BIKEPACKING BAJA CALIFORNIA – BAJA DIVIDE – BIKEPACKING GEAR

We already talked about this topic in our article about the Baja Divide alternative route from La Ballena to Mulegè but we thought that a separate dedicated post on this subject was due and probably easier to find when researching.

First important thing to say is: check the wind forecast for the Sea of Cortes a week ahead. This can save you days of layover in Mulegé spending extra unplanned money and stiffening your legs. There are very cool things to see in town though, but one or two days maximum is plenty of time. Things that must be visited in Mulegé:

• The mission with its crazy lookout on the oasis.
• The old prison/museum with it.

Plenty of hotels and restaurants, one ATM machine and the Pinguino store that lets you cashout untill 11pm in case ATM is out of order. There used to be a bikeshop called Pacman’s but is now permanently closed.

As we were saying the wind forecast check is crucial basically because if it’s blowing a hard North wind ( called “Norte” ) fishermen don’t move. So there is no way you can get a ride across to the peninsula and if someone offers to do that it may be very risky and a little shady as nobody is allowed by the coast Guard to do so in rough sea.

The best thing to do to make sure everything works out good and to have a good forecast opinion is to call the main bikepackers boat crossing guy Alejandro Bukovecz known as “Buko” ( whatsapp +52 615 104 3979 ). This guy speaks good English and legally owns all the updated permits and insurance to take passengers on board besides being also a fisherman. He’s really working hard to do things straight and to make sure that the boat crossing for bikepackers is safe and covered. He also told us the we could camp inside the fisherman shack on the landing beach which was very cool and helpful as we did the crossing before sunset this time.

A very smart call is to bring an extra liter of fresh water – doesn’t have to be potable – to rinse the moving parts of the bike once you land because it’s almost inevitable that some salty sprays reach everyone’s rig. LITTLE TIP ABOUT THE PENINSULA: The El Salto ranch oasis is worth a check to get some fresh spring water