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BajaBlanca
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Posts: 13197
Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
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REALLY STUCK IN THE LA BOCANA SALTFLATS
We had some fantastic guests a couple of weeks ago, and this is the terrible misadventure they had as they were leaving our village...
so beware of the tricky optical illusion that salt gives of being solid...it is NOT .... therefore, it is fundamental to keep way away from the lagoon
between punta abreojos and la bocana. itis imperative to follow the well trodden paths only ... the ones that are closest to the power lines.
I gotta tell ya all - I panicked when I saw this .... I did not think we would ever get the camper out, but we did.
It took a bunch of people to do it - including a whole group of military guys. 4 Mexicans who came, at the end, with their cars and charged beaucoup
bucks for their expertise. Les. Valentin and son. Russ and his amigo as observers. M and Blanca as cheerleaders - photographers - cooks. A day I
hope will never repeat itself and that is why I post these pics:
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woody with a view
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Posts: 15939
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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Mood: Everchangin'
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WOW! that's some sticky crud! luckily, they were near civilization. i've seen wheel tracks like that "out there" that went on for 100 yards. not my
idea of an E ticket ride.....
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Curt63
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Posts: 1171
Registered: 3-28-2009
Location: San Diego, Ca.
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Mood: Fish tacos and Tecate
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Did they get off the main road? Was this avoidable?
Ive been through the salt flats south of Campo Rene and had plenty of trouble on a 4x4 quad.
My friend is a very capable motorcycle rider and barely made throwing a 15' rooster most of the way.
Salt flats are tricky business. Good post!
No worries
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wiltonh
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Posts: 302
Registered: 2-2-2007
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Last fall on our way south, we stopped at Punta Abreojos for a few days. We then drove the salt flats to La Bocana. It is a wide salt flat at low
tide and there are a number of roads. People drive 50+ on the salt flat where as the raised road will shake your teeth out.
At La Bocana the big salt flat ends and there are roads that go north to Asuncion. We parked our RV at La Bocana and headed north on a motorcycle.
We ate lunch in Asuncion and then headed back south. They had just finished the new paved road from highway one and I got confused and ended up on
that road instead of the road south. There was a cut across road as is normal in Baja so I took it.
We were about 100 feet from the road south when we hit mud that was covered by about 1/4 inch of dry dirt. The bike went side ways and we ended up in
that salty mud. I lost skin on my arm and knee. My wife ended up with a deep bruise on the back of her leg. There was mud everywhere.
Two Mexicans saw us and stopped. It was so slick that I could not pick up the bike it just slid away from me. One of them helped me get it upright
and the other got some water and washed off the mud. They offered to take us to a hospital but we declined.
We were in the track going about 10 mph when this happened. Apparently there had been a thunderstorm a few weeks back and it had left the mud. Since
the sun dries the top layer, it is almost impossible to tell that there is mud underneath.
I can easily see how someone driving a camper would think that they were driving on dry ground and end up stuck.
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dtbushpilot
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3290
Registered: 1-11-2007
Location: Buena Vista BCS
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I was going just south of triple digit speeds through there on my excellent baja adventure with motoged. Two thoughts come to mind......"I'm glad I
didn't go where they did" and "no wonder it took ged (with a broken leg) so long to catch up with me at Abreojos. 
"Life is tough".....It's even tougher if you're stupid.....
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Skipjack Joe
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Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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I went through the same experience there about 20 years ago. Walked to town to get help and got some people from abreojos with a 4wd jeep to help pull
us out. We were in a VW camper. The jeep got stuck and we spent a full day trying to get them out. Evening came and our rescuers left on foot back to
Abreojos. The high tide rolled in the following morning and the water came up to our transmission.
Finally a road grader from La Bocana appeared but would not venture onto the flats. By tying long ropes, end to end, they finally managed to get us
out of the mud and on to dry land.
Looks so innocent out there ... until it gets wet.
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dtbushpilot
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3290
Registered: 1-11-2007
Location: Buena Vista BCS
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We stuck a Cessna 185 in that stuff once. Seems like the whole town showed up. We had a polaroid camera and we put kids in the seats and on the wings
and took pictures of them. We gave them the pictures, what a hoot, they loved it. Anyway, the townsfolk helped us get the plane back on semi-solid
ground and we were able to get back in the air......dt
"Life is tough".....It's even tougher if you're stupid.....
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shari
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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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great heads up Blanca! I dunno though...the plates look like they are from BC canada and those canucks will use any old excuse for a party!!!
Another little baja tidbit...the beaches around here at low tide are vast and very inviting to drive on...hard packed...till ya hit a soft spot! It
seems like you can drive 80 mph and so people do....but there are invisible soft spots and what happens is that your front tires all of a sudden dig
in and if you turn the wheel even a smidgen...which people automatically do to try to avoid the soft spot...well...ya flip over...then the tide comes
in and you are ....underwater....ewwww. So beware of THAT hard packed sand too and drive slow.
