Wrong turn...

 No, not on the bike, but changing the Blog platform instead.  You can follow along using this link instead:

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/BajaDivide2026

Thanks!

Walter

Here I go again..

Yes, I am soon off on another bikepacking adventure.  This time I will continue on going south of the border (US & Mexico), and head into the Baja peninsula.  The route that I plan to take is called the Baja Divide, so I am keeping on the theme of "Divides" after finishing the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route last summer.  This route is not as popular as the GDBMR for a few reasons.  It is a bit rougher in terms of riding conditions, more remote with less amenities, and in a non-English speaking country.  Still, it has a lot of nice things to look forward to including riding along the Pacific coast as well as the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California).  It still has plenty of hills and mountains for a total of almost 100,000 feet (30,000 M) of climbing.  This route (1,700 miles) is a bit more off-road than the GDMBR with lots of sandy, rocky, and hopefully not too many peanut butter mud sections.   And of course there are the delicious fish taco's in the towns I plan to visit. 

Pic from our last Baja trip 

I will start off in San Diego on January 7th, and cross the border at Tecate.  The first section will be at higher elevation in the Sierra de San Pedro Martir mountain range, with colder temperatures closer to the US border.  It is not uncommon to have the temperatures dip below freezing, especially at higher elevations.  So, I will need to plan accordingly to stay warm, although it will get warmer the further south I go..  I plan to camp most nights, especially since there are not that many accommodations until I get closer to the Cape section in the south.  

The main challenges of this trip will be the rough and sandy roads.  I already upgraded the tires on my bike to fatter ones, but some say you can never be fat enough.  (Ok, I qualify body wise..🤣)  Also, there are long sections where you can't get water or food resupplies, so you need to carry a lot, which means more weight on the bike.  Nine extra liters of water weighs a lot..  I expect to be doing lots of hike-a-biking..  I follow an online forum, and there are reports of small ranches which have started to cater to us bike "tourists", offering a place to camp, get water and even hot meals.  These small rancheros have  a tough time surviving on just raising livestock or growing food in such extreme conditions.  Serving us bikepackers has been a good way to supplement their living, which I definitely plan to take advantage of (with the help of Google translate of course). 

Linda, Blue (our dog), and I did a 2 month trip through Baja a couple years ago with our 4x4 campervan, and had a great time.  We got to see a lot, and met some great people doing it.  Even had three occasions where we could help stranded locals pull their vehicles out of sandy/muddy places.  The best one was where we winched a truck pulling a boat trailer out of the surf that was stuck after launching one of their panga fishing boats.  They were a bunch of local fishermen, and so appreciative of our help. We left with a big bag of donated freshly caught, and cleaned yellow tail fish. I hope that will still give good karma when I may need help on my trip this time..

Pulling stuck truck and trailer out of surf  

Fisherman telling Linda that God had sent us to help them.

Blue coaching me on my canoe paddle stroke.

I will try to post updates to the Blog when I can, but there are many places where I will not have a phone or wifi signal.  I do plan to take my satellite messenger, so I can keep the family updated on my location daily.  I don't have any idea how long it will take me, or if I can even make the whole distance.  Many variables can play a factor, but I remain very positive about the journey.

I will be using the same antiquated Blog method as I have on the last trip.  It may not have all the "bells and whistles" of a more modern platform, but it seems to work for me in that it isn't too complicated to use.  The one thing I don't like is not being able to navigate between posts easily, or getting notifications when a new post has been added.   Send me an email at: walt.abercrombie@gmail.com, and I will add you to the notification when I put up a new post.  Again, it might be a few days in-between each since I will be off the grid for the most part. Feel free to share with others, although I don’t aim for fame or glory. 😂

Some of you wonder why I am doing these adventures, especially since I am technically in my "twilight years" turning 70 next September.  Well, the reasons really haven't changed in that I like this type of travel at a slower pace, and the challenges bikepacking brings.  I might not have many more in me, but I will take advantage while the body and mind still allows.  Also, Linda has been super supportive in taking care of things back home with our dog.  I hope that she can join me at the end of the trip if it all works out. 

Here is a very nicely done semi-documentary on a couple doing this same route.  It gives a good overview of the route and what I will be in for should you be interested.. 

Below is an artistic version of the route map.  It is by the same artist who did the GDBMR one which I have proudly hanging in our home.  I will do the same with this one, if and when I complete the journey. 

Full resolution version