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David K
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Posts: 64852
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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HWY. 5: San Felipe to Chapala (Hwy. 1), July 2011
The following road log was made on the July 4th weekend, 2011.
MILE / KM. Marker
0.0 San Felipe (Traffic Circle by Pemex stations, south turn)
0.8 Pemex station and market on south side of town
6.0 Left Turn off Airport Road, Km. 0
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(add 6.0 miles to following for distance from traffic circle)
The next 45 miles are well paved, but many short, steep and unmarked dips will require reduced speed to avoid damage.
0.0 / Km. 0 Airport Road/ Puertecitos Road Jcn.
12.5 / Km. 20-21 Rancho Percebu Road
15.7 / Km. 26+ Shell Island Road
18.6 / Km. 31 Bahia Santa Maria Road
19.3 / Km. 32+ Nuevo Mazatlan Road
21.5 / Km. 35.5 Colonia Delicias (markets/ restaurants)
29.6 / Km. 49 El Coloradito Road
32.8 / Km. 54 Campo Cristina Road
35.4 / Km. 58.5 Los Olivos Road
36.1 / Km. 60 Arroyo Matomi
36.3 Rancho San Rafael (well)
43.4 / Km. 72 Playa Destiny
44.9 / Km. 74+ PUERTECITOS (paved) Road
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The newest paved additions to Hwy. 5 are well engineered, wide and are designed and signed for high speed. However, frequent rock slides onto pavement
require caution.
0.0 / Km. 74+ Puertecitos Road
5.0 / Km. 83 Bahia Cristina
6.1 / Km. 84.5 La Costilla
7.2 mine road
16.4 El Huerfanito Road
18.9 Bridge at previous end of pavement (July 2010)
20.1 / Km. 311 Change of Km. markers, distance from Mexicali
23.6 / Km. 317
24.1 / Km. 318 END OF PAVED DRIVE, detour onto older road, regraded smooth. Pavement ends just ahead on new roadbed.
25.5 Okie Landing site.
32.0 END OF NEW ROAD CONSTRUCTION and end of smooth dirt detour on older road.
32.4 Campo Delfines Road
35.6 Las Encantadas Road
37.7 Punta Bufeo Road
42.4 Papa Fernandez' Road, roadbed south of here is better/ faster.
43.6 Miltary Checkpoint
45.0 GONZAGA BAY PEMEX/ ALFONSINA'S ROAD/ RANCHO GRANDE MARKET (Pemex closed from 2-4 pm for siesta)
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0.0 Gonzaga Bay Pemex
1.2 Campo Beluga (2.0 mi.) and El Sacrificio (4.2 mi.) Road
7.1 Las Palmitas Oasis (4.7 mi.) and Santa Maria Canyon (4.0 mi.) Road, right.
14.4 First Boojum Trees on Hwy. 5.
14.6 La Turquesa Canyon Road, right.
18.4 Las Arrastras (site) Road, right.
22.1 Coco's Corner (Puerto Calamajue and Mision Calamajue road left).
34.8 Hwy. 1, Laguna Chapala (Cataviņa is 33 miles north).
(photos in trip report ('Freaky Fourth') of July, 2011)
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mcfez
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David...you time the ride from GB to SF by any chance? Txs.
Old people are like the old cars, made of some tough stuff. May show a little rust, but good as gold on the inside.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64852
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: | Originally posted by mcfez
David...you time the ride from GB to SF by any chance? Txs. |
Maybe SF to GB, as I was southbound... 
SF to Km. 26 is about a 30 min. drive.
We left Km. 26 (Shell Island Road about 11 am) and arrived at the Gonzaga Pemex about 2:30 pm and that time includes a 30-45 min. lunch stop at the
wide view point above El Huerfanito.
So my SF to GB driving time is 3.5 hours for the 96 miles.
It took us about 3 to 3.5 hours to go from Gonzaga Bay to El Rosario... 144 miles.
