Fatboy
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Wild Baja -- Part Five Las Animas Bay
When I awoke this morning I checked out the sand that I had flattened out to see if I had any visitors in the night. Sure enough there appear to be
mouse and rabbit tracks and along one side 2 sets of coyote tracks less than two feet from the jeep. Will they ever leave me alone?
Today's plan was to walk up the west side of the bay until I had enough which turned out to be a 7 mile hike for the day.
Only thing noteworthy, besides the 2 houses being built and the abandoned panga about 2 miles up, was at my turn around point.
I scrambled up a bluff to catch a breeze and admire the view before I headed back. While I sat and snacked I watched a small pod of dolphins chase
some fish into the shallows.
It was interesting being able to see what was going on under the water as I looked down on them. Another cool wildlife scene being played out before
me.
I then watched some large fish do the same thing, amazing!
When I made it back to camp I kicked back for the rest of the day thinking about what I was going to do tomorrow.
I have in my copy of The Baja Almanac some GPS coordinates of places I wanted to see back on a trip in 2002 but only made it to a few of them so here
was my chance to check them out.
It was getting late so I made some dinner and called it a night. One thing great about camping like this is one has a tendency to go to sleep soon
after dark and awaken around sunrise.
Up before the sun, making breakfast, coffee and my bed for an early start. My plan was to go to The El Toro copper mine north of La Gringa.
With the Jeep packed I was off.
Out to the main road with a couple of stops for photos and I am soon on the main dirt road to BOLA. A few miles from the Las Animas turnoff I see an
interesting looking dirt road heading south.
Backing up to it, I am off on a tangent. What a cool tangent it turned out to be. Soon I come to a 'grave' right on the road. I hope it was just a
shrine but either way the road actually grazed it.
Then it was back to an interesting wash where I parked and walked up a little ways. Turned out to be a good choice, there are four rock dams here,
some old rock wall corrals and what appears to be the homesite.
After exploring it for an hour or so it was back to the main dirt road and on to BOLA.
I passed Las Flores without stopping and rolled into BOLA low on FWF (Fuel, Water, and Food). After filling up all three it was out to La Gringa and
on to El Toro.
      
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Fatboy
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Once past La Gringa the fun would begin, I only had coordinates, no directions on how to get to the mine.
This might take some time. Turns out I only made 1 wrong turn along the way.
Bad part was the road kept getting worse and worse. I was by myself, in a 15 year old Jeep with 270,200 miles on it, on a road that was rarely
traveled and no one had any idea where I was except 'in Baja'.
Now I needed four wheel drive, then I needed four low, then I needed to do a little road building, WHOA!!!
I need to look this over. I was at the base of a loose, narrow, rocky, rutted hill and I decided to get out and walk up it.
On the way up I tossed some boulders in some of the bigger holes and reached the top where to my amazement there where two ATV's heading my way.
Of course I was parked right in the middle of the road further down the hill with no way around.
With a quick wave to my fellow adventures I turned around and trotted down to the Jeep and backed it up and off the road so they would be able to
pass.
I wonder what they thought when they looked up saw me wave and then suddenly disappear down the hill?
It wasn't long before they where close to where I was pulled off the road and the person on the 3-wheeler got caught in a rut and it rolled over on to
its side as he stepped off. I ran up to help get it back down and hold it down while he powered out of the ditch.
Turns out it was Larry (I think) and Lisa out returning from a trip to the same mine I was trying to get to. About the first thing I said was I do not
know who is crazier for being out here. Me, under my circumstances, or them riding ATV with sandals and flip flops.
I asked about the road up ahead, Larry said it gets worse and they did not make it to the mine. Guess it was out for me then.
Larry lives in BOLA and Lisa was down visiting from Santa Barbara. Neat folks out exploring like that! They head back to BOLA and I toy with the idea
of going for it but eventually chicken out and I too head back.
It is only 3pm, to early to camp, so now what? I know, lets go look at some other little seen wildlife out in the desert!
Off to El Desengano, another place I always wanted to check out.
Turns out my first choice of roads to El Desengano is fenced and bulldozed closed so on up the road to the next turnoff.
I turn off the paved road and head north. There is a cool pile of giant boulders there making a small hill and off I go to climb it.
Checking out all the patterns sculpted into the rocks I make my way to the top when what do I see!
Not a deer.
Not a Badger.
Most certainly not a dolphin slapping his tail!
But a fox, a foxy fox just staring at me!
I am able to snapped a blurry, distant picture before she whirls and disappears from sight.
Wow, wow, triple wow!
What a trip so far!
   
Do you see the fox in this last picture? Just her head above the rock.
PART ONE
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=83137
PART TWO
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=83138
PART THREE
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=83141
PART FOUR
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=83142
[Edited on 5-21-2016 by Fatboy]
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David K
Honored Nomad
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Very cool! Sorry you didn't make it to the first copper mine... I just wrote about it in last month's Baja Bound newsletter, here's the Nomad post
with the link:
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=82927
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BajaBlanca
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cool foxy fox!
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woody with a view
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GREAT FOTOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
those gourds are a trip.... they grow on the west coast as well. i wonder if they're edible?
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Bajaboy
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I was told no by a few locals.
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Fatboy
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I heard that coyotes eat them for moisture?
BAJABLANCA --- I wish she would have posed longer so I could have gotten a better picture.
DavidK --- When did you go to El Toro? Larry said the road washed out the last or or so.
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AKgringo
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I would think that any recipe that works well with birch bark, or pinecones or such would be ok. Those things look like a round cucumber, but are
rock hard!
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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wilderone
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Thanks for the trip report. After studying your fox photo, do you think it could be a Mexican gray wolf? Ears look more like it than a fox.
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Fatboy
Senior Nomad
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Quote: Originally posted by wilderone  | | Thanks for the trip report. After studying your fox photo, do you think it could be a Mexican gray wolf? Ears look more like it than a fox.
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Do not believe so, the size and the tail when she turned and trotted a way looked like a fox to me.
Nice bushy tail on her.
Never can tell for sure sometimes....
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honda tom
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Location: middle calif
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the road you headed south on after leaving Las Animas is the beginning of What is called the "green door trail" . It continues south then east and
meets the graded road again between San Rafael and San Francisquito turn off.
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