Riding Little pigs in Baja!

[rnrdozer]

Thanks GalacticGS glad to have you along! Ggoat and old cow, in regards to my choice on bike's I have owned quite a few bikes over the years and for the last 10 years or so have switched over to KTM's almost exclusively. I've had the KTM 525, 450XC,300EXC,450EXC, and finally the 500EXC. this by is by far the best of the bunch. the fuel injection is a dream. It starts easly with no hiccup ever. the bike is stable yet very nimble off road. I think KTM is the only bike company that builds a street legal bike that is just as good as their off road models. At $10K its not cheap but I think its worth it performance wise. I've even taken it to the motocross track and it performed as well as my CRF 450. I think its been the bike of the year in most of the dirtbike magazines as well. The other thing for me is living in California we are losing alot of riding areas and many dirt roads leading to trails are off limits to dirt bikes so having a street legal bike takes away the risk of a ticket.

[rnrdozer]

Thanks for following along Damasovi, as im putting this report together its making me want to go back already!!! Cheers

[rnrdozer]

1/29/13
Scorpion Bay to Punta Trinidad on the sea of Cortez
We got out of camp early this morning, we planned to eat lunch in San Ignacio then make our way to the sea of Cortez via part of the hidden trail that starts south of San Ignacio. Since we had ridden the mud flats from San Juanico to San Ignacio last year we decided to take the high road to see what it was like. It turned out to be a nice route, a little rocky but not too bad. We made our way to San Ignacio for some lunch, fueled up at the gas station on hwy 1. We hit the store for some water and wine since we knew we would be camping out in the middle of nowhere! We ran into Bgunn and his wife at the store, they had hit some bad weather headed down but were looking forward to camping on the bay of Conception. We headed south for about 14 miles then East. We followed a track we got from Stickman which was spot on the whole way. This route is two track the whole way until you get to the coast then its tougher to follow as it runs up and down a few washes and hits some single track. There are some beach sections that the route takes you on. We camped on a beach that had a ton of driftwood, we ended up having an interesting night out there!!
We had a big fire going and were kicking back drinking some wine and watching Conan O Brian on my I phone when I stepped away from the fire to get some more wood a pack of coyotes went crazy!! They had moved in on us and even started fighting each other! I figured they were fighting over who got first dibs on me!! I kind of felt like Liam Neeson in the movie “The Gray”! when it came time to sleep I crawled in my tent with a sharp stick and a knife ready for a fight, but they never came back. We had a good laugh over that night for the rest of the trip! I know coyotes rarely attack people but when you are that far in the middle of nowhere it’s a little erie to say the least!!
Total miles 183


This is the route that starts 14 miles south of San Ignacio over to the Sea of Cortez then up to El Barril. I got lazy and didnt take any pictures from San Juanico to San Ignacio, sorry:-(



What I forgot to mention earlier was that Quin was suffering from osteo arthritis in his hands and the longer the ride went on the worse his hands got! Its a real bummer for someone that loves to ride. He toughed it out but was in alot of pain, here he is getting into his pain meds!

There was an old rock foundation about 80 miles out.



We finally started to see the coast!

This was actually the road, all the rocks were flat. A rock skippers dream!


Some of the faded two track along the coast.

This would be our beach of choice!

Love the beach riding!

We knew we would need a big fire to keep the coyotes at bay!!

we had a long debate about tides and how far our tents needed to be away from the sea.

Quin was enjoying his wine and a nice fire.


Driftwood is hard to come by in Baja, this beach was filled with it!

You can buy these chairs at REI, they are a must for true camp comfort.


I had to leave our mark in the sand!

[rokklym]

Looks like a blast!

[rnrdozer]

1/30/13
Trinidad on the sea of Cortez to Bay of LA
I had a hard time sleeping last night waiting for the big fight for my life that never came, but still woke up waiting for the sun to come up. We packed up and got headed north pretty early. The rest of the track was really fun to El Barril. There were a few spots that were hard to follow but for the most part it was easy. I really feel that if your on a small bike this is a must do route! We got to El Barril and bought some gas then headed north to bay of LA. I was surprised how big El Barril was, they had power poles and an actual gas station. I’m assuming they have a generator that runs the little town. After we got gas we were headed north past San Francisquito when we met a couple from Germany making their way down to Brazil for the world soccer finals. They were artists and were meeting artists along the way and putting together a project of art from all over the world. When we rolled into bay of LA we met some other riders from Northern California that were pre running some routes for a big ride they were putting together for their club. We ended up staying at Costa Del Sol again, and eating the seafood special again! We paid as we went this time though.
Total miles 132

Virgin sand!







This was coming into El Barril.


Buying gas in El Barril.

Escondido ranch north of El Barril.

This was the German couple headed down to Brazil the hard way!!

Heres the guys from Norcal, Rocky, scott, and John. they were going to hit the hidden trail in the next few days.

We ended up staying in a different room than we did on our first visit to Costa Del Sol. this room was $60.

