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Sea of Cortez - Baja - Mexico
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Got the Winter blues? Come on down south and paddle with us along this sunny Mexican coast line. The first grueling section, for experienced paddlers, takes us from San Felipe to Loreto. The second section, which is more convenient for people to fly into, is from Loreto to Cabo San Lucas. Both sections should present a warm hospitable coastline with prevailing strong to very strong tailwinds.
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Human Requirements: Both sections of this trip are considered difficult, but section I from San Felipe is particularly demanding. Anyone contemplating either section has to realize that by launching, we put ourselves out of contact with civilization for fairly long periods of time. And as such, we all have to assume responsibility for unforeseen circumstances. If any of us becomes injured, the consequences are far greater than other parts of the world where easy communication, transportation, and medical aid are just a phone call away. This combination of isolation in a foreign country and various elements such as rough seas, high winds, and unrelenting sun require that anyone contemplating this trip be a pretty durable and unflappable individual. Probably even more important is your ability to fit into a group situation, where we travel, more or less together for a long time. For all of these reasons, we would prefer paddlers that have done trips with us before. You must be prepared to paddle long days ranging from 10 to 25 miles under less than ideal conditions. At any rate no one joins us on this trip until we have had a chance to talk to each other either in
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Equipment: Well folks …. There is a ton of stuff you need for a trip of this nature. Below is my listing of what I consider necessary. Got any other questions about all this stuff, feel free to call or write.
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Boat Let's start with the boat. A hard shelled boat is going to give you your best performance, durability, and storage. A folding boat will prove easier to deal with as far as the logistics of getting to our launch point and coming home once we get to either Loreto or Cabo. At any rate, the boat must be in excellent condition with either watertight compartments or in the case of a folding boats the use of a sea sock. Bring a cockpit cover to keep blowing sand out of your boat. Make sure you have a repair kit to fix a damaged hull. Rudders are really handy in Baja.
Safety Equipment. Everyone needs a personal first aid kit, spare paddle, paddle float, spare sun glasses, broad rimmed hat, and lip protection. Bring a tow rope in case I get tired. Don't expect to get much help in the way of rescues from passing yachts and such …. We pretty much got to rely on ourselves. Bring a paddle leash!
Water The ability to carry a lot of water is the single most important equipment requirement for this trip. You need to be able to carry 10 to 12 gallons of water to give us a reasonable chance of hitting another good source of water. Do not carry water in flimsy wine style plastic bags, as you really cannot afford to lose much of the precious stuff. I recommend using the durable 10 liter black bags made by MSR. Sue and I carry 4 a piece and find them quite easy to store.
Tents & Sleeping Bags. Rain is not the problem in Baja ….. But wind is …. And a lot of it at great velocities. So make sure you have a self standing model that can really take a beating. It is not going to be all that cold …. So a light weight bag will do the trick.
Cooking Equipment: The last time we paddled this coast line, we could not find any fuel cartridges so wound up using a stove that can burn either kerosene or white gas (Coleman Fuel). We may be able to refuel in Bay of Los Angles and Santa Rosalia. You can, of course, go with the little propane stoves, but will have to carry a lot of cartridges to last the whole trip.
Food: Be prepared to carry up to 2 weeks supply of food. After that, we'll be hitting small towns and villages to re-supply. The choices won't be great, but a calorie is a calorie.
Clothing: It is not likely to be all that cold on our journey down South, but I would certainly carry a good warm sweater and a pair of pants for those cool windy mornings and evening. What we will have is a lot of wind and sun and you best have very good protection for those. You want a nice wide brimmed hat (with tie-down cord) that gives good neck, ears, and face coverage. You want sun cream for your face, lips, and ears with a high PF rating. In spite of all this protective stuff, you'll look like cow dung by the time we get to Loreto. We won't get much rain, but we'll get enough to justify rain gear or at the least a good paddling jacket.
Other Things: A couple of books, head lamp, deck of cards, short wave radio, guitar, boom box ? We'll trade books so make sure you are not too intellectual in your reading matter.
Money: We are not going to have a lot of opportunity to spend any, but you want some anyway for buying food, staying at the occasional resort, getting home, etc.
Auto Insurance: For those of us driving across the boarder, you absolutely want to get Mexican Insurance just prior to crossing the border.
Snake Bite Kit: We'll probably see a few of the cute little fellars along the route.
Water Purification Pills/Gadgets: When we do find water at small villages, towns, etc. you may want to consider purifying your water.
