that canyon wall. Ugh, I didn't relish the thought. Still, it was my security
blanket. I stuffed some granola bars and some lemons and water in my pack and we headed off on foot up the ravine searching for a path to the top of
the mesa.
About a mile up the way was an animal path leading up the wall. It appeared to go all the way up so we took it. Must have been mountain goats because
it got so steep it reminded me of rockclimbing. An hour later we were only half way up when it turned dark.
Not because the sun was going down but because a humongous dark cloud was obscuring the daylight.
The downpour caught us offguard. I was soaked in seconds. It wasn't warm either,it was damn cold rain. I tucked myself against the cliff to avoid the
deluge and figured we would just wait it out. That didn't happen however. The rain just got harder and harder. I was looking down to the bottom where
the trail met the track. We were a good 500 ft up the treacherous incline. I could see water now flowing down the formerly dusty dry stream bed.
We turned around and headed back down. I slipped and slid down the wet gravely trail about 15 feet. Stopped by a sharp rock in the knee. Ouchy cha
cha! That freakin' hurt!! Good thing I had Levis and hiking boots on. Buzz was havin no problem luckily but you could tell he was concerned, he kept
close and would bark when I would stop my progress down the rocky trail.
We could now hear the water above the hard rain. It was filling the canyon at an alarming rate now. We hit the bottom running. I forgot all about my
dinged up knee. All I could think about was getting back to camp and the truck. I had no idea how close the rising water could be there.
It didn't take long to get there and assess our plight. I needed to get everything in the truck now and move it to higher ground a 100 yards east.
There we were, a hundred yards east sitting in the truck watching the water rise .....
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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DianaT
Select Nomad
Posts: 10020
Registered: 12-17-2004
Member Is Offline
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Enjoying this-----
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Cypress
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7641
Registered: 3-12-2006
Location: on the bayou
Member Is Offline
Mood: undecided
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Sharksbaja, Tuned in for the conclusion!
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desertcpl
Super Nomad
Posts: 2396
Registered: 10-26-2008
Location: yuma,az
Member Is Offline
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yes this is enteresting,,, sounds like quite an adventure,, dont know why he would go it alone that is really asking for it for so many reasons
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
Member Is Offline
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Verrry EEEEEEEntersting!
Why not email your google-earth position to friends in mulege?
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BornFisher
Super Nomad
Posts: 2107
Registered: 1-11-2005
Location: K-38 Santa Martha/Encinitas
Member Is Offline
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Awesome! We`re right there with you!
Hope you ain`t messing with us Shark. But what the Hell... it`s all good!
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Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
Why not email your google-earth position to friends in mulege? |
Yep Joe that was the reason to get up top of the mesa. That was a gamble in more than one way. Oh btw, when you have no internet connection with GE
you relyy on cached images and info to enable it to function.
Depending on where you surfed to most recently will determine what and how well you can see something. For example, like I said, I looked the canyon
over in depth at home while connected to the internet via wireless.
Fortunately (or maybe not) I had these available still in the cache of my (laptop) computer. I was able to see that the rim of that vertical canyon
was consistent in height (1000') for the next three miles to it's apparent termination.
GE is deceiving sometimes so I always confir with topo maps when necessary. But just for sheer ease of use and the "realtime" feel I get with it is
great. You can spot stuff you'd never seen from a vehicle. Saved my burro and time searching for lost tracks or disappearing ones a few times already.
Don't dispair, it will be "free for everyone" soon they swear it!
I have traveled backroads alone many times. We talked years ago about the "what if" factor. Be well prepared is what I say. Use your learned skills
and take the time to think it out. I probably in hindsight should have hiked the three or so miles back out to where the canyon becomes a valley and
tried the sat phone. That cliff was a helluva lot taller and steeper than it looked like from the bottom.
It's really just a matter of magnitude of difficulty to me. The odds of getting out of trouble greatly increase the farther off untraveled routes you
go. I'm not talking about roads that lead somewhere.
I rated this trek medium risk. In other words, an ability to get out on foot in one piece. Ten miles in or more and then it starts to get scary. I
figure I could beat feet out of there and be back on the carrera in a days hike. I had backpack stuff with me.
My predicament there was one of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Big time wrong time!
Besides, my truck cost more new than our house did 22 years ago, not adding on all the whistles and bells.
It would be hard to just walk away from it, even though there was only one way in and nobody had driven in there for a long time. Some cows were in
there tho! I forgot about them till now. I wonder what happened to them?
[Edited on 12-15-2008 by Sharksbaja]
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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boe4fun
Super Nomad
Posts: 1040
Registered: 1-22-2006
Location: Margaritaville
Member Is Offline
Mood: Circling the drain........
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I can just envision Steve Rays rendition of Pipeline echoing off of the canyon walls!
Two dirt roads diverged in Baja and I, I took the one less graveled by......
Soy ignorante, apático y ambivalente. No lo sé y no me importa, ni modo.
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Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
Member Is Offline
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Oh, I do have a Ventures or two CD's. Man I love that music in places like this. Really like an ampitheater there. Mother Natures' acoustics for sure.
Almost was waiting for some Gringo to scream at me to turn it down!
Ever been to Red Rocks?
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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Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
Member Is Offline
Mood: Optimistic
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Okay, Corky...you drive the Toyota back under the rock while we hold it up. But hurry, will ya...? This thing is heavy!
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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