TalkBaja.com » Baja Mexico Forums » Maps of Missions, Trails & El Camino Real

Each date point on the map comes from Mike's GPS SPOT locator. The blue line indicates his probable route between the points.

The complete story with photos has been running on Baja Nomad if you are not familiar with this adventure: BajaNomad Forums - "Peace, Love & Fish Tacos"





















To Be Continued!

Cool summary. Thanks DK (the one with only 2 legs)

Message from SPOT on 11-19-10:

Younghusbands spot
Latitude:29.57756
Longitude:-115.32463 GPS location
Date/Time:11/19/2010 15:36:40 PST
Message: I need assistance! I will call the closest person, if I cannot call, expect a call from from Alice or Tammy

BajaGringo is trying to help Mike... The staff of SoloSports at Punta San Carlos and Antonio of Baja Cactus, El Rosario as well...

posted on 11-20-2010 at 11:09 AM



MIKE IS SAFE AND HAS BEEN FOUND !!!!!!!!!!!

HE AND ALL ARE OK

REPORT TO FOLLOW SOON

NEIL

Whew! Been checking on this since it began! Was really worried that something had happened to Don-Kay!

Hang in there both of you!!!!!!!

posted on 11-20-2010 at 12:09 PM



Ok so we all deserve a big round of applause for the team effort that went into locating Mike & Co. this morning. If it weren't for David K's google map and Kevin deciding on the best course of action this could have been a major cluster f@ck.
The discussions and teamwork here was invaluable. Thank you everyone !

So here is the condensed version:

Early this morning I made a copy of David's Google earth map indicating his last reported position. I packed water (5 gal), food/first aid, GPS and headed down to the local fish camp. Radio'd on the VHF and Alfredo responded and came to the beach right away. Apprised him of the situation and within 15 minutes we were steaming down the coast. Very fortunate as the seas are down and the wind is light.
After nearly 20 km we came towards the arroyo that hits the beach below Mike's last coordinate and there they were. He had moved down the arroyo next to the beach. Good move Mike !
.
Mike and Co. had run out of water. Don-Kay had gone on strike and they all were exhausted from this extremely challenging section of his journey. He told me that our arrival was like the coming of Christ. he had to rub his eyes and make sure he wasn't seeing things.
He is in great spirits now and definitely recognizes he is responsible for actions but he didn't expect how tough this section would be with a burro. Hiking it on his own would have been easy compared to towing a burro he said.
He says hello to everyone and wants us to know that HE THANKS US FROM THE BOTTOM OF HIS HEART and is fortunate that technology is what it is today. Wihout a doubt, on his own with no chance of aid, he would have been in big trouble.

The humor of the morning was that when I told him of the potential weather to the North(may or may not rain here) we laughed hard that "It figures it might rain right after water is delivered to him !"

So he is about a 6 miles to the first of many fish camps on the coast and hopes he can make it by days end. He has water to keep Don-Kay, Solo and himself going for a 3-4 days.

It was the best I could do and I will continue to monitor his position at the end of today. He was reminded not to forget the end of day position.

Feliz Viente Noviembre ! Viva la Mexico !


Best regards,

Neil at Solosports


>>> RON, (BajaGringo) COME HOME!

Wonderful news, indeed!!

And now we're waiting on news from Ron.
Hope he's alright.

It didn't seem to me that Ron was heading down there on his own. One of his last posts on BN indicated that he was going to the SQ police, and from there they were going to work with people from El Rosario to get help to Mike.

"I just spoke with the local San Quintin police and after telling them the story they asked me to head over with all the info. They said they will try and help us coordinate with folks from El Rosario to put together a group to reach Mike."

Let's see here...

Ron + Saturday night in San Quintín...

I bet he's a little more than just "all right"...


The real hero in this is Don-Kay:

"...run out of water. Don-Kay had gone on strike..."

You stay firm, Don!

Originally Posted by Marty Cortez

The real hero in this is Don-Kay

Por-Kay.....Don't freakin get it, Marty, my man. Am I just stooopid, or waaaaat?

Reminds me of the mine drama in Chile when the men were rescued from their grave-to-be at a mile below a level that any man should allow himself to be....except plumbers, who don't count. [anyone who gets paid to play with the container of recycled burritos doesn't count]

Anyway...who was the hero in the mine incident? The miner or the savior?
The savior...of course.
But, are they on Oprah?
No way. The miners are on Oprah and that's crazy. In fact, Oprah is on Oprah and that's just as crazy.
Let's get this stuff straight.

