About Me
I’m a Special Education Teacher from Southern
California during my 9-5, with an unusual appetite for the outdoors and
extreme whatever. In my more formative years, my parents took my brothers
and I camping just south of Rosarito B.C., as well as all over the U.S.
Beginning in the Eighth grade, I studied Spanish - through my sophomore
year at Cal State San Bernardino, and I can now hold a moderately intelligent
conversation in Spanish (as well as English) with little trouble. Whether
it’s heading down to Tijuana to party at Club FX, or spending a quiet week
exploring the Gulf with my fiancée Suzanne, Baja is where its at!
The Sierra de San Pedro Martir
Just after moving back from a two-year adventure
in Michigan with my fiancée Suzanne, I received the Feb ’98 issue
of FOURWHEELER. In it was an article to forever change my life. There was
this report of an exotic park in the mountain wilderness of Baja, Mexico.
I scrambled to find more information. I started by purchasing books relating
to Baja, Mexico before Suzanne and I took a quick one-week trip to the
Sierra San Pedro Martir to see first-hand. Two years and four visits later,
I thought it would be great to bring together more people with 4X4’s to
see the more “inaccessible” locations of the park with.
The Baja Mountain Trail Run
I asked around on the World Wide Web for others
to accompany me on a run down Tasajera Truck Road, and a man by the name
of Andrew replied, stating that he would be interested in checking out
this park for the first time. The following are photos of this first-ever
trail run that I hope to turn into an annual event.
The Lineup
As I stated above, I drive a ’94 Ford Ranger
XLT 4X4. I added an aftermarket lift by Rancho in addition to a body lift
to get additional clearance for the 32-inch tires I now run. I will soon
be upsizing to 33-inch tires because I need the extra sidewall area (for
decent rockcrawling) and additional clearance under my Ranger. I switched
to an Optima Battery after my Sears battery began leaking acid on a regular
basis, and I installed a Cobra CB just before this trip.
Andrew drove his ’86 Jeep CJ that is built to
handle Moab as well as the Hammers in Johnson Valley, CA. It features fuel-injection,
on-board air, dual ARB locking differentials, 4 inches of suspension +
3 inches of body lift to clear 36”x14.5”xR15” Interco Super Swamper Radials.
His Jeep is the real Beef with no Soy! His wife Gretchen drove his stock
Blazer that runs BFG A/T’s and both trucks have air conditioning and Cobra
CB’s.
The Turnoff
At the turnoff to the Observatory Road on Hwy
1, we stopped to marvel at the new sign that had been erected by SEMARNAP-The
National Park Service of Mexico similar to our Park Service. This day happened
to be a hot, early-July summer day. As we crossed the Rio San Telmo, families
could be seen underneath the bridge, frolicking in the cool waters below.
After some playing around in the hills above Ejido San Telmo, we made our
way up the long and dusty road to the top of the mountains. Our camp was
set up in the Kiliwas section of Vallecitos meadow. Tall trees kept us
shaded during the warm days and insulated from possible winds at night.
After inspecting much of the park, we noticed
that the usual springs were dry, as was, “the pool” just south of the park
entrance below the Observatory Road. After asking Park Ranger “El Choco”
where we could find some water, he explained that 6 miles down the Observatory
Road, just opposite the horse troth was a mountain spring source which
flows year-round. We insisted that he come along and show us, and we were
back almost each day for more.
Our first trail run was to take the recently
improved road up to Mirador El Altar. Just before leaving camp, we spotted
a friendly Baja adventurer named Tomas. Tomas has been looking for a place
to bed up for the night in Kiliwas since he couldn’t access the Tasajera
meadow due to there being locked gates meant to discourage locals with
a habit of setting fires in the wilderness. I told Tomas to watch for us
“manana,” since we’d return with some sort of key to get in, and do some
sightseeing.
Once leaving camp, we made our way to El Altar
de la Mirador with all of the tight switchbacks, and steep drop-offs. I
opted towards riding with Andrew and Gretchen since I have a fear of heights.
At the end of the road, you can walk a short distance and marvel at the
vast desert playas that separate the mountains from San Felipe. The Gulf
of California is visible, as is Sonora to the naked eye. Warm gusts of
air move up from the San Felipe desert and moderate the temperatures on
this mountain range at night, keeping you cool both day and night in the
summer.