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Phil S
Super Nomad
Posts: 1205
Registered: 10-28-2003
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Mood: After 34 years. Still in love w/ my wife
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David. Great report. Thanks. Want to comment on our bringing our 2011 Toyota Sienna (sort of low clearance) down this winter in first of
November.???? If I left today, would we have any problems with "factory tires". We are used to driving on Toyo's in Baja roads. I remember one trip
down in our Dodge pickup some years back, that we "cut" deeply, two of the new Toyo 10 ply we were driving on that year???? road clearance is our
main issue here. Speeds not a problem. Can't wait for it to be totally paved. Of course then, ALL the freight trucks will be coming south on THIS
road???????????????????????????????????//
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64852
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Hi Phil,
I won't recommend it for you until those last 10 miles of older road (that is still very rough) is regraded while they work on that last section to
Papa Fernandez' road.
10 miles of rough road doesn't seem like much, but it could break something on a street car/ van...
Seriously, if you love Baja... don't you belong in another model from Toyota (Land Cruiser, Sequoia or 4Runner)?
The highway between San Felipe and Puertecitos will need to be replaced by a high speed, direct route (without the stupid 10 mph sharp dips) before
commercial traffic can use it, I think... and that is already planned... as we have read here... The road won't go into San Felipe and will head
straight south from near the arches... perhaps go through the sulfur mine as the original Puertecitos road did?
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mcfez
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stupid 10 mph sharp dips...my kids love those dips especially when I am not paying attention.... I smoke the brakes upon approach 
Txs 4 the info David.
Old people are like the old cars, made of some tough stuff. May show a little rust, but good as gold on the inside.
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J.P.
Super Nomad
Posts: 1673
Registered: 7-8-2010
Location: Punta Banda
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Mood: Easy Does It
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| Quote: | Originally posted by mcfez
stupid 10 mph sharp dips...my kids love those dips especially when I am not paying attention.... I smoke the brakes upon approach
A few years back we almost unloaded a new to us pop up camper on one of those vados It messed up the tiedown on the truck. |
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bufeo
Senior Nomad
Posts: 793
Registered: 11-16-2003
Location: Santa Fe New Mexico
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Phil S
David. Great report. Thanks. Want to comment on our bringing our 2011 Toyota Sienna (sort of low clearance) down this winter in first of
November.???? .... |
You don't mention if your Sienna is the front-wheel drive or the all-wheel drive version and you don't say what size tire you have on (16" or 17" can
be fitted to the Sienna).
In any case, we had visitors come to our house at Punta Bufeo in a Camry and another bunch in a Buick (front wheel drive Enclave). So, it can be done.
Just have to go slowly and maybe ride a berm or two.
Allen R
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64852
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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One of the dips near Punta Estrella used to be well marked... A few months ago, the warning was removed (but that dip seemed to be much improved)...
Other ones near Bahia Santa Maria and closer to Puertecitos remain to catch the speeding truck, however!
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64852
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bufeo
| Quote: | Originally posted by Phil S
David. Great report. Thanks. Want to comment on our bringing our 2011 Toyota Sienna (sort of low clearance) down this winter in first of
November.???? .... |
You don't mention if your Sienna is the front-wheel drive or the all-wheel drive version and you don't say what size tire you have on (16" or 17" can
be fitted to the Sienna).
In any case, we had visitors come to our house at Punta Bufeo in a Camry and another bunch in a Buick (front wheel drive Enclave). So, it can be done.
Just have to go slowly and maybe ride a berm or two.
Allen R |
10-4... driven slow enough, damage is avoided... make sure tires are in good condition... 4WD is not needed on the main road.
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TMW
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Posts: 10659
Registered: 9-1-2003
Location: Bakersfield, CA
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From a friend in San Felipe.
My curiosity got the best of me this morning and I decided to take a little drive south from San Felipe, past Puertecitos to the end of the pavement.