That unstudied adventurer in Baja isn't the hero in this drama. Ron, and those other guys who came to the rescue are the heroes. We all see that, so why can't we see it with the miners in Chile???

This is what Mike and Don-Kay will see as they come around the point towards the Punta Azul fish camp. I am sure that the beach will be a welcome site after the rock ledge they have been traversing...

You & Duro did good!!

As did solosancarlos & company!

As well as the local authorities & various individuals who were involved! IMO, everybody "on the ground" who kicked into action to attempt to physically locate Mike, DonKay & Solo (the 4-legged one!) are hero's in my book.

I agree with what I believe Marty is trying to say, I feel that DonKay is trying to tell Mike he's reached the limits of his endurance & either needs a lighter load, more rest, better nutrition, more water....or all of the above. DonKay has gone from being fed a decent diet on a regular schedule to having to forage for what he can find under the worst of conditions. They're a team....they both need to listen to the other to make this arduous journey a success!!

All I can say is I am happy that Mike and his donkey are ok. A big thank you to the first responders from San Carlos who got to him and to Ron BajaGringo and his co-pilot Duro for giving a valiant effort to get to them too. You all went above and beyond the call of duty giving of yourselves by putting yourselves in danger to rescue others without thought of reward. You guys are my heroes. I'm just so very happy everyone made it out ok.

Here are the next three days' tides/San Diego. Close to what is happening there.

2010-11-21 9:29 AM PST Full Moon
2010-11-21 3:19 PM PST -0.76 feet Low Tide
2010-11-21 4:44 PM PST Sunset
2010-11-21 9:41 PM PST 4.01 feet High Tide
2010-11-22 2:22 AM PST 2.09 feet Low Tide
2010-11-22 6:25 AM PST Sunrise
2010-11-22 8:41 AM PST 6.76 feet High Tide
2010-11-22 3:57 PM PST -0.86 feet Low Tide
2010-11-22 4:44 PM PST Sunset
2010-11-22 10:24 PM PST 3.92 feet High Tide
2010-11-23 2:55 AM PST 2.23 feet Low Tide
2010-11-23 6:25 AM PST Sunrise
2010-11-23 9:16 AM PST 6.73 feet High Tide
2010-11-23 4:38 PM PST -0.84 feet Low Tide
2010-11-23 4:43 PM PST Sunset

So it was probably pretty close to low; maybe still going down a bit in that pic. Super high in the morning; pretty low late afternoon. Typical winter pattern for (bi-monthly)Spring Tides.

Even with those somewhat-negative low tides, beaching it might not work. Yes, there would be long, blissful stretches of smooth hardpack.

But at the ends of those where headland comes down, there is usually very, very tricky/slippery shelf and/or smooth round rock. A man can do it, but only with quite a bit of care.

Not a heavily-loaded pack mule. Plus it could be late afternoon if they didn't hit it just as the tide starts down(say about noonish); facing dwindling daylight and an unsure path to ascend off the beach...

I wouldn't risk a long backtrack with the burro if I weren't pretty sure we could get up on the far end...


Tonight's ping will be revealing; if they have moved or if they haven't.

Originally Posted by Marty Cortez

Tonight's ping will be revealing; if they have moved or if they haven't.

I agree and anxious as well to see if he is able to make it down to the fish camp. The locals there call it "Campo del Negro Cardenas". Not a lot there but I talked with the few who were around and they now are aware of the situation. Seemed to be nice enough guys and I'll bet they would be willing to offer Mike and Don-Kay assistance should they need it.

Legs is right - that poor animal needs some real R&R after the past several days. That path was not made for a pack animal and I would guess that Mike would rethink it knowing what he does now. Hindsight is always 20-20 as they say.

Slow and sure Mike and let's get this stretch of road behind us...

Amplifying a bit on Dennis' post, I do have to conclude that Mike made a possibly foolish decision to do what he is doing, and in the course of things, is causing many others to become complicit. Hats off to those who have helped, or tried to help. But, at the end of the day, as I believe Dennis used the term "unstudied", any misfortune that may occur is clearly on Mike's shoulders. And God forbid any possible misfortune would extend to any samaritans.

Perhaps you should read the newspaper article or Graham Mackintosh's replies about Mike... He has been preparing quite some time for this voyage. It was not a sudden whim to undertake such an adventure.

This coastal section between San Carlos and Santa Catarina is the longest that isn't near any roads. I believe once he has passed Punta Canoas, he can walk on roads the rest of the trip.