Misadventures In Baja 2023

[GB_Amateur]

6 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

...Perhaps I’m really just too much of a weenie for a Condor style adventure anyway.

Well, 'weenie' needs some definition here.  I get the impression you're much more comfortable around the four-legged beasts (moose, grizzly bears, wolverines,etc.) than some of the two-legged variety....

[cobill]

On 2/26/2023 at 7:33 PM, WesD said:

Years ago I ran into a miner up in the Sierras that got to talking.  The guy was a very savy miner and spent some winters down in Baja. He and his partner or it was his buddys, dug 1 mill in one season. I asked how they got the pile back home, as thats quite the handful. He said, carefully hidden in the frame of their truck.

Wes, 

Please explain to us non-Baja risk takers/explorers what the "dug 1 mill in one season" means...1 million grams, ounces, $ of gold nuggets??? We want details and you guys should write a book.😁

Bill

[WesD]

Bill thats definitely not my book, I met someone that went to Mexican jail on trumped-up charges, and only by Gods grace did he get out eventually. I believe the guy I heard the story from was referring to $ value.  There is always something guarding the gold. Here in Cal Motherload country we deal with meth heads, deep canyons, rattlesnake, mexican cartel grows, though that is not so much anymore thankfully, and the list goes on...

[Hard Prospector]

Never got a chance but have heard the beach swinging is quite good with little pressure down there.  I know of a guy who vacations to Cancun beach resorts every year and  really cleans up on the gold jewelry. He takes down older less expensive detectors "just in case"  but has told me he really hasn't had any issues with authorities.  Says he feels safe at the resort beaches that he stays at and gives any Mexican coins away to hotel staff as tips.   

Perhaps someone else on this board has experience doing this and could comment more........

[Condor]

Chapter 4

The next day of detecting was a compromise.  My friend Dennis had a sore knee so we opted to forgo the long hike and take a side canyon that had produced some decent gold in the past.  We still had to motor up some of the nasty rock ramps, but we did not have to hit the sand trap.  The entrance to the canyon is still a hiking challenge up a dry waterfall, but once inside it's all pretty level tame stuff.  We found that while the main "home" wash had run a lot of water, the side canyons really didn't get enough force to flush things out.  We could still see old dig holes.  We each found 1 little scrap up on the banks.  We walked up to the top and looked down into the "home" wash 200 ft below.  Too much challenge to get down so we backtracked to another side canyon and worked our way out.  No joy and by now it was too late and we were too tired to tackle any other spots.  On the way out we spent a little time filling in a narrow chute that was giving me heartburn.  The chute was about 6 ft deep, and 18 ft long with a dip that would leave one front wheel hanging while the other wheel gripped sheer slick rock.  The chute was narrow enough that you couldn't really roll, maybe just scrape the sides of the roll bar.  I had run this same chute over the years on my ATV, my Rokon and now the RZR, but I always puckered at the prospect.  We dropped a few flat rocks in and laid a couple lengths of 2x8 that we brought along for these situations.  That smoothed things out considerably.  Back at camp the "hiker" had found a nice 3 gram waterworn nugget in the main wash.  The weather was improving but we were starting to run out of options other than some long hikes.

The next day Dennis opted to stay behind with a sore knee.  The "hiker" rode with me to the end of the trail.  It was his first time in the RZR going up canyon.  He told me a few times, "you can't go up that!"  He's well over 6 ft tall and had to fold himself in and out of the RZR.  We made it to the end of the trail without incident.  He chose to work the bedrock in the main wash, while I hiked up to the side canyon that Dennis and I had looked at the first day.  I found many recent dig holes and a section 10'x10' where someone had tried to dig down to bedrock.  They left behind water jugs and bottles and apparently surrendered before reaching bedrock.  I found only trash, no gold.  I hiked up to the top of the ridge looking down into the main wash.  There was a small steep gully with some exposed bedrock so I decided to follow is on down.  No joy there either.  I worked the bedrock back to the RZR and found some old lead and a few nails.  Bummer all around.  The "hiker" met me back at the RZR, he got the skunk as well.  We made back to the log ramp obstacle without incident.  The log ramp was another story.  The logs kicked out again banging my front skid plate hard.  I restacked everything and added a few more flat rocks for support.  Up and down the narrow spine no problem.  

