Rain on Laguna Seca del Diablo
One of Rod Kunz's better trips was an expedition from El Condor to Mike's Sky Ranch, then to San Felipe via the back roads along San Matias wash and Laguna Seca del Diablo. We planned to spend the night in a motel in San Felipe, then back to Mike's for another night. From Mike's, we would head back to El Condor via Laguna Hanson and the dirts roads through the mountains. The way the trip was planned, we woud stay each night at a "civilized" location. The first night would be at Mike's, the second at a motel in San Felipe, the third back at Mike's, then back to the US. This would allow us the general comforts of home without the logistical hassles of packing food and camping gear. Since this was a long trip, it was sure to be interesting, if nothing else. Despite my experiences with the Scout, I did not anticipate how rigorous the trip would be or the damage that we would incur.
I have always tried to follow the Boy Scout's motto: Be prepared. When the itinerary for the trip was discussed, I was somewhat skeptical about being able to make the objectives each nite. So, being basically paranoid, I decided to bring "extra" stuff including cots and sleeping bags. This way, if the situation went south, we would not have to suffer too much.
The group for this trip was 4 trucks, my two 3 wheelers and 4 motorcycles. The plan was to truck the toys to El Condor, unload and then hit the trail. As before, we would pay the ranchero at El Condor to watch our stuff. The trucks would carry the suppor equipment for the bikes and quads while on the trail. The only rough spot in the planning was that there were several segments of the trip that were on the paved highway and that would require re-loading the 3 wheelers back onto the truck for that portion of the trip. The bikes could handle the highway with ease, but not the 3 wheelers.
Day 1: El Condor to Mike's Sky Ranch
Day 3: An Uncomfortable Night in the Desert
Despite what could have been some pretty close calls, there was only one lesson to be learned from this trip. The same lesson that should have been burned into by brain by other visits to Baja and that is expect the unexpected. If we had some additional camping gear with us when we had the double flats, it would have been much more comfortable. Forethought counts. I had been smart enough to bring extra food, but nothing to cook it in. Duh. I can assure you that problem never happened again and it never will.