King of the Hammers to Baja in a Badlands

[Big50]

I had been looking forward to this trip for a while. It was a big one. The plan was to go head down from the Bay Area to spend 4 days at King of the Hammers with the wife and a bunch of friends. I would then continue south to Baja Mexico. The goal in Baja was to reach remote Mission ruins that had been part of the original El Camino Real.

The adventure begins…

I decided to tow the Bronco down with my chase setup since we were camping for 4 days. With all the firewood, camping gear, water, food etc…it would have been tough to fit it all in the Bronco.

We left on Thursday with the hopes of getting to Johnson Valley before sundown but we fell behind schedule leaving. We decided to grab a hotel room in Barstow and just head out to Hammertown early Friday morning.

It worked out pretty well and had only a few rigs ahead of us to get into Hammertown around 9am. The lines were pretty insane Friday night. Saturday was even worse. The line was backed up 3 miles all the way to the highway!

My wife had never been to KOH so I took her straight to Hammertown after blocking off our campsite.

His and her Jeeps lol

I loved this chase/overland rig

I should have taken more pictures as there were so many cool rigs but those stood out to me the most.

We then headed over to Chocolate Thunder. This was the first time I’d had the Bronco in the dirt. Right away I was really impressed with how it did in the fast paced desert terrain. It’s not as fast as a Raptor by any means but it was way smoother than I anticipated.

After cruising around we headed back to camp. By the time we got back our camp was beginning to fill out.

@EXO Bronco (Matt) showed up right in time for Golden hour so of course we had to take some glamor shots haha

You can notice the height difference between Matt’s Bronco and mine. I’m stock height and he’s on a 3” Icon lift and 37’s.

Saturday we headed over to Soggy Dry Lake Bed to run a fun trail back into Hammertown. Again the Bronco impressed me in the open desert. It’s just plain fun…especially in the sand!

We got to see our buddies' long travel prerunners rip around which was pretty rad.

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[Big50]

Sunday we cruised out to watch the Trophy Truck race. The course was pretty rough this year as a majority of the field didn’t finish 2 laps let alone finish.

Little IG reel I made captures the madness of the weekend lol

Monday we packed up and headed for Matt’s house to stash the chase truck. Along the way, I dropped the wife off at the airport so she could get back to the kids and work. Darn responsibilities getting in the way!

After spending 4 days tent camping in the dusty conditions at KOH, I don’t think I’ve ever taken a more refreshing shower lol.

Tuesday we rolled out from Matt’s place around one for our buddy Gordon’s house. He recently retired to Rosarito Baja and has a pretty sweet place.

We went out to dinner at Puerto Nuevo. I have been wanting to go there for years. The area is famous for their lobster dinners. It did not disappoint!

Wednesday we set out for Catavina. Most of the day was spent on pavement but we made a few detours. We ran one of our favorite sections in Baja. It’s 20 miles straight of beach side running. I don’t think you can find that anywhere in the states now.

We also went to check out some giant El Cardon Cactus. They are only found in a certain latitude on the Baja Peninsula and the Sonoran desert on Mainland Mexico. They are the largest cactus in the world.

As we headed out we came across a fun silt bed…it was a lot of fun blasting through it. This is a still from the video. (we should have the youtube video of the trip done soon)

We pushed further south for Catavina and got in around 7pm and enjoyed a nice meal at the restaurant.

Thursday was THE big day! We were finally going to check out abandoned ruins of a mission that was originally built in 1767. It’s found at the end of one of the toughest 4x4 roads in Baja. There is also an Oasis nearby. I’ve been wanting to check this place out for years but the trail isn’t something a Raptor can tackle. So what better way to break in the Bronco and see what it can do?!?

To be continued.....

 

[Big50]

We got our day started with a quick 5 gallon splash of fuel at the local gas station haha.

This area of Baja is one of the most remote areas with no official gas station. Locals make the 100 mile drive to fill up fuel barrels and sell it roadside for about a 40% markup. It’s expensive but well worth it when you need the gas!

After topping off on fuel we hit the trail. The trail started out pretty fast paced and opened up into a beautiful wash.

From there we began climbing in elevation until we reached the “Baja divide” which was pretty cool. We could see the beautiful Sea of Cortez.

We began descending, as we did the trail quickly got more technical. It was pretty cool to put the front sway-bar disconnect to use as we made our way down.

My setup was at stock ride height (SAS package) with 35” tires and after a while I began to become a little envious of Matt’s suspension and tire setup. While I was able to make my way down the trail with no major issues, I definitely had to be a little more careful picking my lines to avoid bottoming out on some sections. Matt installed a 3” icon lift along with Gladiator 37’s just before the trip and he was able to barrel over a lot of the obstacles I had to be careful of. The additional 4” of increased ride height really shined through.

We finally reached the last big obstacle, which was a steep hill with lots of boulders. We got out and walked it to find the right line. It ended up not being that bad but at first glance it looked pretty intense haha. Definitely some good rocks to take out a differential.

Once we cleared the descent it was pretty smooth sailing. There were a few obstacles but they didn’t seem like much compared to earlier sections.

We finally reached the ruins of the abandoned mission. The area was beautiful! Palm trees everywhere and a small stream running through.

After scarfing down lunch, I was set to continue on to the Oasis. One of our friends, Allan, informed me it was quite a bit further than I had anticipated. I’d planned on a 15 to 20 minute hike but he explained it was close to an hour each way. I was skeptical so I decided to put my drone up to see how close it was. After flying it at max range with no oasis in sight, I was forced to give up. It was already 1pm and we simply did not have the time to make the hike and make our way back up the trail and on to San Quintin where we planned to stay for the night.

I am still pretty disappointed about not reaching the oasis but it gives me an excuse to go back. I plan to bring camping gear and spend the night next time.

We began making our way back the way we came. It seemed much easier making our way out. I tend to like going up obstacles vs going down them.

After reaching the highway, we pointed our Broncos for the Old Mill in San Quintin. The Old Mill is one of our favorite spots in Baja. It is a hotel and restaurant run by a man named Javier. Javier is one of the best chefs in all of Baja.

Once we reached the Old Mill, we enjoyed a celebratory toast and sat down for an amazing meal. I went with Lobster and ship pesto pasta. It was pretty amazing!

Video$$$$$$$$$$

Friday we got an early start and were on the trail by 7:30am as we worked our way north along the coast.

Matt having a little fun driving his Bronco like a Raptor.

We eventually turned inland and begun making our way up to Mike’s Sky Rancho. Mike’s is pretty famous in the Baja off-road community. It is also part of the Baja 1000 race course. The place was originally built as a hunting lodge but has become a go to destination for Baja off-roaders.

The trail up is a nice mix of everything. It starts pretty fast paced and progresses into a more technical trail. I’ve done it with a Raptor and it’s a bit nerve racking picking your way through some of the sections. The Broncos made pretty easy work of the trail.

After reaching Mike’s we enjoyed celebratory cerveza before making our way down to Valle De Trinidad.

We had some fun mobbing through the creek as we left Mike’s. Something about a creek crossing that makes you feel like a kid lol.

We grabbed a quick lunch in Valle T and then said our goodbyes. Another epic Baja adventure in the books. Can’t wait to go back for more!

 

[Big50]

Here’s a video we put together from our Baja part of the trip.

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