The wind had finally stopped blowing so we drug up some driftwood and built a nice fire.  I opened up a bottle of Cabernet nerve tonic to ease my aches and pains while Dennis told us what it was like detecting here in the old days.

 

 

 

 

[beatup]

Well Steve as they say sometimes your the bug other times your the windshield, the trip still sounds like fun to me even though the gold stayed hidden .

[MSC]

I hope this story has a happy, prosperous ending. 

[Gerry in Idaho]

On 2/28/2023 at 10:17 AM, Hard Prospector said:

Never got a chance but have heard the beach swinging is quite good with little pressure down there.  I know of a guy who vacations to Cancun beach resorts every year and  really cleans up on the gold jewelry. He takes down older less expensive detectors "just in case"  but has told me he really hasn't had any issues with authorities.  Says he feels safe at the resort beaches that he stays at and gives any Mexican coins away to hotel staff as tips.   

Perhaps someone else on this board has experience doing this and could comment more........

My wife/I go each year for the last 15 and sometimes I go 2 or 3X a year.  Cancun is still a safe place and no worse than Chicago or New York.  Day is perfect and night, is not advised.

I find more gold than most, but that's because I hunt harder and have learned much about the beaches/resorts.  It's no different than detecting FL or CA beaches as you learn over time, the sand and which resorts seem to produce more trash and those who are cleaner with less trash.

Never had a problem bringing back the rings as I make sure my wife is wearing the best. 

Sometimes they charge you a fee at Cancun Airport (going through customs) with a detector so make sure to have an extra $100 or more.  I look at it as it's just part of the trip cost.

My issue is not the people, not the safety, I'm good with that.  It's the new generation of folks wearing Tungsten, Stainless and less traditional gold or platinum jewelry.  Seems each year gets less Au and more modern.

 

[Condor]

Chapter 5

I hate to disappoint but the story comes to an unproductive end.  The next morning I was feeling pretty good, no major aches and pains and I still had one more area I wanted to explore.  It was unfortunately a pretty long walk.  I discovered the area several years ago after taking a very long hike to make a loop around the known placer areas.  By the end of the day I found a somewhat hidden wash and never detected it properly.  I was tired and just kept pushing the coil along in front of me.  At about the mid point I hit a solid target and pulled up a decent 2 gram piece. I slowed down a bit, but I was running out of water and still had a couple miles to go.  I didn't hit anymore targets and no trash at all.  I have always meant to get back up there, but we were still finding nuggets in the easy walking spots.  Now I'm 4 years older and closer to 70 than 60, with less enthusiasm for long hikes.  Dennis was ready to go home although the "hiker" probably would have stuck it out with me.  I debated all morning and surrendered.  The deciding factor was my lack of my favorite trekking poles.  Those poles have saved me from some nasty falls on difficult ground.  With the trekking poles, I probably would have stayed 1 more day, but time distance prevailed.

We made it to the border at Calexico at just past noon on Monday Presidents Day.  There was on 1 lane of cars to get up to the Port of Entry and it was endless.  We crawled along at a snails pace having to face all the hawkers of Mexican trinkets and limbless beggars.  Three solid hours, but at least we got through US Customs without incident.

I'll post a couple pictures from last year that shows the bedrock zones we had to build ramps through and my vast nugget finds. 

 

 

 

[Gerry in Idaho]

I think the ending is perfect.  You went on adventures, paid the bribes of another country, left some scrap metal and plastic from your Razor on the rocks and brought home a little gold.  Adventure is what keeps us going.  Sitting in a rocking chair is not a good way to die in my opinion.

Love the read of another Adventure.