I spoke with a friend of mine, Agustin the owner of Campo 5 Islas,
He also shared some interesting news that he just got at his recent Ejido meeting. First of all he confirmed that the 10 km section of new road is
nearing completion, most of the bridges and culverts are finshed and the road bed is under construction in some areas. More importantly, he said they
were told that the current Governor of Baja wants as much of the new Hwy finished as is possible during his remaining term in office, so instead of
bidding the next section of ten km, as has been the practice, they are bidding 31 km in the next section to take the new paved road past Gonzaga Bay.
He says that should speed things up because there has been a lot of time lost in each of the lengthy bidding processes between the 10 km segments.
So now you know all I know, which isn't much.
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BAJACAT
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for sure I would not miss the old rd, it was far worst thant the firts time i was there, and then i did the 50 miles or so, this time its about 10
miles of the old rd, but it feels like 50...bad roads good people, good roads no broken parts, right Lou...
Ps. thanks for the info, David.. so whats the next mission imposible..
BAJA IS WHAT YOU WANTED TO BE, FUN,DANGEROUS,INCREDIBLE, REMOTE, EXOTIC..JUST GO AND HAVE FUN.....
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redhilltown
Super Nomad
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Registered: 1-24-2009
Location: Long Beach, CA
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I'll miss it. After Puertecitos it was another world. A bumpy crazy rock infested nightmare but there are thousands of miles of "good" roads in this
world and for the most part, you don't remember a single mile of them.
But THAT road...you will remember and it will never be the same.
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dizzyspots
Senior Nomad
Posts: 603
Registered: 9-22-2008
Location: Mescal AZ
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Mood: rather be on the beach at Gonzaga
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the 1st time we went to Baja (2007)...we stopped to air down at Puertecitos..then on to Gonzaga..then Coco's, San Ignacio and whales
when we returned...we stopped at Chapala to air down again...and my wife refused to do that road again..
well, after discussing alternatives (Mex 1 thru San Diego back to Tucson) we pressed on..
second time is much better when the "Baja rookie" husband learns about airing down and 35mph instead of 5-10 and the sandy "bypasses"...been back
6 times since..
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Bob H
Elite Nomad
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Registered: 8-19-2003
Location: San Diego
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We drove our F250 with a Lance Cabover camper through this route about 7 years ago. Wow.... what a trip @ 5 to 10 mph. The camper was rattled to
death (almost). It was nice to get to Papa's and it was dark! Woke up the next morning and we were almost in the water at high tide!
Great trip ..... and I will never forget it.
The SAME boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It's about what you are made of NOT the circumstance.
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Martyman
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Registered: 9-10-2004
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| Quote: | Originally posted by mcfez
I smoke the brakes upon approach
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I always wondered what you were smoking 
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baitcast
Super Nomad
Posts: 1785
Registered: 8-31-2003
Location: kingman AZ.
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Mood: good
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I know I show this pic to much but when I see comments about my favorite road I just can,t help myself
Some of old hands know what I,m talking about Redhilltown put it all to well You would never ever forget your first trip down that monster but would always be looking forward to your next.
It was Bufeo,s playground,my wife who threaten to get out and walk the first time started to make plans for the next trip within days  and there were many more,hell we used to see someone every trip or so.
Anyone can catch fish in a boat but only \"El Pescador Grande\" can get them from the beach.
I hope when my time comes the old man will let me bring my rod and the water will be warm and clear.
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bufeo
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Registered: 11-16-2003
Location: Santa Fe New Mexico
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| Quote: | | Originally posted by Bob H... The camper was rattled to death (almost). .... |
 
No further comment.
Allen R
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mcfez
Elite Nomad
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Location: aka BN yankeeirishman
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Martyman ...legal to smoke your brakes
I tell you all...the VERY WORST part of this road was that &&*(^%$##@ potted paved road ....before Pueritcitos! That was insane.
Old people are like the old cars, made of some tough stuff. May show a little rust, but good as gold on the inside.
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baitcast
Super Nomad
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Location: kingman AZ.
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Mood: good
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Mcfez are you going to tell us what it was like back in the old days again
Rob
Anyone can catch fish in a boat but only \"El Pescador Grande\" can get them from the beach.
I hope when my time comes the old man will let me bring my rod and the water will be warm and clear.
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