Solo through Baja's Backcountry | 16 days of Adventure to the tip and back.

Описание: In this video I enter Baja California at Tecate and head south using a combination of paved and unpaved routes criss-crossing the peninsula before eventually reaching Cabo San Lucas in Baja California Sur. Once I made it to the tip I started back north. Again using a combination of paved and unpaved routes, trying to avoid repeating routes. The total journey border to border was about 2650 miles. I left Mexico through Sonora at San Luis Colorado. If headed back to Tecate instead you'll be traversing Mexico Highway 2 through the Sierra Juarez mountain range, which should be a nice [paved] drive itself.

I spent 16 days in Mexico, with one full day off. While I found most of the route decent and navigable on my Husqvarna TR650, there was one section in particular that I was incapable of making it through. This was a section of Baja 1000 route west of Mike's Sky Ranch. This was the only major re-route I did on the trip. There were two other routes I did have to use alternate tracks, but it was known to me in advance that could be the case. I did end up skipping four other off-pavement segments due to time limitations of the day. In the end I did over 800 miles of unpaved riding and did spend about 50% of my time off highway.

I tried to camp wherever possible and practical to keep costs down, but I did spend 4 nights in "hotels." (Mike's Sky Ranch $115, Indie Park Mulege $50 - 2 nights, and in Cuidad Constitucion $43. I spent the remaining 13 nights camping, or the equivalent of camping. The night at Tecate and the Shipwreck by San Jacinto I did sleep in a house. The camping ranged from 100 pesos to 400 pesos, but mostly it was around 200 Pesos. MOST of the campgrounds I stayed at did have showers and even wifi. I think this has improved a lot in the past few years. I did not get a shower in Tecate (Rancho Alpino), San Quintin (Barra de Piedra Restaurante), or the night I wild camped. The Shipwreck campground where I stayed at the casita with the Americans did not have a shower either. The showers at Laguna San Ignacio are bucket showers. Puertecitos should have running water showers, but the plumbing was not done and it was only buckets at the time. I won't complain because everywhere had hot water.

The exchange rate when I visited was about $17.30 Pesos per USD. Typically the best way to get a good rate is to have a credit card with no international fees and pay businesses with that when possible, being sure to charge in MXN PESOS and not USD if their terminal asks. If you allow the card merchant to charge in USD there will be an extra fee at the point of purchase (sometimes 6%). You will need cash for some purchases. Many camping places only take cash. You may need to buy gas with cash, but most stations will take cards. Most grocery stores take cards, but some small random one may not. Many restaurants take cards, but a roadside taco stand may not. I had issues with my debit card at the ATM. I attribute this to it being a Discover Card (Capitol One recently bought Discover and switched to that network.). I would recommend taking a Visa or Mastercard if that's an option. My credit card is a Visa and it worked fine everywhere. In 2023 I took a Visa Debit card and had no issues. If you only have a Discover Card you may have to try a few ATMs to find one that works, and try even if the logo is not present. Also when using ATM if you are asked to make the withdraw in USD decline this. This again will involve an extra fee from the ATM company. Do the transaction in MXN Pesos. If you don't want to or cannot use the ATM you can take USD to a currency exchange place, but I typically find better rates by using the ATM, even with the fee. YMMV, check with your specific card issuer. I did take some USD as backup, but never used it. Some places will accept USD for payment, but the rate is usually the worst. I would not plan to pay for anything in USD.

Chapters:
0:00:00 Intro
0:01:20 Border Crossing at Tecate
0:07:15 Day 1 Tecate to Mike's Sky
0:24:49 Day 2 Mike's Sky to Skipwreck (San Jacinto)
0:47:40 Day 3 Ride to San Pedro Martir then San Quintin
1:03:45 Day 4 San Quintin to San Ignacio
1:19:45 Mission San Ignacio
1:21:17 Day 5 San Ignacio to Laguna
1:25:14 Whale watching Laguna San Ignacio
1:27:32 Day 6 Laguna San Ignacio to Mulege
1:48:03 Day 7 Mission at Mulege
1:50:00 Day 8 Mulege towards Loreto
2:08:03 Day 9 Get to Loreto then onto La Paz
2:20:50 Day 10 LaPaz to Cabo San Lucas
2:32:54 Boat Tour at Cabo
2:34:45 Day 11 Cabo back to La Paz
2:38:20 Day 12 La Paz to Ciudad Constitucion
2:50:50 Day 13 Cuidad Constitucion to San Ignacio
3:01:06 Day 14 San Ignacio to Bahia de los Angeles
3:17:59 Day 15 Bahia de los Angeles to Puertecitos
3:24:50 Day 16 Puertecitos back to the US Border
3:27:16 Border Crossing San Luis Rio Colorado
3:29:11 Trip recap discussion