Trip Report: 17 Hours To Baja Norte

By Stio

Photos and Story by: Monica Purington and Brady Grohne

I‘ve long held a dream to buy a beater slide-in and get the hell out of dodge. My chance came this spring when a buddy sold me his vintage (1989) Northern Lite. I pulled the trigger and dove into updating it.

Fiberglass repair, tie-downs, raising platform, back deck, re-wiring, solar system, ripping off a jack, new fridge installation and a few other repairs later and I was starting to question my decision. It felt more like an indefinite project than a ticket to freedom.

However, two trips beaconed that could not be ignored. Spring sled-skiing in Alaska and overland surfing in Baja.

Already mid-May, AK was out. Entonces, vamos a Baja!

Rig operable, check. Work shifts covered, check. Just enough beta to get into trouble and a promising swell forecast, check. A partner who is always down to go, check. Let’s go!

SATURDAY, JUNE 18TH - SUNDAY, JUNE 19TH

(1,002 MILES IN 17 HOURS)

So, on a mid-June Friday night (or rather an early Saturday morning), we struck out. Monica attempting to sleep in the cab over while I, singing loudly to clear channel country and spitting sunflower seeds out the open window, drove through the night. A solid push to Coronado, a brew pub, a Walmart parking lot (thank you Walmart!) and a border crossing later, we were in Ensenada. The waves were not. Nor was anything else we expected.

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MONDAY, JUNE 20TH

Northern Baja, as it turns out is a Mediterranean climate. With the waves flat, on the advice of a co-gringo, we headed into wine country east up the Ruta Vinacola. We tasted wine, crushed farm-to-table fare and tried to remind ourselves that we weren’t in Greece.

Teeth red and bellies full we headed back to the San Miguel break for the anti- Curtis Canyon summer solstice. The ocean smashing on basketball size boulders, a purple-grey sky and a solo palm tree in the sky with the full moon was a welcomed change to our typical Teton sunset.

TUESDAY, JUNE 21TH – THURSDAY, JUNE 23RD

Waking up with a slight hang over I suddenly understood the meaning of “Baja Fog” both literally and figuratively. From the six foot strip of shoreline visible, we could see that the ocean was still flat.

We moved north to K-38 on rumors of better exposure to summer south swells and we got what we bargained for. We awoke to a parking lot filled with stoked locals chirping in that uniquely piercing, expletive heavy brand of Spanish and waves that pitched, boomed and sucked back with the sound of head-sized boulders cracking against each other.

Now this is what we came for. We paddled out.

The pervasive oyster smell of kelp and brine that by now permeated all of our belongings firmly embedded itself deep into my sinuses as I was pummeled repeatedly by the growing waves. Some of the waves of the trip were caught that day but none without el mar reminding us persistently that we had not yet put in our time.

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FRIDAY, JUNE 24TH

With lats gassed and a few cuts and bruises we decided to move south where we heard we may find some long slopey point breaks.

A morning of preparation before leaving civilization we made a stop at Marcado Negro, the local fish market, for fresh blue fin tuna and a cup of caldo de cantena in hopes of healing our salt water filled heads. One more stop off at the Wedlandt Cerveceria to stock up on local brews and we drove South.

Winding on Ruta 1 through more wine country, over a mountain pass and into the desert dotted with Yonkes (Mexico’s version of a junk yard) and dusty highway pueblos that began to feel more like what we had envisioned in Mexico. West down an unmarked sandy road we arrived at Quatro Casas, a primitive surf hostel and campground perched on a headland overlooking what is often a long, peeling right point break.

The ocean was chaos. Blown out by too much swell and a southwesterly direction, big foamballs rolled through what is typically the takeoff and slammed against the headland creating a river-like current that made it impossible to stay in place.

SATURDAY, JUNE 25TH

Our surf trip became a beach vacation while we enjoyed the rest, picturesque camping, and the spoils of our trip to the fish market and breweries in Ensenada. We decided to wait a day to see if the waves would shape up as the swell declined. But, as usual, rest turned to restlessness so we retraced our steps to San Miguel, just north of Ensenada. Despite being known as a winter northwest spot, San Miguel served us up perfect right handers. Breaking just off of the cobblestone point, a stone’s throw of the rig and mile from a good microbrewery, I could have stayed there indefinitely.

MONDAY, June 26th - June 28th

Reluctant to leave the water on our last morning, we were late to the border in Tijuana and spent four hours in line watching street vendors peddle trinkets, churros and grilled corn from the dotted lines between bumper to bumper traffic. Across the border, the homing instinct kicked in and our plan of stopping off in Zion for a run and some rest dissolved. We opted for a quick nap at a rest stop in Utah and blitzed all the way back to Jackson where we were once again struck by the beauty of home. But not before we could resist to stop off for a quick trail run and a dip in the Snake.

I can now safely say that the camper has been worth every penny and hour and the reality of road vagabonding is even sweeter than the dream. Now I can’t wait for a spring AK trip… and maybe a couple more surf trips too.

BEST BREAK - Surf at San Miguel‘s in Ensenada
BEST FOOD - Farm to Table food, wine & beer at Deckman‘s en el Mogor on the Routa Vinecola
Street Taco‘s from Taco‘s Manuel in Rosarito
Ceviche and Caldo De Catena at Captain Cortez Market Pescaderia & Ahumadora in the Marcado Negro
DON’T MISS - Marcado Negro “The Black Market“ in Ensenada - fresh fish & shrimp right off the boat! Wendlandt Cerveceria - craft beer in front of 3M‘s break Routa Vinecola, 100‘s of winery‘s
FIND PEACE AND QUIET - At Cuatro Casa‘s hostel with cliff side camping on the cheap!