[Moto Vaquero]

Excellent ride report, thoroughly enjoying it. You got me jonesing for Baja now. I will be riding many of the same trails that you guys did in april but not the one north out of San Ignacio (would sure like that track though).
When you guys were at Punta San Carlos, did you notice any place a guy that has no camping gear could lay his head down for the night? I will be going down the trail from the plateau which can't be half as bad as getting up it.
Look forward to the rest of the tale.

[rnrdozer]

Originally Posted by Moto Vaquero

Excellent ride report, thoroughly enjoying it. You got me jonesing for Baja now. I will be riding many of the same trails that you guys did in april but not the one north out of San Ignacio (would sure like that track though).
When you guys were at Punta San Carlos, did you notice any place a guy that has no camping gear could lay his head down for the night? I will be going down the trail from the plateau which can't be half as bad as getting up it.
Look forward to the rest of the tale.

Moto Vaquero, thanks for riding along! I would be happy to send you the track just PM me your email. as far as Punta San Carlos there isn't anything there as far as rooms unless you could talk a local into letting you crash at their home. we couldn't get gas food or water for that matter! maybe bring a sleeping bag and bivy, shouldnt take too much space. Also I think when surfing season is going there is alot more going on out there but I'm not sure when that is.

[DaFoole]

Great stuff!!!!

[rnrdozer]

1/31/13
Bay of LA to Gonzaga bay
We woke up to find some of our stuff that we had left on the bikes was stolen! I guess we got a bit lazy or maybe a bit complacent but I really wished I would have just brought everything in that night! My tool pouch on the front fender was gone as was Quin’s camp chair, bolt kit, and food pouch. We had another good breakfast of pancakes and fruit before we headed for Gonzaga bay. We planned to hit the window rock trail to the calamajue wash to the 8 mile trail on into Gonzaga. The window rock trail proved to be an epic ride! The wash was in really good shape since the moisture was perfect. After that we headed out to see Coco then went back out to the 8 mile trail. This section is basically nothing but pure boulders! It was a tough route and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone unless you hate yourself and want to punish yourself and your bike. I renamed it the “what the fuck were we thinking trail”! We made our way to Gonzaga bay and as usual it is beautiful. As we found our way to the Palapas and set up camp we saw a couple camping next to us. It was Spanky and his wife from Santa Cruz, California. He came down in his van with his wife and bike to kick it and enjoy Baja! Spanky was ripping around on a yz 125 he bought for $100! You can buy firewood from the store which spanky hauled for us! We got fish taco’s from Alfonsino’s for dinner and had a nice fire for the night. By the way the pavement is about 2 miles from Gonzaga now! Bummer!!!!
Total miles 118

On our way out to the window rock trail!

Now were getting into the window rock trail!



We were now ready for our window rock photo shoot!


Across from the window rock the desert assassins left a sign in honor of their fallen hero Jeff the OX Kargola. He died in 2011 on their rip to the tip ride between Mikes sky ranch and San Felipe. Although this is a dangerous hobbie this is a reminder to me to ride with extra caution down here as there just isn't anyone coming to get you if you crash out here!




This just might be my new facebook profile picture!

Self timer baby!


The wash!



We made it to Coco's.

Coco was really busy with a big group coming through but he still had time to have us sign his guest book.

8 mile trail! fun!!


We made it to Gonzaga!


We found some good beer at the store!

Quin's new buddy was really happy to be spending time with him!!






Here's Spanky giving the ADV rider salute!

[rnrdozer]

Originally Posted by DaFoole

Great stuff!!!!

Great to have you along DaFoole! I'll be looking for your report when you get back. March is almost here, when do you leave?

[damasovi]

now I just hate you! lol!! one day I will put some dirt on the KLR!!! maybe more road and 2 track (where ever RV, and trucks go, I will go alone on the overload it kawasaki) but not where you are going (not intentionally)

Keep it coming since does pictures where CHINGONAS!!!

Damasovi

[dirtdiver]

Wow that looked like a great trip. Rich has hooked me up before too. He is a huge resource.

Great times. DD

[GS eh!]

Guy's great report. I have been planning a trip down in May and am looking for feedback on routes etc.

Last trip down was on a GSA and we were stuck to mainly paved routes, I now have a 500 EXC and it needs to go to Baja.

Can I PM for some intel on some of your tracks?

Keep it coming, I am going a bit nuts up here in the "Great White North"! and the reports help. Although, the skiing has been great!

Thanks,

Richard

[rnrdozer]

Originally Posted by rokklym

Looks like a blast!

thanks for following along ROKKLYM !!

[rnrdozer]

Originally Posted by damasovi

now I just hate you! lol!! one day I will put some dirt on the KLR!!! maybe more road and 2 track (where ever RV, and trucks go, I will go alone on the overload it kawasaki) but not where you are going (not intentionally)

Keep it coming since does pictures where CHINGONAS!!!

Damasovi

I had to google CHINGONAS to see what it was! Thanks man!!