backpacking the baja of mexico

[pickelltree]

this christmas i am flying to cabo than backpacking up to sd. i plan on taking buses and just hiking the beaches on the way up. my question is, i have a vista c garmin gps and was wondering if anyone knew of some maps that i could get of the baja. the ones i have don't show mexico.

also my agenda is very open,i will be there for 2 weeks, has anyone gone down that way and have any suggestions on places i should stop at?

[azbackpackr]

There's a book about a similar journey I'd want to read before such a trip. It has a lot of info in it, and is entertaining to boot: Journey With a Baja Burro, by Graham Mackintosh, Sunbelt Publications, San Diego CA, 2001.

[Jeffshadows]

backpacking the baja of mexico...would be awesome.

[azbackpackr]

The burro guy was going to backpack it, but soon realized he couldn't carry enough water. Hence, the burro. The burro also opened many doors for him because people were amused to see a red-headed Irishman walking along with a burro. The burro also was a pain in the neck, at times, but also a friend. Anyway, the book is worth reading, I think, if only for entertainment, and neat photos, and a map.

[pickelltree]

i will check it out. we will be more or less urban backpacking, from one hostel to another city, using the buses and what ever comes up. if the chance comes up a burro ride would be quit a story.

i have been using info form some forum that i found. bajanomad, mexonline, and one other one that is sliping my mind right now. great sites, i am arranging to stay at one of the people's houses that is on the forum even.

[azbackpackr]

i will check it out. If the chance comes up a burro ride would be quite a story.

Ride a burro? Yikes. You LEAD a burro! You put all your stuff on his back, including all that water, and you lead him. That's IF he wants to be lead by you! Burros are cheap (for good reason) and they can carry huge loads and eat weeds.

[pickelltree]

Yes, that is the humor I was getting at, I’m glad you explained, because I know someone was imagining me on top of a pumpkin with a sombrero and a pacifico.

[writelots]

Don't ruin my perfect image! Things like that are all that get me through the day!

[big_load]

here's a book about a similar journey I'd want to read before such a trip. It has a lot of info in it, and is entertaining to boot: Journey With a Baja Burro, by Graham Mackintosh, Sunbelt Publications, San Diego CA, 2001.

He published another book much earlier (in the late 1980's I think), that I enjoyed quite a bit: "Into a Desert Place: A 3000 Mile Walk Around the Coast of Baja California".

[azbackpackr]

Yeah, I don't think I have that one on my shelf, have heard of it, don't think I've read it, though. Did he use a burro at all on that journey?

Mackintosh is good at describing people and conversations. That sort of travel adventure book is usually fun to read, along the lines of "A Walk Across America" and "Blue Highways." And, of course, the classic by John Steinbeck, "Travels With Charley."

[big_load]

He used a burro on about 1/4 of that trip. He was not only new to the desert, but new to backpacking and hiking altogether when he started. It might describe the same trip, I'm not sure.

[pickelltree]

i made it back!!. no donkey rides, sorry to disappoint, but i did see a pumpkin in cabo, no but really in ensanada there was a donkey that had been spray painted to look like a zeebra . i did a lot of snorkeling and eating taco's, i never had any scary moments, the baja is great, i wish my trip would of lasted two months, not two weeks.

[azbackpackr]

Glad you had fun!