Misadventures In Baja, Nov 2023

[Condor]

We did our annual Baja trip a little early this year.  We had all but written it off after last year, but Pacific hurricane Hilary this summer, gave us some hope that enough flooding occurred to open up some bedrock and loosen some trapped gold.  We cleared the border at Algodones, just outside of Yuma with no problems.  Our only other concern was the annual Baja 1000 offroad race and its associated racers, spectators and chase trucks.  We made San Felipe and topped off our tanks.  Many racers and their scout vehicles were already there warming up for the race, but we were still ahead of the pack.  Our only misadventure was day 3 with me taking a bad step coming off a steep hill and spraining my knee.  

We made the placer zone by early afternoon, set up our camp and started scouting our old routes up the canyon.  Hilary hit the Baja peninsula on the Pacific side within miles of this area, although the placers are technically on the gulf side.  Still, plenty of water had come down the canyon as evidenced by the debris line of tree trunks up 8 to 10 ft above the bedrock.  My Polaris RZR 900 was definitely going to get a workout.  Our first obstacle was one we tackled every year, but things had changed from our last path.  Up a couple ledges, straddle a bedrock spine and try not to fall into the abyss on either side.  Fortunately, I had all new tires with some superior grip tread.  Getting down off the spine was the most difficult obstacle we encountered.  There just weren't enough flat rocks within carrying distance to build a proper ramp, so we used some of the Elephant tree trunks and put the best rocks in the most crucial tipping points.  White knuckles the first couple runs, then learned to trust the RZR as a surefooted machine.

One other ledge upstream required some ramp building then smooth sailing for a couple miles, but then full stop.  The old route left the main wash up and over sandhills to bypass impassable canyon ledges, but the flood had wiped out the route.  Where once had been a small sand dune was now a 12ft deep pit where floodwaters had blasted through and formed a whirlpool clearing out any hope of getting upstream in a motorized fashion. Back to old fashioned travel, and we didn't have any burros.  

Our friend Kevin the hiker, from past misadventures, met us later that afternoon for 5 days of detecting.  Day 1 of detecting was remarkable for my friend Dennis.  Since we were going to need to shuttle 3 of us in a 2 seater RZR, Dennis opted to get out at the first obstacle to avoid too many trips past the white knuckle zone.  He decided to run the 7000 over bedrock that we had detected dozens of times in the past and wait for me to return.    I ran Kevin up the canyon then returned for Dennis once he cleared the obstacle.  He had already found 2 nuggets, one over 6 grams and another near 2 grams.  He always celebrates his birthday, a week away, at these placers.  A happy early birthday, and a great start to the trip.

More later.

[oldmancoyote1]

I have spent many winter months in Baja California del Sur exploring and living on the beach.  This was before I began metal detecting.   I'd like to try it some day, but I am concerned about having my equipment confiscated or stolen.  Do you have any comments on this?

thanks

[Hard Prospector]

Been going to Baja for many years exploring, fishing, diving and prospecting. I've always lived lived by three rules once I cross the border; 

*Always treat the Mexicans with respect and dignity.

*Don't invest in anything down there that doesn't  have wheels under it and........

*Don't don't bring anything along you can't afford to lose.

[Condor]

10 hours ago, oldmancoyote1 said:

I have spent many winter months in Baja California del Sur exploring and living on the beach.  This was before I began metal detecting.   I'd like to try it some day, but I am concerned about having my equipment confiscated or stolen.  Do you have any comments on this?

thanks

If you read some of my previous Baja misadventures, you'll find we've encountered a number of hazards with theft and police grift.  Those are always possible whether you're a regular beach tourist or a prospector.  We've not had trouble with prospecting per se, there is no local presence of a regulatory agency, but it's always possible.

 

[Condor]

Here's some photos of the obstacles. 

[beatup]

Oh boy Steve 

[Condor]

.Day 1 continued

Dennis and I hiked several miles up a side canyon to an area that had produced a lot of small gold in the past.  I worked the canyon floor for newly exposed bedrock.  Unfortunately, it was all barren.  I found 1 nugget maybe 1 gram for all that walking.  Dennis worked old drywash piles for nothing but trash targets, but he had already found those nice nuggets first thing in the morning, so he was less disappointed.  We hiked back out to the RZR where Kevin and been working the main wash to find he had scored his first nugget not 10 ft from where we parked.  He ended up with 3 nice nuggets totaling about 6 grams.  I was way behind in scoring decent gold.  We called it day and went back to camp for some refreshment.  

Day 2 of detecting, day 3 of the trip.

There were 2 more side canyons way upstream that I wanted to detect.  Dennis decided to work bedrock closer to camp, so I hiked upstream alone.  These side canyons just did not see the amount of flooding that I expected.  I saw 2 water bottles that someone had left behind from last year and they had traveled not 10 ft from the spot I saw them last January.  I found 2 small nuggets before my minor disaster.  I thought I might take a short-cut to the main canyon and work the bedrock back to the RZR.  I forgot how steep it was to the bottom but I didn't want to backtrack another 1/2 mile to take the easy route.  Poor choice as it turns out.  I was halfway down and stepped on a big flat rock that pivoted just enough to twist my left knee.  My 69 year old frame just can't take those sprains like I used to.  The only good thing is that I had packed my trekking poles in the pack.  I sat down and strapped my collapsed down GPX6000 to the pack and inched my way down using the poles to help support my bum knee.  I had a 3/4 mile hike back to the RZR and it seemed like a death march.  I was constantly eyeing the terrain so as not to hit any areas of climbing or soft gravel.  I took a few breaks but getting up and down was more difficult than to keep walking.  I had a packet of Ibuprofen in the RZR and downed a couple before driving back down the canyon. Wouldn't you know that the last obstacle with the tree trunks kicked out and I had to get out and restack the whole mess to get back to camp.  I later wrapped my knee with vet wrap and downed some Flexeril then chased it with iced wine.  Stiff and painful to walk, but not bad.  The iced wine helped.  

[LuckyLundy]

Steve,

I’m thinking they have a Metal Detecting Video Game…it might just show up under your Christmas Tree this year 😂.  I’m sure you earned a couple Nuggets being the Camp Cook.  All kidding aside Speedy recovery.  See ya soon!

Rick

[Condor]

Day 3 

The drugs and a decent nights sleep helped, but there was no way I would be hiking any canyons.  I opted to stay in the main canyon and detect easy walking bedrock in 20 meter circles around the parked RZR.  I figured the GPX 6000 with the 12x7 NF was not only hotter on small gold, but the coil could reach areas between rocks and into crevices that the 7000s only skimmed.   Sure enough, I found a couple grams of small nuggets in places covered many times over with the other machines.  I was prying them out with a screwdriver and sometimes busting up the bedrock to get them out.  When all was said and done over the next 2 days I finished with 39 nuggets for a bit over 14 grams.  Dennis finished with 11 grams and Kevin was stuck on 6 grams after some equipment malfunctions.

One photo shows the small stuff, another shows the bigger pieces and last the whole lot.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the other guy's gold.  The 6 gram piece was really nice, I'll try and get Dennis to send a photo.

[Condor]

Photos