Words: Jason Cobb
Photos: Provided by Five 2 Productions
My name is Jason Cobb, and I am the owner of TrophyLite, a company that rents off-road race trucks and handles logistics at most off-road races. Recently, I was granted an opportunity to work with Travis Pastrana and his group of extreme athletes. For the past few years, I have worked with him on other special projects, but when Travis called me and told me he wanted me to put together a trip in Mexico that went from Ensenada to Cabo San Lucas for New Years in UTVs, I was elated. It sounded like a great trip and a great way to spend New Years with my family and friends. Then I started to think about it and put pen to paper, and I realized that this was not going to be a small undertaking and was going to be much harder than my initial reaction had suggested.
Where do we go? Normally, we are on racecourses that are marked and are given maps and GPS files. We had nothing… It would take more than 200 gallons per vehicle to make it to Cabo. How do we transport it and let alone get it to the cars? We would need to average almost 300 miles a day and cross the peninsula at least twice. What about hotels and food? It’s hard to find rooms for 26 people when it’s not a holiday in such small towns such as Bay of Los Angeles and Uruapan. Heck, even Cabo was sold out for the most part. What about any medical or equipment issues? How would we get someone out if they had an issue? How would we know they needed help? How do you chase the world’s most crazy fast guy and his lunatic friends behind the wheel of two Can-Ams in Baja? It was time to get creative so, my wife Gretchen, our son Josh, and I put our heads down and got to work.
Before anything, we needed to know where we were going. Travis had only a few requests for the trip and one was Mike’s Sky Rancho in northern Baja between Ensenada and San Felipe. The second was to see some of Mexico’s most amazing Missions, and for that, we needed to include San Ignacio and Loreto in Central Baja. Lastly, was to drive on the beach, and we knew the perfect spot just north of Cabo.
We had targets on the map which would require many long nights on Google Earth and researching old course maps before we could pre-run these trails, and see for ourselves if it was possible. We finally had a course. Now we could focus on logistics and accommodations at the 250-350 mile mark each day. Rooms were tough, but food turned out to be even more of a challenge. In Bay of Los Angeles, we had to pre-order dinner and breakfast because we would get in late and there wouldn’t be a restaurant open that could feed such a large group. Our staff would make over 400 sandwiches over the course of the week to feed this mobile carnival to keep pace and get our miles done each day. Gretchen would handle hotels, food, insurance, the chase truck, money, and communications. We needed someone with firsthand knowledge of Baja and fluent in Spanish. Gretchen reached out to longtime friend Nikki Nolen, owner of Baja Nikki Enterprises, to help with her side of things. Meanwhile, I reached out to my buddy, 20-year friend, Alfonzo LaCarra, who owns the CODE racing series in Mexico for help with the locals and ranchers. When we had compiled all the info, we reached out to Jon Kilbourne of Dirt Days Raptor Touring Company to generate a professional course map and GPS routes for the cars and chase vehicles. These people truly made up a powerhouse team to tackle this project, and things were finally coming together.
Our final plan had Travis’ group flying into San Diego on the 26th of December and we would leave for Mexico early on the 27th. Gretchen and I drove to Corona to pick up the Can-Ams from Casey Currie’s shop the day after Christmas, just hours before Casey headed to the Dakar Rally. From there, we trailered to San Diego to meet up with Travis and his crew, enjoy our last meal stateside, and get our last good night of rest for the next 8 days. Josh and crew also left Arizona on the 26th and drove to Mexicali to pick up the second half of our chase team at ORP, then continued to Ensenada with the support crew and trucks, and awaited our arrival the next day.
Day 1 – San Diego to San Felipe – 208 Miles
We picked up the Pastrana gang at 8 AM in the 15-passenger van we dubbed “the Party Van” and headed south to the border. It took more than 90 minutes to get our travel visas, x-ray the Party Van and the dually with the Can-Ams, and get back on the road. We were already behind schedule and these guys and gals wanted to be in the dirt! Once we approached Ensenada, the traffic became horrific as the city was dealing with a crazy storm that dumped snow on the tropical town and turned the place into a mess. We were getting word that Mike’s was closed due to heavy snow and both HWY 3 and 5 were also closed due to the white, fluffy stuff. My suggestion was to head directly to Valley de Trinidad, bypassing Mike’s and take the course to San Felipe. But Travis said, “We got this,” so we headed to Uruapan and unloaded, and he started our adventure.
The Can-Ams loaded full with people, gear, and water, headed through beautiful wine vineyards, rugged valleys, and steep climbs to get up to Mike’s Sky Rancho. Because of our late start, it was cold and we were running out of daylight. Mike’s was, as reported, closed due to the weather but a couple of knocks on the door and the sounds of our engines on the unusually quiet day had us inside for a quick rest to warm up and dry out before slipping our way down the hill into Valley de Trinidad. Now it was dark, and the temperature had dipped well down into the 30’s. We headed down the highway into San Felipe with the die-hards taking the Can-Ams on the course to the hotel. This weather was so bizarre and unusual it seemed odd that our hotel rooms did not have heaters. Why would they when the average nighttime temperature for that time of year was around 60 degrees? We were soaked, cold, hungry, tired, and worried that our guests would not be happy with accommodations, regardless if mother nature was to blame. Fortunately, I was reminded that Travis, the persona you see on TV, always smiling, always happy and carefree, is Travis in real life. I have never been around a more nice, gung-ho, positive person in my life with a motor that just will not quit. Cold or not, he was happy.
