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Mulege Canuck
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Bahia Las Animas
I have wanted to go to Las Animas for long time. I met two friends in BOLA and we left early the next day. It is 40 km of washboard to get to the
turn off to Las Animas. It was a 20 km/hr slog with a full sized truck camper.
The sign at the main road.
Once off the Baja 1000 route, the road was great. However the Mesquite had over grown the road significantly and I had to use my electric pole saw to
cut our way in. It took 4 .5 hrs! I should have probably brushed out the last 2 km a bit more but we were sick of it so we got some Baja pinstripes.
It took us 1.5 hrs on the way out.
My buddy with my dog, Brian. We hiked a nice hill with a great view of the Estero.
Once we setup camp we were greeted by Miguel with a basket of free firewood. Nice guy. He lives there in an old Airstream. His buddy Horacio, came
over the next day with Las Animas t- shirts to sell. We bought a few.
Animas is a spectacular spot. The only downside was the reefs have been gill-netted daily and there was nothing to catch. It took us 4 hours just to
get two Trigger fish.
After talking with Miguel, he said the fishing in May is great when the Rooster Fish and Yellow Tail come into the bay to feed on schools of Mullet.
We were told the road is usually graded 3 to 4 months after the Baja 1000.
I probably won’t go back given the poor fishing and snorkeling, but it would be worth the effort to bring a full sized truck camper in there in May.
Enjoy the brushed out road.
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advrider
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Nice, on the list to visit. Would love to see some more pictures. Thanks for the report.
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JZ
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Very cool. Nice photos. How was the temperature?
Appreciate you widening the trail a bit.
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AKgringo
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I drove in there in the late afternoon a little over a year ago. It was just my dog and I, and we did not set up a camp.
I don't know if I wound up near a coyote den, or if they were just curious, but a couple of them seemed to shadow us as we pulled in, and again the
next morning when we were pulling out.
We had no problems with them, they were not aggressive, but they weren't shy either!
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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Mulege Canuck
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Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo  | I drove in there in the late afternoon a little over a year ago. It was just my dog and I, and we did not set up a camp.
I don't know if I wound up near a coyote den, or if they were just curious, but a couple of them seemed to shadow us as we pulled in, and again the
next morning when we were pulling out.
We had no problems with them, they were not aggressive, but they weren't shy either! |
My Shepard was working overtime around the campfire. Lots of coyotes.
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Mulege Canuck
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View of the small islands in the bay.
Large clam bed in the Estero.
The Estero at low tide. Lots of small fish in there but no Corvina unfortunately.
High tide was late at night when we were there. Would be nice kayaking if you get the tides to work for you.
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Santiago
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Was the fish camp empty except for the two you mentioned? I would go there many times by boat and fish Barnabe and the south wall of the bay in the
early 2000s. Each year the fishing became worse and worse.
There always seemed to be a dozen or so folks in the fish camp and the fish trucks from Ensenada would come each week. That must be all over now, why
do the work of stringing gill nets if nothing will get in them?
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Skipjack Joe
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Low tide
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Mulege Canuck
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| Quote: Originally posted by Santiago | Was the fish camp empty except for the two you mentioned? I would go there many times by boat and fish Barnabe and the south wall of the bay in the
early 2000s. Each year the fishing became worse and worse.
There always seemed to be a dozen or so folks in the fish camp and the fish trucks from Ensenada would come each week. That must be all over now, why
do the work of stringing gill nets if nothing will get in them?
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Pangas come every day from BOLA, then return at night. Miguel and Horacio work for them.
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mtgoat666
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Is La Unica property still around? (Former Fermin smith property). I recall someone bought the eco-camp, never heard of it since….
And is there still a yurt camp at las animas? Is it in business?
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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Mulege Canuck
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| Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666 | Is La Unica property still around? (Former Fermin smith property). I recall someone bought the eco-camp, never heard of it since….
And is there still a yurt camp at las animas? Is it in business? |
That bay is north of where we were. Not sure if the yurt camp is still there.
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AKgringo
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On my last trip in there just before Thanksgiving 2020, I only encountered one person. He was a fisherman left to gaurd some equipment stored there.
I poked around a bit on the roads (trails) heading around the north bay, but did not do a very thorough exploration. I did not stumble upon a yurt
camp, but could easily have missed it.
There had been a recent rain event that settled the dirt, and there only appeared to be one set of tracks, other than mine going in, and out.
I also got a few pinstripes on my Isuzu Trooper, so I can imagine what it was like for a truck/camper. I don't have any old adventures to compare the
road conditions to, but it appears to have changed due to storms a couple of times.
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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David K
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The fish camp was deserted in Jan. 2017. A lone gringo was camping near by, next to the lagoon/ estero. I drove past the mangroves and camped on the
north-facing beach, opposite the island. The road was bumpy but the shrubs hadn't yet grown into it.
Photos at Las Animas in 2017: https://vivabaja.com/p117-page3/
I had driven in before, but not camped there in 2004 and 2009 (lost mission search).
The place was were Marv Sherrill and his Dana Point High marine biology class had annual field trips. Marv was the creator of the Baja Calendar in the
early 2000s to raise funds so all his students could attend the one-week camping trip.
Marv and his calendar in 2003.
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4x4abc
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standing right between the Indian graves
there are more on the hill below
Harald Pietschmann
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thebajarunner
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What a change...
No one there???
Couple years ago we drove in, yeah pinstripes, but not bad
There were several rather permanent looking campers there and they were a grim looking bunch
(Faint strains of a banjo playing the theme from "Deliverance"???)
We decided that camping at La Gringa was a much safer bet.
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Mulege Canuck
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Your sure they are native graves? What is your source that you read to confirm that Harold?
I thought it was a cairn. But hey what do I know.
Thanks
Ron
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David K
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Eric Ritter (archeologist) has researched the graves and interesting sites at Las Animas (but not the mission-era walls in question). See his
published paper on Las Animas.
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Mulege Canuck
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Thanks David
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David K
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I can't find a specific paper for his work on Las Animas, but here is an overview of this busy man's efforts:
http://www.pcas.org/documents/534Ritter.pdf
https://www.academia.edu/35558571/Eric_Ritters_Role_in_the_D...
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4x4abc
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| Quote: Originally posted by Mulege Canuck |
Your sure they are native graves? What is your source that you read to confirm that Harold?
I thought it was a cairn. But hey what do I know.
Thanks
Ron |
I am not a pro. I have no credentials.
But I have been to several historic burial sites in Baja - and the look and "feel" of the mountain top at Animas is identical to those other sites. It
seems to me that Indians used to favor hilltop sites.
Interesting connection to our current past - many Baja cemeteries are on hilltops.
Harald Pietschmann
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