Altar Desert Adventure

Los Pinacates, Puerto Penasco, El Gulfo, Altar Dunes and Guadalupe Canyon

20070217 to 20070224

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Sunrise over the Sea of Cortez illuminates sea birds on the hunt.
Canon 1DsM2, 300mm, 1/320 at f/6.3 ISO 100. All photos copyright, Bill Caid 2007. All rights reserved.

A Wonderful Trip with Closure

Northwestern Sonora in Mexico is one of the largest remaining remote areas south of Canada.  This area is hard core desert, cruel in the summer and unforgiving of mistakes.  Four wheel drive clubs in the southwest have been making crossings of the Altar Dunes from Sonoyta and San Luis del Colorado for many years.  This vast area offers one of the last remaining true adventures within easy driving distance from the US.  This group has done this trip in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 with nearly the same crew, so we had good knowledge of the rigors that faced us.  Indeed, the Altar is a test of man and machine as well as your logistical planning skills. 

Go directly to the Trip

The Team

The away team for this trip consisted of 5 vehicles, all (reasonably) seasoned travelers:

  • Bill and Kathleen from San Diego, CA and brother-in-law Larry from Tucson in Bill's Unimog 1300L
  • Kai from San Diego, CA and Matt and Nancy from La Crecenta in Kai's Unimog 416
  • Dan from Indiana and his buddy Robert from Fairbanks, AK in Dan's Unimog 1550L
  • Mark and Mike from San Diego and father Ron from Castle Rock, CO in Mark's Unimog 1300L
  • Roberto from San Diego and his buddy Xavier from Guadalajara, MX in Roberto's 1450

The Trip

Our trip to Mexico involved 8 days and around 500 miles of travel. During this trip we would see a lot of Mexican Hwy 2 that generally parallels the US border. The plan was to cross the border at Mexicali then drive east on Hwy 2 to the northern entrance of Los Pinacates, then travel south to Puerto Penasco. From Puerto, we would head west along the Sea of Cortez to the salt mines, then north through the dunes. Upon exit from the dunes, we would head west on Hwy 2 to Laguna Salada, then south to Guadalupe Canyon. From Guadalupe, we would return to the U.S. on Hwy 2 and cross the border at Tecate.

This trip would be somewhat different for several reasons. First, my best friend Kai's elderly father passed away the week before the trip, greatly complicating planning, preparation and trip logistics. As a consequence of the death, Kai decided to spread his father's ashes on the beach in Mexico so we modified our agenda accordingly. Because of the death, we would have to split up the team and then meet at a pre-determined point mid-way into the trip. Second, we planned to visit Los Pinacates to see the volcanic craters as well as making a short side trip to the hot springs at Guadalupe Canyon.

Several days of high winds notwithstanding, we had a great trip.

Geography of the Altar Desert

The area traversed is hard core desert; massive dunes that go for hundreds of miles.  This consists of alternating desert scrub (AKA "tundra") and big, razor-back dunes.  Some of the dunes are over 500 feet high and are composed of very soft sand the consistency of flour. Figure 1 shows a satellite photo of the entire Baja peninsula.  Figure 2 below shows a zoom of the area of operations for this trip.  True north in these photos is about 30 degrees to the right of the left border. 

In Figure 1, San Diego bay is just below the top edge on the left.  The large lake is the Salton Sea.  Farmed areas are shown in darker colors. 

Figure 1. Satellite Photo of Baja and Northwest Sonora, Mexico.

In Figure 2, the large dunes are evident and can be seen as forming a set that roughly parallel the coast to the south.  The first destination was the east side of the Los Pinacates region which is the dark brown area at the right of Figure 2. We would end up at Guadalupe Canyon which is the northern-most large canyon area on the mountain front on the left of Figure 2.

Figure 2.  Zoom Photograph of Area of Interest.

Trip Details

Maps of the Area

Figure 3 below shows an overlay of our way points on the satellite photo. This figure has way points from several trips, but this will give you an idea of the area that was traversed by the team. In the top right of the photo is the global view of Baja for a better perspective.

Figure 3.  Zoom Photo of the Altar Desert with
Ozi Explorer overlay of way points on satellite photo
.

