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Sweetwater
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BOLA to San Franciscito
Are there any reports on the "road" south out of Bay of LA thru San Rafael to San Franciscito?
And then out to El Arco and Highway 1.
I rode this last February on a 650cc moto but we did not take the road to San Rafael. Instead, we stayed inland and encountered quite a bit of sand. I
would love to hear if the alternative is a better route....has anyone been there in the last few months?
And how are the non-paved roads doing with the last set of storms.
Thanks in advance..............
Everbody\'s preachin\' at me that we all wanna git to heaven, trouble is, nobody wants to die to git there.-BB King
Reality is what does not go away when you stop believing in it. -Philip K Dick
Nothing is worse than active ignorance. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe(1749-1832, German writer, artist and politician)
When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I\'ve never tried before. - Mae West
Experience is what keeps a man who makes the same mistake twice from admitting it the third time around.
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David K
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See posts from 'bajaboy' who recently went to San Rafael and on out to Hwy. 1.
By the sandy inland route, you are speaking of the old road via Valle la Bocana through the giant cardon forests? Well, the newer road is a graded
super highway in comparrison...
The 1989 AAA map actually shows both roads:
Topo with notes:
If you are heading on to Hwy. 1:
[Edited on 12-14-2011 by David K]
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Sweetwater
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Thanks. Nice set of maps....wish I had my gpx trax that would confirm our moto route. I went through my photos and just can not find evidence that we
made it to the coast prior to arriving at San Franciscito.
The road out through El Arco seemed to be in much better condition....I think I read that next year's Baja Mil will run Ensinada to La Paz
again....really rough on those roads...
Everbody\'s preachin\' at me that we all wanna git to heaven, trouble is, nobody wants to die to git there.-BB King
Reality is what does not go away when you stop believing in it. -Philip K Dick
Nothing is worse than active ignorance. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe(1749-1832, German writer, artist and politician)
When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I\'ve never tried before. - Mae West
Experience is what keeps a man who makes the same mistake twice from admitting it the third time around.
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Bajaboy
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Drove the road three weeks ago. Road to PSR is rough....probably the worst I've seen it in many years. The road south to El Arco is in decent shape.
From El Arco to the highway, the road is in great shape....we cruised it. Have fun.
zac
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David K
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Sweetwater
Thanks. Nice set of maps....wish I had my gpx trax that would confirm our moto route. I went through my photos and just can not find evidence that we
made it to the coast prior to arriving at San Franciscito.
The road out through El Arco seemed to be in much better condition....I think I read that next year's Baja Mil will run Ensinada to La Paz
again....really rough on those roads... |
The graded road doesn't actually touch the coast at San Rafael, you need to take the short side road to the dunes on the north end or to Pancho's camp
on the south end of the beach. The old road is a VERY ROUGH and seldom used track... mostly motorcycles use it beyond La Bocana ranch road (San Pedro
on the maps). Lots of big cardon cactus... The graded road is totally different... You are on one or the other, no other choice.
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David K
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Bajaboy
Drove the road three weeks ago. Road to PSR is rough....probably the worst I've seen it in many years. The road south to El Arco is in decent shape.
From El Arco to the highway, the road is in great shape....we cruised it. Have fun.
zac |
Zac, are they using the old highway roadbed (Mex. 18) or the parallel sandy lanes alongside the deteriorated highway (1974+)?
In the 1980's it was pretty torn up from never having been repaved after the first thin asphalt broke apart. By 2000, the new road to Guillermo Prieto
that passes closer to Santa Gertrudis was a much better road to Highway One.
[Edited on 5-5-2012 by David K]
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Bajaboy
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They are using the old road. I drove that road once in 97 and swore I would never drive it again. We missed the turn south before El Arco and thus
proceeded ahead. We averaged 40+ on the smooth road....very nice surprise for sure.
| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
| Quote: | Originally posted by Bajaboy
Drove the road three weeks ago. Road to PSR is rough....probably the worst I've seen it in many years. The road south to El Arco is in decent shape.
From El Arco to the highway, the road is in great shape....we cruised it. Have fun.
zac |
Zac, are they using the old highway roadbed (Mex. 19) or the parallel sandy lanes alongside the deteriorated highway (1974+)?
In the 1980's it was pretty torn up from never having been repaved after the first thin asphalt broke apart. By 2000, the new road to Guillermo Prieto
that passes closer to Santa Gertrudis was a much better road to Highway One. |
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Skipjack Joe
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It's my understanding that an international consortium has bought out the mining rights to El Arco. The good road is likely the start of things to
come. It's been like that for 2 years now.
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Sweetwater
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Bajaboy
Drove the road three weeks ago. Road to PSR is rough....probably the worst I've seen it in many years. The road south to El Arco is in decent shape.
