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Talk about a trip you took out to Anza Borrego

Chubascos, Bees and Coyotes Messages in this topic - RSS

tommy750
tommy750
Posts: 1036


9/16/2021
tommy750
tommy750
Posts: 1036
Not exactly The Park but kinda the same idea. My wife and I decided to head down to Baja last week for a break. Found a nice beach on GE we'd never visited and figured what the heck. Took about eight hours driving and arrived at the end of a 30 mile dirt road to this scene. Never would have guessed there would be five sailboats anchored off shore. Most of the sailors showed up on shore for a bonfire that night. There were retirees and two younger couples who had been sailing the Gulf for the past 1-2 years. Was a rather stark contrast to the standard rat race (guilty) and felt more than a twinge of envy regarding their circumstances. Before we left to set up camp, they mentioned Chubascos, bees and coyotes and we would find out exactly what they meant.

IMG_7065 by tomteske, on Flickr

The next morning, we awakened to a beepocalypse. Hundreds of bees swarmed the water container on the tailgate and any stray moisture that may have leaked during the trip. Being a bit rusty regarding bee mitigation strategies and no internet, I was unable to make any inroads before my wife crawled out the tent and was promptly stung (ended up being three times total). With a concerted effort to relocate all our water jugs away from camp, immediately bury any spilled liquids and judicious use of DEET, we were able to make some inroads but our camp coordinates were firmly imprinted on too many bees to not have an ongoing problem. The pics don't capture even a slight percentage of the swarm.

IMG_7075 by tomteske, on Flickr

IMG_7072 by tomteske, on Flickr

We were able to improve the mood a bit with a few beverages and a dip in the 85 degree water. My wife is trying to finish some continuing education requirements.

IMG_7080 by tomteske, on Flickr

Definitely were coyotes all over the beach which is rather common down there. Did notice both my water jugs got chewed up quite a bit.

IMG_7070 by tomteske, on Flickr

Low Tide Coyotes by tomteske, on Flickr

Lone Coyote by tomteske, on Flickr

IMG_7118 by tomteske, on Flickr

Oh yeah, the Chubascos. The first night there was lots of lightening to the south and some wind but nothing major. The third night we awakened to strong gusts but regrettably delayed securing camp till things got dramatic. By the time we got serious, our "well secured" staked and guylined awning was flailing in the wind and bashing the truck. Fortunately, there was no significant damage. While blasted by blowing sand, we furiously threw every loose item into the truck bed, collapsed the roof top tent and jumped into the truck for the subsequent hour long deluge. By the next morning, the wife was pretty much over our relaxing stay on a deserted beach and we broke camp. The place is obviously quite beautiful but just not ideal in mid-September. Was also a speck on the warm side...

IMG_7071 by tomteske, on Flickr

Playa by tomteske, on Flickr

Camp by tomteske, on Flickr

Pelican by tomteske, on Flickr

Bird by tomteske, on Flickr

Beach Gull by tomteske, on Flickr

Leaving camp.

IMG_7092 by tomteske, on Flickr

On the way out, spotted what I think were a ewe and lamb. They were rather shy.

BHS Pair by tomteske, on Flickr

Bighorn Sheep Pair by tomteske, on Flickr

Lots of elephant trees.

IMG_7097 by tomteske, on Flickr

Few other critters.

Raptor by tomteske, on Flickr

Horned Toad by tomteske, on Flickr

Almost back to pavement. Was a very memorable trip with a "few" hiccups( forgot to mention the truck battery dying running the wife's shower setup---was able to luckily get it started using a Li battery jump start. Yeah, that was a rookie mistake) Definitely will be back. Enjoy! Tom

IMG_7099 by tomteske, on Flickr
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Brian
Brian
Posts: 215


9/17/2021
Brian
Brian
Posts: 215
I remember when the beach at Cabo looked like that and I remember thinking "it won't be like this for long."

Nice rig!
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Britain
Britain
Posts: 590


9/17/2021
Britain
Britain
Posts: 590
Thanks for sharing. Love the Baja. I like taking the dirt roads south at the Rumerosa. Lots of good camping hiking areas. Head on down to Mikes Sky ranch and then either go down the pacific side or the gulf side. Travel Baja use to sell gps maps. I have an older version but at that time it did a good job showing dirt roads and places to get gas.

--
Cant drive 55
Britain
http://icorva.com
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tommy750
tommy750
Posts: 1036


9/17/2021
tommy750
tommy750
Posts: 1036
Britain wrote:
Thanks for sharing. Love the Baja. I like taking the dirt roads south at the Rumerosa. Lots of good camping hiking areas. Head on down to Mikes Sky ranch and then either go down the pacific side or the gulf side. Travel Baja use to sell gps maps. I have an older version but at that time it did a good job showing dirt roads and places to get gas.

The classic Baja California Almanac and Nat Geo maps are pretty dated but there's a new Baja atlas here: https://smile.amazon.com/Baja-California-Recreation-Atlas-Benchmark/dp/1734315059/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3GBS8PJRUUJ3P&dchild=1&keywords=baja+california+atlas+2021&qid=1631936640&sprefix=baja+california+atlas%2Caps%2C210&sr=8-3

There's an app called Map E32 with a decent topos of Baja but in order to be useful you have to get the pro edition for $60 and then download tiles for wherever you're going. Mexico has great free topos of all of Baja but the only place I could find them stitched together was surprisingly caltopo.com---for free.

Need to check out the roads south of La Rumorosa.
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tommy750
tommy750
Posts: 1036


9/17/2021
tommy750
tommy750
Posts: 1036
Buford wrote:
Nice trip report. The only thing missing for a full Baja beach experience is noseeums.

Buford, you're a truly experienced Baja Traveler! My wife took a nap on the beach and got obliterated by noseeums or sand fleas or whatever they are. We were searching farmacias on the way back for creams etc. Read her your post and she started laughing.
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tommy750
tommy750
Posts: 1036


9/21/2021
tommy750
tommy750
Posts: 1036
tekewin wrote:
What a wild trip! Assaulted by all kinds of wild life on the beach. Love the truck BTW. It looks loaded and ready for anything.

Took a stock Tundra and added KO2s, rock sliders, gas tank skid plate, a low bed rack for the lightweight RTT that's nearly below the roofline and a lightweight awning with adjustable height to keep it low while driving. No lifts, no racks on the cab or heavy stuff up high---all that makes me nervous driving on winding narrow roads. Saw lots of top heaving vehicles that looked roll over ready.
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tommy750
tommy750
Posts: 1036


9/22/2021
tommy750
tommy750
Posts: 1036
Rocko1 wrote:
Any worry of pirates down there?

Was thinking of the Gulf of Mexico where there's lots of piracy but just saw this: https://maritime-executive.com/article/sea-shepherd-vessel-attacked-again-in-gulf-of-california
Kinda disappointing. Ziphius, you have any info on these attacks?
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