Day 2 – San Felipe to Bay of Los Angeles – 217 Miles
The gang was cold and ready for the sun to make an appearance as we loaded up and headed out to the trail. We had a special treat for the group as we set up a private tour of Lynn Chenowth’s race car collection at his house in Puertecitos. Chenowth Racing made the sport of off road racing what it is today and these amazing pieces of history are kept there in pristine condition—the place was simply unreal. Lynn knew the story of every piece of memorabilia hanging from the rafters, the walls, and on or around each car. It was great to see Travis and Lynn go over every piece of history. Once we had our fill, it was back to the endless sand whoops before heading onto HWY 5 for a spell and a gas stop that lead us back into the dirt through Coco’s Corner, down to Punta Prieta, and northeast into the Bay of Los Angeles. Accommodations in the Bay of L.A. were improved with heaters in each room, and the outside temperature edged up slightly as we moved south. The pre-ordered food was amazing and ready for us when we arrived, and the day 2 fiesta was in high gear by the time the chase crews arrived at the hotel.
Day 3 – Bay of Los Angeles to Loreto – 369 Miles
Stunning views and epic desert made the start of day 3’s run one to remember as the course was challenging and fast. Remote fuel stops meant the support crews had to leave hours before Travis and his gang would even be awake! The good news was the warmth was back and jackets were taken off after the morning section was completed. Back towards the Pacific through Del Vizcaino, we would stop in San Ignacio for our first visit to a mission. The Mission San Ignacio Kadakaaman dates back to 1728 and is the centerpiece of a quiet, little colorful town lined with palm trees forming a true oasis. Then, we set off for Santa Rosalia, Mulege, San Sebastian Cove, and into Loreto, where the trail ran along the beach and was as beautiful as one could imagine. This was by far our longest mileage day, and it went by the fastest… go figure!
Day 4 – Loreto to La Paz – 322 Miles
Right from our hotel, on the Gulf of Mexico beach, the course jumped into a high speed wash, then turned for a beautiful drive through the Sierra de la Giganta mountains up to the ‘Jewel of the Baja Missions.’ The San Javier Mission (Misión San Francisco Javier de Viggé-Biaundó) was even more stunning and larger than the first, was a few years older, and was a magnificent find on the trail. From there, we followed the mostly dry riverbed southwest back to the Pacific side to the farmlands in Ciudad Insurgentes where we would fuel, grab a taco or ten, and continue on quickly… or so we thought. A local had recognized Travis and asked for a couple of quick photos with his phone and an autograph on his shirt before leaving in his Ford Ranger. Quickly, he returned, but this time with friends as the word was out that Travis was in town! We had a huge party in the diesel line at the local Pemex station. Over an hour later and well over a hundred autographs and thumbs up photos with Travis, we finally headed down Hwy 1 before jumping back into the dirt and traversing another 50 or so miles to the Gulf. Continuing along the water as they blew through small fishing villages and vacation settlements through some really rugged terrain led them into La Paz and the hotel just 50 feet away from where the Baja 1000 race finishes. What a great ride and even better scenery as day turned into night.
Day 5 – La Paz to Cabo San Lucas – 174 Miles
The morning started with mariachi bands playing as we rolled out of the hotel, and set out on HWY 286 for 20+ miles before jumping into the dirt in San Pedro. It would not take us long to reach the Gulf for more unreal views in towns like Buena Vista and La Ribera, until we snuck into the backside of Cabo through the wash in Santa Anita down into the city. The wash had been totally reconstructed by all the recent rains and it was quite the adventure to get out of, but we needed that final challenge to make our arrival even sweeter.
We made it! 1290 miles of adventure and over a million stories that will most likely never be out done. What was even more impressive was these two Can-Ams! When we unloaded them, they were brand new and bone stock other than the Yokohama Super Digger III’s that were installed. No break-in, no warmup, hammer down and WFO (wide, full, open). They did not have 1 issue, not even a drop of oil was used, and the only flat we encountered was when one of the “celebrity” drivers hit a rock that destroyed the wheel making it impossible to seal on the bead. We did, however, replace a belt when we helped a truck get unstuck from the sand… in high gear… in 2 wheel drive… Oops! Certainly not the fault of the car or the belt. I am a believer for sure in these products and the dollars per mile – per smiles equations add up to a great value for sure! These Can-Ams not only have incredible performance and comfort but reliability that is impressive to say the least. So grab your UTV, head out and follow these trails that TP199 and his buddies had the time of their lives on down in Baja!