From El Arco to the highway, the road is in great shape....we cruised it. Have fun.
zac |
Thanks zac. I did find your Tgiving trip post....enjoy those kids...mine have grown up and gone out into the world. I do have some Wind River Range
packpacking memories...but those are pre-digital pics.
Everbody\'s preachin\' at me that we all wanna git to heaven, trouble is, nobody wants to die to git there.-BB King
Reality is what does not go away when you stop believing in it. -Philip K Dick
Nothing is worse than active ignorance. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe(1749-1832, German writer, artist and politician)
When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I\'ve never tried before. - Mae West
Experience is what keeps a man who makes the same mistake twice from admitting it the third time around.
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motoged
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Sweetwater
..... we stayed inland and encountered quite a bit of sand..... |
That sounds like we motoheads called the Green Door Trail....not a lot of fun on a 650, huh?!
I hate deep sand 
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=666961
Don't believe everything you think....
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Skipjack Joe
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Owww!
I had to read the story and see the stitches to figure out where the break had occured. Now it seems obvious.
It's a good thing that you broke it towards the end of your journey.
P.S. The important thing is you got lots of ubication.
[Edited on 12-15-2011 by Skipjack Joe]
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Sweetwater
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After further review..........I don't think it's a great idea to take the bigger bikes into this terrain......deep sand sux fore shore.......
Can I get an ID on this intersection on the above maps please?
And thank you..........
Everbody\'s preachin\' at me that we all wanna git to heaven, trouble is, nobody wants to die to git there.-BB King
Reality is what does not go away when you stop believing in it. -Philip K Dick
Nothing is worse than active ignorance. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe(1749-1832, German writer, artist and politician)
When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I\'ve never tried before. - Mae West
Experience is what keeps a man who makes the same mistake twice from admitting it the third time around.
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David K
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Rancho Piedra Blanca is on the new Baja Almanac, located about 2 miles east of the Santa Gertrudis/ Guillermo Prieto shortcut, on the road to El Arco.
On the AAA map above, near the '2' in mile 21.3 printed along the road.
San Francisquito and El Barril being at the east end of the road from El Arco, putting that photo between the two places... I can't quite make out the
distance figure on the sign, but that would help... my guess is the junction of the road from L.A. Bay with the El Arco/San Francisquito road...?
Bajaboy would know, as I haven't been on that road since 2002 and there was no Rancho Piedra Blanca serving food then!
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Sweetwater
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I really did enjoy that sign..........in the middle of nowhere.....
Everbody\'s preachin\' at me that we all wanna git to heaven, trouble is, nobody wants to die to git there.-BB King
Reality is what does not go away when you stop believing in it. -Philip K Dick
Nothing is worse than active ignorance. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe(1749-1832, German writer, artist and politician)
When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I\'ve never tried before. - Mae West
Experience is what keeps a man who makes the same mistake twice from admitting it the third time around.
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Skipjack Joe
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That fork, I believe, is very close to the El Barril turnoff.
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David K
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Thanks for the close up of that great sign! 28 kms. = 17.3 miles and that would put it right at the junction of the Bahia de los Angeles road with the
El Arco/San Francisquito road. 
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Sweetwater
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So......as I continue to review my photos and maps........this might actually represent the San Rafael area, although we did not seem to skirt the
coast as closely as the map would indicate.....?
Everbody\'s preachin\' at me that we all wanna git to heaven, trouble is, nobody wants to die to git there.-BB King
Reality is what does not go away when you stop believing in it. -Philip K Dick
Nothing is worse than active ignorance. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe(1749-1832, German writer, artist and politician)
When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I\'ve never tried before. - Mae West
Experience is what keeps a man who makes the same mistake twice from admitting it the third time around.
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David K
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You get to 1/4 mile from the beach, but you can't see it from the road (sand dunes/ hill). Pancho's has a tire and sign (fix flats) at his driveway. A
super nice guy...
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David K
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The graded road gets close at the north end of Pancho's beach... a road goes over the dune to the beach... looking south:
The graded road goes around a lagoon then gets close to the coast one more time at the turnoff to Pancho's:
View East:
Pancho's is on a bluff looking down onto the big beach:
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motoged
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If you were on the "main road" between BoLA and San Francisquito as David is suggesting, you were NOT on the Green Door Trail (which is soft sand and
rocks double track).
At any rate, I STILL hate deep soft sand when on a bike 
The better riders say, "Just go fast enough to the point where you are scared....and wick it up a bit and sit back on the bike....you will have no
problems....!!!"
That just defies common sense 
So many trails and roads to explore in Baja...
Just south of the intersection posted earlier...
Don't believe everything you think....
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