Baja Off-Road

I wake up at 5.20am and decide to keep going north despite the water situation (~0.5 l left now). First of all, I will likely meet more pre-runners in the desert who can help me out (I can see tire tracks in the sand), and second, my guide book mentions Cañon de Guadalupe, a palm fringed oasis with campgrounds, waterfalls, a restaurant and a store and shows a picture of a big Coke sign. It's around 25 miles north of me.

The road becomes a little bit more difficult, but still manageable. After around 10 miles I cross a dried-out river that I recognize on the map, just before the intersection where I'm supposed to turn right. The right turn is so inconspicuous that I don't even see it. After about a mile I can tell (from the sun) that something is wrong. So I go back and find the small road heading north. After around 2 miles it turns really bad, just loose sand where I have no traction at all. The back wheel just digs down when I accelerate and my speed is reduced to ~5 mph. I hit a sand bank and drop the bike. Fortunately, I can pick it up (which is good to know since I was unsure if it was too heavy or not to lift). I stop every 30 minutes to take a small sip of water. It's getting pretty hot (97F/36C later today) and I sweat a lot in the motorcycle gear.

After 4 more miles I come to an intersection which is NOT on my map. Both roads are about equal size. This has me a bit concerned. I pick the left one since it goes in the direction of the mountains where the oasis is. After 4 more miles I encounter another intersection, precisely 10.2 miles after the river like my map says. I'm exhilarated, I just need to take the side road for 6.5 miles to reach the oasis and coca cola! I sip down half of my remaining water right there. After 4 miles, the side road just comes to an end in a sandy pit. I drive around for about 20 minutes looking for where to go. There is nothing. And the mountain is still far away. Moreover, there are no tire tracks at all here which leads me to believe that I'm either on the wrong road, or that the oasis doesn't exist any more (the guide book is 11 years old).

I go back to the main road and find a tree under which I sit down to think about what to do. It's unclear if I have enough gas to go back, I've only gone 80 miles on the tank (20 highway, 60 desert) but a lot of it has been spinning in the sand in 1st or 2nd gear, and in addition I always leave the engine running when I take a rest (since sometimes the engine doesn't start and I have to roll it to a start which I can't do in the sand). On the other hand, if I am where I think I am, it's only 30 miles north until I reach highway 2. I turn on my cell phone but there's no reception. There's ~0.2 l water left. I decide to keep going north.

A few more miles north I reach a ghost town and the road splits into several minor roads. I turn off the engine and listen, but there is nothing. I drive around and hit the horn, over and over. Nothing. I feel exhausted from the heat and constantly having to balance the bike through the sand so I lie down under a tree to get some rest. I continue after 20 minutes, picking the road that leads mostly to what I think is north. After around 2 miles, the road is joined by another road and becomes much better. It looks promising! After 5 more miles I come to an abandoned ranch that is marked on the map! Yey ! The rest of the drive is easy. With about 6 miles to go I meet a car, the first people I've seen since I entered the desert. I finally reach the highway, after 97 miles and 20h (10h driving). There's a refresqueria at the side of the road where I gulp down 2 liters of water. "Are you thirsty?" the store owner asks. I haven't eaten anything (except a few handfulls of chips) in 24 hours so I celebrate with grilled rabbit at a roadside grill. Two hours later I come to Tecate where I spend the night at a hotel, literally 50 meters from the US border.

What I learned today:

Don't attempt to cross a desert with 0.7 l water.