Baja-Christian Polanco

Baja! There is so much meaning in just a single word. It is the land of fishing, racing, camping, beaches, wine, bars, party, Cabo, and of course, Tijuana. But these are just a few of the many things that come to mind when you think of Baja, California. There is so much diversity packed into a strand, a peninsula. One moment you can enjoy the snow in the mountains, then drive a few hours out and enjoy a bonfire at the beach.

One fateful afternoon my wife told me they might not approve her vacation days. So, I responded, “Quit, and then we can travel down south for a few days.” Little did we know that a few days would turn into three weeks. In trying to decide where to visit, our destinations started stacking up and so did our total days of travel. I think the most difficult part of going to Baja is never having enough time to see it all! The more you search, the more you fall in love.

After days of planning the destinations, we mapped out the best route. This time, we decided to utilize as many dirt roads as possible. We wanted to see more than just the basic tourist attractions. We planned to camp out with nothing but the stars and visit virgin beaches with no humans to be found for miles and miles. This route would have no hotels, cellphone reception, gas stations or grocery stores.

We had a plan, but I knew anything could happen. We could break down, get lost, or even fall in love with a spot and stay longer. Our plan was just a rough draft for our adventure. Meeting locals is half the fun. They know a lot of secret spots that can easily be missed. This was the case for about a quarter of the places I discovered while on this trip.

The day finally came when all the planning and preparing paid off. We woke up at five in the morning and started getting ready. With San Pedro Martir on our minds, we headed out. After a few hours of being on the road, we arrived at Mike’s Sky Ranch. After two hours of driving through a washed up and beaten trail, we decided to head back. Fast forward to 16 hours of driving, and we ended up in San Quintin. From there we headed down south to our next destination: An oasis.

There are many oases in Baja, California, from hot springs to a cold pool of water surrounded by palm trees. Some are easily accessible, while others are a few hours away from the main roads. No matter which one you choose, though, you’ll enjoy yourself! The problem was that my wife and I had our eyes set on one of

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the most difficult oases.

From the border town of Tijuana, the trip takes about 12 to 16 hours of driving, assuming your car makes it there in one piece. The town this oasis is closest to is called Cataviña. In case you ever decide to visit, make sure to fill up at El Rosario and bring a few extra gallons in a reservoir. There aren’t any gas stations for miles. Remember, you’re going to the middle of the desert, literally.

We arrived in Cataviña at about 11 at night, popped up our roof tent and called it a day. We woke up early in the morning and made breakfast. We reheated some frozen birria we brought back from Tijuana. From there, we met up with a local friend named Ian. I asked for his help because he mentioned that the trail was technical and not very forgiving.

About five miles from our campsite, we hit a dried-up riverbed. It was full of loose sand, so I decided to air down a few psi and turn on my 4HI. Though our journey was just starting, we felt that nature didn’t want to give access to just anyone. After a few miles of driving through the dried river, we finally got to a harder surface. Most of the trail ahead was fairly easy to drive through. A few technical sections, but nothing like what we were about to endure. After about an hour or two of driving, we got to a

mountain that let us enjoy an amazing view. We were right in the middle of the peninsula. We could see Bahia De Gonzaga and the highway. Sadly, the mountains blocked our view of the Pacific Ocean.

The best part was about to begin. After we enjoyed the view, we started heading down the mountain. I went from 4HI to 4LO. 4LO is commonly used for slow speed technical situations, such as rock crawling. The mountain was a bit steep, but that was the least of my worries. I knew that if I tipped over, I could possibly roll down the mountain, and that made me nervous. The trail quickly went from a slow rocky track to a steep slant with big holes.

Most of the ride from there on was at a slow and steady pace. There were a few sections with very sharp turns and 19-degree angles that had me clinging onto the truck. The whole time I had to keep a straight face, hoping not to show my wife how worried I was. Most of the off-road experience I had was with highspeed desert trails. This was completely out of my ballpark. Nevertheless, I was full of adrenaline and enjoying the rush of trying something new and extreme!

I remember I kept thinking to myself, don’t worry, you have skid plates. That’s what they’re for, after all. My buddy kept telling me that I should get thirty-threes just about every chance he could. “Thirtyfives are your best bet, but if you had at least thirty-threes, that would be perfect.” In all the trails I had been to, I was fine with being stock height and stock tire size. To this day, it was the only trail that has made me want to upgrade to larger sized tires. Luckily about 70 percent of my undercarriage was protected; even my shocks had skid plates. I had about eight inches of ground clearance, give or take an inch, with lower tire pressure and the weight I had in the bed. I think with about 10 inches of clearance, you should be just fine.

After about an hour of spotting and intense crawling, we got to the last tough section. My buddy told me to pull over and take a glance to decide to either go through with it or simply make camp and call it a day. The oasis was about a two-hour hike from camp. When I got off the truck and saw the last section, I didn’t hesitate to make my decision. It was clear I had to count my blessings and leave my truck behind. That final section was full of tire marks, scars left behind by other travelers. There was even an abandoned red Jeep Cherokee. My buddy told me it couldn’t make it up, so they just tossed it down the hill.

If I had to rate the difficulty of the trail, I would give it a seven of 10. You have to constantly switch from 4HI to 4LO at a few sections. A spotter isn’t necessarily needed all the time, but having one will save you any headaches and possible damage to your vehicle. As I stated before, having more than 10 inches of ground clearance would be enough to clear most of the trail. There are plenty of rocks along the way to give you more height if needed. 4WD is a must, as there are very steep hills that are slow and technical. Plowing through them is not an option because you could tip over and roll down the mountain.

I would recommend going for at least three days. The first and last for arrival and departure, and the second to enjoy the hike and oasis. There are ruins of an abandoned mission. You can enjoy the old missionary trail full of petroglyphs along the way. If you’re lucky, you can also find some arrowheads. It was an amazing experience, both off-road and enjoying nature. We were in the middle of the desert, underneath a sky full of stars, surrounded by friends!

Christian Polanco

@Baja a Descubrir

Baja a Descubrir

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