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Old 11-09-2012, 08:34 PM   #5
booger1 OP
Studly Adventurer
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Joined: Mar 2010
Location: Arizona
Oddometer: 815
The next morning the alarm goes off, my friends have found me.

Take a look at the GPS maps. As the bird flies I'll have about 30 miles until I hit pavement, so I opt out of breakfast thinking when I reach a store I'll get something. Fill up the camelback and I set off.
I set off along a sandy track that seems to go on for miles, the sand takes the front wheel one direction and the rear the other and it's not long before the sand really confuses the bike and I'm down.

I take a bush with me.

Several more attempts at trying to stay on the road, I decide to try cutting a new trail that will hopefully have more solid ground, but these are false hopes and I retreat back to the road.

What seems like 35 miles and 3 hours, the GPS leads me off the sandy bottom into the mountains on harder ground. I think this is good, anything to be away from that sand.

It's still blazing hot and the trail seems to be getting rougher.

I go back through my maps and my notes to see if there is another option. There's no detail on the paper maps and the GPS is telling me that I've gone too far to turn back now, meaning I'll most likely run out of fuel before hitting any sign of a decent road. I check to see if this is one of Lizard Lady's routes, nope this is one I concocted on my own using the wonderful tool we're all able to use, Goggle Earth.

The trail is getting more and more gnarly the farther I go, I keep pressing on, guzzling my water whenever I get stopped by an obstacle. I leave my jacket unbuttoned as to let more air flow through whenever I'm moving, it doesn't seem like enough.
I see a vehicle ahead and feel somewhat relieved, but as I make the approach, it's a burned out suburban, this can't be good. It's either got something to do with drug trafficking, insurance fraud, or it got so thirsty and hot it just burst into flames. I don't bother to stop and investigate.
I start up a steep incline of loose rock and dirt, round the corner, find my line, make the approach, the front wheel gets on top, but the rear chooses it's own path and down I go.
I try to pull the rear of the bike up on the high part of the trail, but can't, so I let the front come down into the groove. Pick the bike up, start it and try pushing along side it, tire just spins, and then it starts to move, then the rear comes around and the bike falls flat. I try this attempt several more times with no further progress, I'm stuck good, and the worse thing is I'm out of water. I study the maps and can see some kind of ranch about 5 miles from me. I start to take off on the hike to find some help, but my now dehydrated body is no match for the steepness of the hill. I walk back to the bike and hit the SPOT help button. I lay down in the groove my tire has dug with the bike over me to protect me from the sun.

I lay there thinking about this trip and what I'm doing out here in Mexico about as far away from human contact as possible and if I should get out of this, do I continue this trip, for an hour and half. I suppose the cool dirt that I'm laying on and being protected from the sun by the bike over the trench I decide that I'm not going to spend the night here. I make the decision to try one more time before hitting the SOS button.
In my sandals, I stand the bike up, rev the crap out of her while pushing and the bike comes out, I jump on and ride it the 40 feet to the curve and fall over again, I don't bother picking it back up, I walk back to get my boots on, pack the jacket into the top bag and carry everything back up to the bike and remount. Pick the bike up, start it and take off around the corner into the next switch back until I'm stopped by some more boulders that I crashed into, but I made it over the tuff stuff. After 4 hours, the hill that held me captive, I've now escaped. However, I keep the help button going on SPOT, knowing that I'm not really out of it until I can get some water.
I'm starting to fell better as I ride, the road, just like that got alot easier, I come up to the ranch house that was 5 miles away to find it abandoned, but I still go in to see if there is anything useful to help my situation.

Unbelievable, a coke bottle with water in it, stuff is swimming around in it, so out comes the steripen, but the stuff is still swimming, the only sure fire way to kill the bad stuff is to burn it.

This is torture, it's hot, I'm thirsty, and now I have water that's too hot to drink, but it is safe. I pour the contents into my camelback while I boil the remaining water.
I take a sip, it's still to hot, but I feel some relief. I let the water cool down and start looking around for any other sources of water, but find none, I go back to drink some more of the very warm water and start to feel alot better, I lick my lips to make sure none of the water goes to waste, but something doesn't feel right.

My lips had started bleeding, maybe the dehydration, or maybe the hot water.

I take in all the water that I can and set off, I still need more.
The trail turns into a slightly wider trail or road and run into a couple walking hand in hand away from a house, my mouth still dry I blurted out "necesario agua, no agua cuatro horas".
And the response surprised me so much, I could have cried.
The lady says "Oh, do you need water?"
I just didn't expect that, but she led me up to the house that had blankets for windows and a door where the family was cooking chilies on a 55 gallon drum and making tortillas on a make shift bench with tiles. She points to the water spicket and I charge at it.
After a short while I was able to tell the lady the whole story as she translated it back to the rest of the family. They offered to have me stay for dinner and to let me make camp there.

I think back and think I should have taken them up on that offer, but why start doing things that make sense now? (the water was all I really needed).
I thanked them and tried to give them some money, but they refused and wished me luck on my Grande Moto Aventura.
They tell me I must be crazy for doing this solo and give me the nickname Adventure Man and laughed.

I leave feeling overwhelmed by their generosity and make it out to the highway.
It's now 4pm and I find breakfast, a Monster and a pack of something that looks like ding dongs, it's not much but the store didn't have much.

The bike comes to a halt a little further down the road, out of fuel, I use the 2 one liter jugs and make it to a road side barrel gas station in Heroes de la Independencia. I must still be feeling the effects of the earlier days mishap, as I gave the lady way too much money, she corrected me.

The turn off to Mikes Sky Ranch

The dinner that was served was just what I needed.

As I was finishing up, a group had pulled in with 2 couples. They were down on vacation as well, and preparing for the big Baja race. They were able to give some route advice as I have now decided to scale back my adventure a bit. It didn't take long for me to find sleep.
Today's total milage was 135. Doesn't seem right with all that had happened.
Eating_goat_with_the_Cartel , Never_ventured_never_gained
oncostaricantime , boundlessbooger , 1998xr400buildwithe-start


booger1 screwed with this post 11-09-2012 at 09:03 PM
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