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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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Topic Author's Original Post - Mar 2, 2013 - 07:45pm PT
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so we're in Los Barilles, the free camping is down in the Arroyo, and a guy is adjusting the valves on his VW Bus. I stop to drink a beer and bullshit like all good shade tree mechanics should.
With a beer comes a story, and his went something like this: He was going home and sunofabitch, but he wasn't paying attention on the turn, and don't you know he rolled it. Well, he wasn't hurt but the van was fukced. While salvaging gear, and whatever shreds of dignity there were laying around, another VW bus pulls up. Dude is going home to the states, but he's on his way NOW.
What to do?
What would you do?
Same as him, five minutes later, necessities are packed and the bus is left in the ditch, in that past we all have, left behind for whoever steps up to the plate.
But he was riding home and into the future.
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bajaandy
climber
Escondido, CA
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Broke a valve spring out on the Seven Sisters coast. Number three was effectively dead. Wound up at Tres Alejandro's camp, and as luck would have it, Alejandro Numero Dos was on his way to Guerrero Negro the next day. Said he'd stop at the yard and see if he could get a spring for me.
The day after he's back, and sure enough... valve spring in hand. A little Yankee ingenuity ensued: Some cord was threaded through the spark plug hole and the piston cranked up to TDC to hold the valve in place. Meanwhile, with the rocker arms removed, two friends with screwdrivers pushed like mad men to compress the valve spring while I gently slipped the retainers over the valve stem. A false move here would mean that the retainers would be launched out into the desert like pieces of shrapnel if the spring suddenly decompressed. All went well,the operation was a success. The rocker arms were bolted back on and adjusted, she fired right up and ran well for the rest of the trip.
It was all good. There were waves, so we weren't too concerned.
But the best part about it was the cost of the fresh lobster for dinner... I had brought along a few extra pair of brand new leather work gloves, you know, just in case. Three pair of gloves, three fresh bugs for dinner.
Ahhhhh... Baja.
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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 2, 2013 - 08:11pm PT
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in Los Frailes it was a deck of cards or an old Playboy for a fresh fish.
"....ahh Baja!" is right.
Tell me that place won't park itself in your bones
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MisterE
Social climber
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Skip's dad has a place at Gonzaga Bay we have been to a few times.
Taken this out a few times:
Found this once Dune-buggyin' around, definitely an FA:
On the same boulder:
Lots of fishing:
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tiki-jer
Trad climber
fresno/clovis
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Red thing is SheepHead right?
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Mr Roy
climber
Seattle
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edit: those guys played surfer music, they were killer..
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MisterE
Social climber
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Tiki-Jer, the wife says that in all of her years, she has never heard of anyone catching a SheepHead. Maybe some kind of Parrot Fish? Not sure.
Edit for Warbler vv: she said, in Gonzaga - sorry. Sea of Cortez side.
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justthemaid
climber
Jim Henson's Basement
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My parents have been taking me down there since I was born and still have a place down on the Cortez side.
@Warbler.. Mr.E edited the part of my comment that he left out. The fish in that picture were caught in Gonzaga Bay. What I said was that I've never seen a sheephead in Gonzaga and it was likely a type of parrot fish. Of course they (sheepheads) are common catch elsewhere.. usually more on the Pacific side.
View of the Sea of Cortez from the top of Willard Island.
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bajaandy
climber
Escondido, CA
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Just a few from some past trips.
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
bouldering
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I did the ferry from Mazatlan to LaPaz, then a 21 hour bus ride to Tijuana.
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bob
climber
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Mr. E the fish is a type of Wrasse. Its a male "Hogfish". Colorful little buggers and the males can get quite big. There are probably different types of those too. Lost a lot of rapalas to those things. Ugh. :( No more. Feather jigs now. Oh and a bit of Megabait tossers.
The male Hogs get funky heads during mating , etc. The females (not in the picture.. Those are spotted sand bass or the all too lumped together "cabrilla" if you will, like all locals call them). I catch those "bass" over cobbles a lot. Down near San Bruno they got BIG for that fish.
I believe Parrot fish are in the Wrasse family too, but they eat corals or hard cnidarians, mollusks, etc. Its why parrots don't get caught on lures..... much. Now Hawaiian slings on the other hand....... Have to love common names for fish.
Ah Bahia San Luis Gonzaga. Very nice place. I've started two 3 month paddles up in Puertocitos/San Felipe and paddled down to La Paz both times. Lots of fishing the whole way. Have to put the pole away to make mileage! I've basically trolled the entire eastern coast of Baja.
Gonzaga and the 80 mile stretch south of there is roadless love for a kayaker and you can yank Yellowtail in from deep water without losing them in the rocks. YEEEAAHHHH! Paddled out to schools of Blackfin Tuna and would throw a 2 ounce mak finish megabait and hold on for the 15 minute ride. FUN!!!!!!!!!!!! Caught a 10 pound Corvina from shore at Calamajue.......... oops I'm getting all psyched here. Blah blah. You all know this. You spend time there!!! Ugh.
Oh, and if you get the tide right, there is a standing wave to surf just south of Punta Final at an opening to a cove, Catch fish while your buddy surfs then trade out. Fun fun.
And big tides + wind against tide = awesome yet raucous standing wave pretty much from halfway out across to Isla San Luis to its SE tip. That sand spit makes a standing whitewater maelstom/fun for the right folks............
And after a Norte blows for days that southern bay down near San Fracisquito breaks! Longboard and even a shorter one with good conditions. Real surfing.
Have fun down south.
Go Baja!
Bob Jensen
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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 3, 2013 - 10:19am PT
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Louis is a French Canadian guy we brought down to Baja with us in 1989.
