Deeper into Baja - Part 4

After laying up for almost a week at Playa Escondida we broke camp with our next destination only about 8 miles across the bay from where we sat as the crow flies.  To get there would entail a full day of off-road driving, truck excavation, road building, brush clearing and some route finding where the road was gone. The Baja Almanac topo map shows a red line depicting a road out to the tip of the peninsula.  It lies....the dirt road is sporadic at best and in places, non-existent.  Once turning off Ruta One at the south end of the bay is where the fun begins.  If you don't want to get your rig scratched, this is not an area you want to try and get to. For hours on end, it sounded like someone was running alongside the rigs running their nails along a chalkboard.  In places, we were forced to take to the sides of the track with pruning saws and machetes to hack our way through. The first hour or so it bothers you and then it's like....oh the hell with it, its just paint. It's a beautiful drive and where the road disappears you simply find the beach or an arroyo and drive that until you can relocate the road.  We got a late start, missed the turn off from the paved road and then spent some time hanging out with some locals at a fish camp so we ended up stopping the first night without making it out to our destination, Punta Concepcion.  At the fish camp, we met Pablo (pretty sure on his name but I may be wrong - should have written it down) his grandson and two locals who had crossed over from Mulege via boat. Pablo has been fishing and living here for 50 years.  We got an invite to come in and try some fresh fish he was cooking up along with a cold beer.  No way we were passing that up.  These encounters are what I love about getting back in the more remote areas.  Meeting and spending time with people such as this, enjoying the remoteness combined with the sheer beauty of the area and not knowing what lies around the next corner is what makes travel like this rewarding to me.  It doesn't get much better. 

 Pablo

Pablo's place. In the foreground is the west side of the bay. An easy trip by boat, but by road.....not so much.

Wayne getting some information on the area

A cold one waiting for the fish to finish.

After sitting around and shooting the shit over some fish and beer we loaded the dogs back up and kept working up the coastline.

Typical section of the road where it existed.

Wayne making some improvements.

After leaving Pablo's place we dropped off in a large wash and when I wasn't paying attention I dropped the rear off a steeper section where I shouldn't have. Front right and rear left in the air with no contact.  A little digging, "mucho" cussing, Wayne giving me a hard time about my lack of four-wheeling skills, some  jacking and road building and we were back on the move.

 It's not good when you can see the top of the camper like this.

I put Wayne to work.  Someone has to take pictures.

We didn't go much further than this and came across an old abandoned homestead and decided to make camp for the night.  We had heard about an old lady who had lived out here for years by the name of Baja Betty. We were wondering if maybe this was her place at one time. No structures left other than some old foundations and walls.  Wayne did some research on her later but came up empty.

 Old walls at the homestead.

 Rocky beach just below the homestead.

Old sea turtle shell on the beach

Following day after quite a bit of four wheeling on the beach we came to the roads end about a half mile from the point.  One could drive all the way out if you wanted to do some bushwhacking but we found a great site and set up. All was well in the world...great weather, perfect campsite, cold beer and no people.  We spent 6 nights out here and saw no one other than an old fisherman and his son out on the point.

Road less traveled.

I've been in worse spots.

Clear skies at night allowed for some great star gazing.

Days were spent fishing, kayaking and hiking the surrounding hills and beaches.

Views from camp each evening weren't bad either.

Sorry for such a long post but it was such a great week I didn't want to leave anything out.

More to come.......................