The next day, we were able to gain access to
the La Tasajera Truck Road, and spotted Tomas along with another small
group - Water Witching Charlie and his friend Rosemary. They also wanted
access to the meadow, and the chance to see the pools of water that decorate
this secluded section of the park. After a mile or so, Charlie and Tomas
both parked their Jeeps and Andrew and I, “went for it.”
Andrew was the first one down the road, carefully
treading in between two large boulders that you must carefully pass in
between. I crawled through with no harm, but wondered how much worse the
road would become as we progressed. We both stopped just past a couple
of large rocks in the trail and took a break. Emigdio scouted the area
for any possible trouble from Mother Nature since the park was extremely
dry. I decided to turn around since my rocker panels looked vulnerable
to the rocks and sharp turns further on down the trail were becoming even
larger. At the bottom of the first steep incline, there was a downed tree
that blocked the trail, but with ample room to negotiate the tree. Just
below the tree was a tight turn, and a 35-degree off-camber section just
above a v-notch which was 2 feet in depth. Andrew felt funny attempting
this section alone, with his ARB’s not functioning. He decided to turn
around. Just beyond the bottom of this off-camber area was the creek, containing
the trout, which live year-round in the park. We felt like returning to
camp for an early dinner and a shower instead of doing more sightseeing.
Back at the gate to La Tasajera, we met a ranching family that wanted to
stop and talk to Emigdio. SEMARNAP is currently assessing the damage that
the rancher’s cattle may be causing on the park. I’m sure the ranchers
wanted to discuss any word that may be coming down the line with one of
SEMARNAP’s employees-Emigdio. That evening, we watched coyotes playing
with their young in Vallecitos meadow. Emigdio tried to call out to the
coyotes in his “voice,” but the coyotes weren’t buying it.
The next day was set aside for a drive down Venado
Blanco Road. This trail is my favorite trail in the park with its amazing
scenery and abundance of wildlife. I was up to my usual antics and spotted
a downed tree blocking the trail. I couldn’t believe the complacency of
those who simply drove around, and sticking with TREAD LIGHTLY! Doctrine,
I decided to carefully extricate the downed tree. First, I picked up the
end of the tree, breaking it in half. Then, I picked up another section,
breaking it again. I discarded the tree far off to the side of the trail
where it can shield future seedlings and fertilize the ground as it decays.
45 minutes later, we reached the end of the trail - Rancho Viejo. On an
earlier trip with Suzanne, we reached the Rancho, encountering a hissing
Bobcat that ran up into the boulder mound behind the log cabin. Behind
the mound of boulders, spring-fed creeks run slowly through the grassy
meadow before disappearing around the many corners before dropping out
of sight.
But there remained one last challenge! The road
from the Observatory to Corral de Sam! We searched in vain before encountering
the Rangers on the main road. They told us that we could not drive to Corral
de Sam because it is situated 50 feet up a cliff from the end of a closed
service road. On our way back to camp, we saw what looked like a rocky
arroyo that crossed the Observatory road. It offered a Rubicon-like element
to this awesome park. My passenger-side rear wheel was pinned in between
two rocks, and I feared breakage if I gave too much gas, so Andrew gave
me a gentle tug and I was out, and we were on our way.
Next year, I hope to tackle this trail - maybe
I’ll have a Detroit in the rear differential, and a taller set of tires.
I also would like a lower set of gears (4.56’s), but that will have to
wait for now. The next day, Andrew, Gretchen, and I departed for the long
ride down the mountain. We stopped at the legendary Rancho Meling, and
spoke with its caretaker Adeberto Murillo. Adeberto told me the Ranch is
going to begin taking guests in late July 2000. Their room rates were $80
per night, double occupancy, meals included. We decided to head north,
and call it a, “trip.” Election festivities were raging throughout Ensenada
as we walked towards the seaside plaza. Local citizens were cheering the
newly elected mayor of Ensenada who appeared on the same ticket as President
Fox, and he was making promises to make today, “A new day” to an ecstatic
audience. This felt like history in the making. A new president, a new
trail run.
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