Baja Cape Loop

Biking the Baja Cape Loop is a challenging but rewarding ride through a mix of mountains, small towns, and long coastal roads. The route passes cactus-filled landscapes, stretches of open desert, and quiet beaches with services never more than a day away. Days are mostly about steady mileage, heat (and the sand) and evenings often end with a private campsite and a simple meal. The pace is slower than a lot of bike packing trips, but once you adapt to the rhythm of your environment you can enjoy the entire experience.

Route

¡El comienzo de una gran aventura!

I got off to a late start on day one and really noticed the heat. Combined with sandy terrain this was my first hint that the triple-digit daily mileage I might accomplish back home was not in the cards. Halfway through the day brought the first climb of the trip, with a crossing over to the Pacific and the highest climb of the route. I camped about 50km into my journey close to the road and a flowing drainage, but hidden behind boulders - probably prime snake habitat? For dinner it was frijoles refritos on tortillas, soon to become a reoccurring theme. It looks terrible but tastes good, especially when you're hungry and Mom would be happy I'm getting protein. It was very dark shortly after 6pm.

To the Pacific

I rolled down out of the mountains towards the Pacific Ocean and EL Pescadaro before stopping in Los Cerritos for a snack and to check out the surf vibe and many expats. I headed on to Todos Santos for lunch and crashed at the hostel.

A beach with no ocean

I left the Todos Santos hostel before 8am with clear & sunny skies. After turning off the highway outside of town the sand began and stayed with me for most of the day! Lots of deep sand and associated pushing, hot temperatures and a rough trail when it wasn't sandy. The Sierra de la Laguna Mountains are not huge compared to the Rockies, but very remote. This was as much a mental as a physical test, and there were moments when I questioned what I was doing. By mid-afternoon I had covered the hardest terrain, but running short of water and daylight so I decided to detour into El Triunfo and camped in the courtyard of a small hotel / guesthouse. The shower, water and power was welcome and I had a good sleep. A notable feature of El Triunfo is the 47-meter-high smokestack constructed in 1890 for El Progreso Mining Company. It is called "La Ramona", named after Saint Raymond, on whose feast day the project was completed. In recent years many of the town's original buildings have been restored and converted into restaurants, museums and boutiques.

Back to the Coast

I was slow getting out of El Triunfo, but the day started with an interesting trail to San Antonio: first a rough track, then sand, then very rough cobble- maybe from the mining days hauling heavy loads? An easy 20km of empty highway riding got me to Los Planes, and a visit to a Frutas y Verdidas, Minisuper and lunch at a roadside cafe. I headed east out of town then climbed the mountains over to the Sea of Cortez. It was a tough trail but mostly rideable. I saw a single BMW dualsport and countless buggies. I camped on what turned out to be my private beach for the night about 10km before El Cardinal.

Sea of Cortez

I woke up to a sunrise over my private beach and no cows. Getting ready for the day I realized the biggest problem with beach camping: sand everywhere and in everything. For breakfast... beans! (with ripe avocado, very ripe queso and spicy Cheetos). A quick 10km of riding got me to El Cardinal then a rougher 20km to Los Barriles for a lunch of fish, shrimp and scallop tacos. Drunk American and Canadian Octogenarians everywhere! The last 20km into La Ribera was easy on firm sand roads.

The Eastern Cape

In La Ribera I checked into Hacienda de Palmas B&B and resupplied, showered and headed out for tacos. Choriqueso FTW! This must be what gave Taco Bell the idea for the crispy Gordita. It rained very hard overnight and into the morning, and I questioned riding the coast road, worried about mud in the pass through the mountains. I delayed until almost 10am and decided to go for it; I could always call an audible on-trail if required. I was glad I did as the riding was excellent, some of the best of the trip! I took a paved road about 15km south of La Ribera to give the ground some time to dry out, then continued on towards Cabo Pulmo and the packed sand was easy going, with the occasional big puddle and standing water at crossings. There are lots of tourists driving up from San Jose - you can tell because they ignore you with their steering wheel death grips, while the Mexicans always wave (or honk) back - even when they should be paying attention to the road!

Cabo Pulmo is a national park with diverse and plentiful marine life populations. It is very popular for scuba diving, snorkeling and whale watching. I rode through after a very heavy rain but the sandy beach roads were in good condition with passable standing water at the low points. Los Frailes is a popular long-term camping spot, with various vehicles parked for the season. Locals service their garbage, water and (some) food needs, while a steady stream of tourists driving from Los Cabos pass through.

Finishing the Ride

Past Los Frailes I turned west and started climbing, about 1000m over 25km and three peaks. I had heard horror stories about the deep sand and mud climbing into the mountains after leaving the East Cape and it was slow for a bit, but then AMAZING, and I didn't see a single vehicle for the entire climb. I ended up camping in a roadside pullout near the summit of the climb, as there were few (if any) tenting spots. This was unfortunate, as after dark a truck pulled up and shone its headlights on me for several minutes. It was probably a confused rancher wondering what the hell he was looking at, but still a little disconcerting. My camping experiences in Baja were universally positive, but I would always try to maintain a low (or no) profile. One positive: perched high above the highway corridor I had cellular coverage and watched YouTube videos while on heightened alert for banditos.

Finish and San Jose del Cabo

An easy half-day brought me down out of the mountains and back into San José Viejo. I finished with a celebratory pool-side beer (and now requisite Spicy Torciditos) and then had a chance to explore San José, including its pleasant downtown and low-key tourist area. After packing up my bike it was off to the airport and time to fly home.

Summary