He was from Quebec and he was learning English on his own "Hello- I am Louis. I am fine."
Louis rode a motorcycle with a trailer and a windsurfer strapped on it from Quebec to Texas in late November. Snowstorm during rush hour in Nashville was tough he said.
He would get excited about anything and he would start to run to wherever he was going: swimming, fishing, sailing, anything. The inner child never was too far from the surface.
He loved to fish. "Oh yes- I love to fish". At Pulmo, he broke his fishing rod so he would hide behind rocks underwater and catch fish with his hands.
His van breaks down on the mainland-this family picks him up at the side of the road, essentially adopts him and lets him stay at their house while the repairs are being done. Their daughter's wedding is happening that week, and Louis has the only camera in the entire village, so he shoots the wedding. He becomes the most welcome guy ever.
He kept on going down south and he is a legend in some circles- This will be his 23rd winter in Baja.
A very, sincere, totally honest (as in "yes I am very Ha-nest"), complete innocent, and about the toughest hard man I ever met. A very positive and inspirational person- hard to describe it but he really personifies "loving life".
Mostly you'll find him from Cabo Pulmo to La Ventana at various WIndsurfing areas. Hope you get a chance to run into him some day.
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bob
climber
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Choss choss choss. Not my cup of tea, but I'm sure it could suit somebody? The best I have seen from what my eyes look for was over the water bouldering north of Santa Rosalia by about 30 miles if I remember correctly. Near the Three Virgins. It seemed a well worn stretch of dark rock with overhangs and such. Not a lot of barnacles etc. I would have done some bouldering if I was with someone. The diving under there looked sick as well. I was eating lunch and paddling 40 miles that day. No play for me.
I've bouldered a bunch when the beach and rock permitted. Mostly choss and more just a novelty if I use that term correctly. South of La Paz I did some cool granite bouldering along the beaches as I headed down to La Ventana.
Looking up in the Lagunas from the Pacific side seems to reveal a ton of granite. I think Ed Abby found that place to be one of his favorites.
Lets see?????? I've seen some good desert mountaineering adventures to be had close to the Sea's edge, not far from camp. Not Diablo style, but more volcanic funk ridges and such where Chaco's would suffice and five tennies would seem ultra luxurious. I'm sure there's climbable rock along and close to that coast, but I'm always focusing on right where the desert meets the sea and the islands.
Then get picked up by surf buddies and carve our way by road camp after road camp, ride after ride back to the states. Good memories.
Then I climb when I return.
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frank wyman
Mountain climber
montana
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Mr Warbler, I wanted to thank you for your advice on my upcoming trip to Cabo area, Leave 6:00 am on the 4th, Wrote some of your sugguestions down..Again...thanks...Frank
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bob
climber
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I believe those are called the Emerald Cliffs, yeah Warbler? They are the north end of Bahia de La Paz and north a ways. If so then I've seen them. CHOSS.
You know come to think of it I saw quite a bit of granite out on Isla San Jose across the way there. I did some over the water bouldering. Overhanging and fun, but barnacle filled where best. Dive gloves. Some beach granite as I recall as well.
Snorkeled in a huge school of Sardines out on the northern tip of Isla San Jose in about 5 to 15 feet of CLEAR water. We would swim under the school and watch as pelicans exploded down through the fish. It was surreal. Amazing. So much amazing stuff down there!
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bob
climber
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I haven't heard that to my knowledge. Really good one.
You know, I haven't been down there to that area in 9 years. Damn has it been that long? Well the Sea side at least. I would like to do the East coast of Baja in a kayak again, but its hard to imagine me doing it for third time. It would be cool to do it with the eye for climbing adventure the whole way.
I would probably just surf next time down. Its becoming more of a thing for me.
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hossjulia
Trad climber
Where the Hoback and the mighty Snake River meet
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Rocker Mike, you didn't! Every time I see a bicyclist in Baja, I wonder if they will ever make it home.
Spent a fair amount of time in Baja when I was in my "formidable" years. My Dad was into desert racing and ran the Tecate to Ensenada a few times. I think he came in top 3 one year, maybe top bike. Anyway, he tried the 500 one year and decided that was too much. So the next few years, we pitted and crewed for friends in the 500 and 1,000. Memories of crazy lights, high pitched engines and dust swirling in the dark at the overnight pit stops. My job was water girl. Get the races to down as much water as I could convince them too. Also cigarette roller and lighter. (Yup, 10 years old, dad taught me some gud survival skills, eh?)
Our last year down there we helped organize (I saw "we" because back then this was still almost all privateers, and we mailed entries and such. I got to lick envelopes. It really was a family affair at the time.)the 1,000. We pre ran the course over a period of 2 weeks, a family of four in a 2 wheel drive Datsun truck. Can't hardly believe we did that trip, and I was so sun sick for the last half of it I remember nothing of Baja Sur. We had to repair roads twice, and both times, men just kinda came out of the desert with the right tools. My Dad would pay them in $10's & $20's, and beer. 1st repair job came just south of Portracitas (sp). Took most of the day, when we were done, the men gave my dad directions to the coolest camping spot ever, at the back of a small box canyon with a hot springs. Women washing clothes, kids running around and swimming, that is my memory of Baja, camping at a hot springs with the locals. And cheap lobster in San Felipe, lots of trigger fish to eat, dust, sun, ocean, tide pools to spend time over. That's how I burned my back so bad. Sick, sick, sick. Mexican woman brought my mom a gallon of vinegar. Again, just out of the blue, she took one look at my back and was back in 30 minutes with the vinegar. Memories are like a rambling lane, eventually I get there. ;->
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