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Mexitron
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Posts: 3397
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Location: Fort Worth, Texas
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Mood: Happy!
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That looks painful!
We were surfing at San jacinto years ago and a guy came to the bluff waving his arms frantically...so we paddled in and he took us to his
truck---stuck in the middle of the salt flat behind the point up, mud well over the axle. After spending an hour digging around the truck we hooked
up our F-150 to it---wouldn't budge...so we attached a tow strap from the F-150 to my Ford Ranger and pulled---still not moving! We had one tow strap
left so we brought in the Isuzu Trooper and attached it to the Ranger---with all three trucks pulling we finally got him out of the muck, but the
force tweaked his truck so much the windshield fell out.
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surfdoc
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Posts: 235
Registered: 8-18-2009
Location: Bahia Asuncion BCS
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WOW.................
Met this couple... very very nice folks! Glad the Marines and you all were there to help out!!
I love the group shot on the porch!! 
BTW...........what Shari said..... I now drive no faster then 30... no haven't flipped. and don't plan to! 
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BajaBlanca
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Posts: 13197
Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
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@curt63 = it is AVOIDABLE - the hard packed salt roads closest to the power poles and FARTHEST from the lagoon are totally safe. The problem is, all
the roads look OK, but they are in fact wet, most of the time. Only the locals venture on the lagoon road - after 5 years of living here - I stay as
far away as I can ....
@ shari - I laughed at loud at the "any excuse for a party !!" by canucks...he was Canadian and my heart went out to his struggle. we were there all
day long - I think we got home just in time to have daylight for dinner and then the military went on their way - quite happy. Les had offered them
beer but they declined.
My sister got stuck in the sand on the beach in Rosallillita 3 years ago, on the way to our wedding here in la bocana, while hunting for waves for
my surfer brother. They were so stuck and it was so late that they were forced to leave the car on the beach overnight. I was not with her, but she
cried all night thinking the surf was going to ruin her husband's car (it didn't). Some very kind residents put my mom, sister and brother up for the
night and fed them (Mexico is pretty amazing that way). And 2 guys who had been drunk the previous night and had promised to come the next morning
and pull out the truck REALLY SHOWED UP and saved the day.
None of them would accept cash.
Like I said, Mexico is pretty amazing.
[Edited on 5-18-2011 by BajaBlanca]
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bajajurel
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Registered: 6-17-2009
Location: San Diego
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Mood: Fishing for fun
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One time when we were visiting you Blanca we almost did the same thing at night. Another time I carried 100 pounds of mud back to San Diego on the
undercarriage of my Pathfinder that took two days & a pressure washer to clean off.
Beware & always carry a shovel and beer as a reward!
bajajurel
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BajaBlanca
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Posts: 13197
Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
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@baja jurel - isn't the mud muck just thick thick thick ??!! Liek aI said - it is important to drive as far away from the lagoon as possible and you
will not have much nor get stuck ...
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BAJACAT
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Posts: 2902
Registered: 11-21-2005
Location: NATIONAL CITY, CA
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Blanca, you are killing me, why did you post pictures of a stuck DODGE RAM, now my truck crediability is going down the drain, if you look closer at
the pix , you can tell is a FORD with Dodge badges...
Thanks for the pix anyways...
BAJA IS WHAT YOU WANTED TO BE, FUN,DANGEROUS,INCREDIBLE, REMOTE, EXOTIC..JUST GO AND HAVE FUN.....
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Udo
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Couldn't they just have let some of the air out of the tires
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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Marc
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| Quote: | Originally posted by BAJACAT
Blanca, you are killing me, why did you post pictures of a stuck DODGE RAM, now my truck crediability is going down the drain, if you look closer at
the pix , you can tell is a FORD with Dodge badges...
Thanks for the pix anyways... |
Wouldn't have happened in A Toyota. Because we are smarter!!
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15939
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Udo
Couldn't they just have let some of the air out of the tires |
nope. they were stuck good. this is well lubricated snot!
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BajaBlanca
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Posts: 13197
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Location: La Bocana, BCS
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trust me - a lot of air was let out and every method tried ... in the end it was an inch by inch move with raising with jacks, putting wood underneath
and raising again after inches and inches at a time .....
so glad it ended perfectly with a LOT of help - some of the La Bocana helpers (who got paid some good bucks 'cause it was getting late and we needed
the extra boost) are not in the photos !!
the secret is to stay as far east as possible. to not stray onto any path that is not well trod. even tho' it LOOKS like it is solid - it ain't !!
You can safely travel really fast on the east track - we call it the la bocana freeway.
see ya soon BajaJurel !!
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wessongroup
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Posts: 21152
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Just curious ... what is the "metal structure" on the back ? Storage ?
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BajaBlanca
Select Nomad
Posts: 13197
Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
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storage. and it apparetnly weighed A LOT. and would have been too difficult to remove - which was one of my first suggestions.
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