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Passports, Visas, Etc. Each of us will be required to have a valid Passport and we will also be required to obtain a Mexican Tourist Card. If you do not have a passport, apply for one right away as it takes a bit of time to get one. The Mexican Tourist Card should be easily obtained at the border as soon as we produce our Passports.
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Our Charges and What You Get: We are charging $50 for each leg of the trip. This helps to defray the cost of planning the trip, getting the paddlers together, and reimbursing us for the various expenses involved in getting a small expedition like this together.
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Other Expenses: Your major expense beyond buying food along the way concerns the logistics of getting vehicles, boats, and people from San Diego to both San Felipe and Loreto and back. Be prepared to reimburse whoever drives vehicles down to Loreto and their expense for getting back to San Felipe. (See Itinerary below.)
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Maps and Guidebooks: You want to get your hands on the following set of maps that are organized in an easy to use booklet form. These maps are available directly from the publisher or from S. California kayak and boat shops.
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Baja Almanac Publishers
4535 W. Sahara #105
Las Vegas, NV 89102
Email: staff@bajaalmanac.com
Web Site: www.baja.almanac.com
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Baja Alamanac (North) $12.50
Baja Almanac (South) $12.50
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For a general use guidebook, I recommend that you get a hold of a copy of "Baja California" by Lonely Planet Publications. You can get this through most book stores or from Adventurous Traveler Bookstore listed on the Details page of our web site.
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Folding Boat Option: Another option for anyone wanting to avoid the complications of vehicle and kayak shuffling back and forth is to rent a Feathercraft K1 folding boat. These are available from the following outfitter for about $20 per day. They ship to your location by UPS.
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Folding Kayak Adventures
PO Box 51008
Seattle, WA 98115
1-800-586-9318
Email: lyle@foldingkayak.com
Web Site: www.FoldingKayak.com
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Baja I
San Felipe to Loreto
Jan. 20 - Feb. 28, 2000 (523 Mi.)
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Jan. 20 (Thurs.) Assemble in San Diego. Meet at Bob Rudds house in San Diego at 6:00 p.m.. Bob and Karen live at 4056 Terrace Ct. in San Diego. Phone: 619-282-7921. Bob has floor space for all of us to stay for the night. You should have all you supplies and equipment ready in advance.
Jan. 21 ( Friday) Drive to San Felipe. (Approx. 200 Miles) If we have not already done so, we'll make sure we have plenty of Mexican Pesos before heading for San Felipe. Once there, we will set up our camp at an RV park located a few miles south of town.
Jan. 22 -23 (Sat. & Sun.) Vehicles to Loreto. Hopefully, we will have sorted out who is going to drive their vehicles to Loreto for storage until we eventually arrive down there by kayak. Bob Rudd recommends using "Loreto Shores Campground" for vehicle storage. We will talk over who is going to go down to Loreto prior to meeting in San Diego.
Jan. 24-25 (Mon & Tues.) Bus to San Felipe. Our intrepid drivers return by Mexican Greyhound by going to Ensenada and then catching another bus to San Felipe. Another option is to fly from Loreto to Los Angeles with Aero California and then catching public transportation to San Felipe.
Jan. 26 (Wed.) Away All Boats. If by some miracle we are altogether, we'll start our journey south.
Jan. 27 - Feb. 28th Paddle to Loreto Major ports of call along the way and estimated miles to these places are indicated in the box below. Various levels of supply are available at each place.
Feb. 29 - (Tues.) Return home. For those with hard shell boats, vehicles should still be parked in Loreto to carry you and your stuff home. For those of you with folding kayaks, you can catch an Aero California flight back to Los Angeles or hop on one of the many buses heading to Tijuana. Sue and I will be continuing on to Cabo San Lucas.
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Baja II
Loreto to Cabo San Lucas
Feb. 29- Mar 28, 2000 (383 Miles)
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Feb. 29 - (Tues.) Assembly Day. We'll meet any individuals that are doing this leg of the journey with us at Loreto Shores campground in Loreto. If you are flying in, I assume you will have your kayak as part of your luggage. If you have driven down, then you can park your vehicle at the campground.
Mar 1 - 27 Paddle to Cabo San Lucas. Below is listed the logical re-supply points for us on our way to Cabo. We may have to apply for permits to paddle the area around Loreto as it is a designated Marine National Park.
Mar 28 (Tues.) Head for home.
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