Links to Daily Adventures
Day Date Adventure
1
20070217
San Diego to Los Pinacates
2
20070218
Los Pinacates to Puerto Penasco
3
20070219
Puerto Penasco to Beach Camp (Campo Rogelio)
4
20070220
Beach Camp to El Gulfo and Dune Camp 1
5
20070221
Dune Camp Down Day
6
20070222
Dune Camp 1 to Dune Camp 2
7
20070223
Dune Camp 2 to Guadalupe Canyon
8
20070224
Guadalupe Canyon to the United States

 

Conclusion

The only checkpoints we encountered this trip was manned by the Mexican Army looking for drugs and weapons.  Also, we encountered an Army patrol out on Laguna Salada. They did want to look inside several vehicles. There were no problems encountered and all the personnel were amiable. It is a law within Mexico that all vehicles (particularly those owned by foreigners) have liability insurance for their automobiles.  You will also have to have valid registration and plates for your vehicle. 

El Gulfo is a very small town; it is primarily a fishing village, but does cater to tourists, particularly Gringos around Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.  There is a Pemex station, and it might have gas and diesel.  I say "might", because in Mexico, if the fuel truck does not show up for what ever reason, then there will be no gas or diesel.   On this trip, the Pemex station was under repair due to leaking tanks and therefore the next diesel would me available in a month or so depending on the motivation of the workers. El Gulfo has a store and ice is available along with plenty of fresh fish, shrimp, clams and sometimes other shellfish. Water is in short supply, but can be purchased at the town OXXO store. There are several RV parks in town and several "hotels".  The quotes are used here since one of the selling features of the hotel is that it has indoor plumbing.

The locals make their living as fishermen and good seafood is available at all times.  The best restaurant in El Gulfo is the El Delfin and has excellent food although modest accommodations (they did, however, have hot water in the washroom and fully functional toilets). 

Traveler's Advice

Having made many trips into Mexico, every one is different and this one was no exception.  Preparation and planning are critical for both having a good time as well as returning with your vehicle and person intact.  Many obstacles exist on the roads in Mexico.  I cannot count the number of flats that I have had, but I can say that there have been multiple occasions when I have had 2 flats at the same time.  So, you need to be prepared to change flats yourself.  Even if you were in an area where there was cell phone service, and that is rare, the auto club will offer no help.  And, as we learned, your cell phone may not work in Mexico.  Be self sufficient.  And be cautious.  Roads and bridges are narrow.  Cattle and other livestock are on the road.  Locals may drive vehicles without brake lights, or in some cases headlights, at night.

You will need liability insurance when you cross the border.  It is not expensive, but the cost of not having it if you are in an accident will be very expensive.  They will toss you in jail and the final outcome will be dependent on how much money you are willing to throw at the problem.  Independent of insurance, accidents are best avoided, so drive within the limits of your skill and the conditions on the road.  Seems like simple advice, but having been there many times, sometimes simple advice is not simple.

One final note: you will need both a Plan B and an evacuation contingency should someone get sick or injured.  Depending on the specific location, you may have extreme difficulty in establishing contact with the US with either land lines or cell phones.  Our cell phones, while electronically functional, had spotty coverage and the specific capabilities of your phone and service plan will determine whether you are able to make a call.  Should you expect that there might be issues during your trip, you should add Mexico to your calling plan or rent a satellite phone.  Otherwise, you may be unpleasantly surprised should you need to communicate.

Miscellaneous Information

Although our crossing was made in February, it was warm to  hot during the day.  Typically, the evenings can be cold, so come prepared.  Rain is not out of the question, and it did rain on us on one of the days.  Wind is highly likely, so protection from blowing sand, including goggles, is a requirement.  We had very high winds and it made life miserable. And, should the wind come, having a fallback for cooking and sleeping is a good idea.  High wind and blowing dust will put the chingas to any BBQ and will make a task as simple as boiling water a challenge.

Firearms are prohibited in Mexico.  Handguns, in particular, are frowned upon.  If you are caught with one in your possession, you will go directly to jail.  There is a very high likelihood that you will be unable to "buy" your way out of the situation no matter how much money you have with you, so this situation is better avoided.  While lack of a firearm in the wilderness will place you at somewhat of a disadvantage should trouble arise, the penalty for possession is so harsh that it is not worth the risk.  Northern Sonora and Baja are area of operations known to be used by drug smugglers.  However, open desert crossings are not the preferred route, so the chance of encountering anyone is pretty remote. Although, we have had the Army follow us into the dunes.  The Mexican Army does patrol both the north end and the sea-side of the desert as well as the dry lake beds and if they stop you, they will most likely do a thorough search of the vehicle.  They pose no threat to honest Gringos that do not break the laws of their country. 

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Copyright Bill Caid 2007