Bikepacking | Topanga Creek Outpost Adventure Field Log

UnPredict Your Wednesday happened in Big Bear this week. After the shop closed on Tuesday Chris and Andrew took off for Big Bear (and stopping for dinner at a diner. The guys drove up to Skyline Drive and parked at that big helicopter landing at the top of the dirt road area. They rode for a long time, naturally Chris got them lost for a bit. Somewhere in the mountain around 12:30 AM they camped. The guys woke up to an amazing day and scenery. After a really leisurely coffee time / breakfast with oatmeal in the heart of nowhere, they rode the super fun single track Skyline Trail back. Here is a photo documentary of the trip.

: Chris on the trail.

: Good times.

: Puffy white cloud kinda day.

: Where we camped.

: Camping under the starts

: Chllin on the mountain top.

: Andrew’s Tent

: Virgils Rootbeer

: Andrew and Chris on Skyline Trail above Big Bear.

: Camp and go Slow. campandgoslow

: Chris’s tent.

: This is where we camped.

: Andrew being himself.

: Chris’s Advocate Hayduke on the trail.

: We rode out to the campsite at night and bikepacked along Skyline Trail in Big Bear for the day

: Riding Skyline is loads of fun

: Warming up with coffee and oatmeal.

: Surly Karate Monkey and Advocate Hayduke bikepacking

: Morning Camp Coffee.

: After riding for the day, Chris and a couple others decided to camp on the ocean.

: Various terrain and roads are throughout Baja. The route takes you to many off the beaten paths spots.

: Late in the day before some hills lots of us stopped and set up camp along this road.

: About 100 of us had dinner together on the first night of the Baja Divide Kick-off and camped together. A night that will live kindly in everyone’s memory.

: Chris at Salvador’s shop in Baja. FASS Bikes is the best shop Chris found.

: A fun, fun ranch and resort in the hills. The Meling family has a couple great places way way up in the mountains and only accessible by rugged dirt road.

: Bikepacking through Baja California on an Advocate Hayduke. Chris explored the amazing area.

: For a couple brief fun moments, Dune Buggies shared the Divide Route. Rest assured you hear them coming and stopping for a moment to have the on the route was fun.

: Camping along the Pacific at night with a campfire is about as good as it gets.

: We set up camp on a bluff along the ocean, made a fire and had a terrific night sleep.

: Lots of different setups and a few traditional campgrounds

: Chris relaxed along the Pacific Coast after camping in his Bivvy. It was a great night sleep. You can see tracks from the dune buggies on the sand and we saw a couple having a good tim.

: Glad this moment was a week after the rain. The Baja Peninsula has a lots of mixed terrain.

: Everyone had an amazing time on our rain day/party night at the Ceileto Lindo

: Inside the Happy Hour extravaganza. We took over the old school resort for a couple days and had a terrific time.

: Our bikepacking crowd fit in perfectly at the Cielito LIndo in Baja for Happy Hour and a great time at the old Vegas style place.

: For a day, Chris battled some muddy tracks which sometimes cleaned off when he had to wade through the water.

: Chris probably should have waited for a couple days before he went down this road. It was wet and muddy, obviously.

: We camped here at the el Coyote. Ideally, make reservations for your visit so they know and have food for you.

: Ana did a stellar job making the fire along the ocean on the Baja Divide.

: Bikepacking requires cooking along the way and bringing gear. Simple is better. We cooked a lot of soups, rice and beans after stopping at stores for fresh breads and tortillas.

: Riding his Advocate Hayduke, Chris, bikepacking through Baja, is headed down to the water.

: The Baja Divide route enters Mexico at Tecate where the border crossing is simple for bikes. Chris had to get a temporary visitor’s stay which cost $24.50 for 6 months. The process took about 15 minutes at the border.

: Bikepacking on a Advocate Hayduke with Bedrock bags. Perfect setup for the Baja Divide for Chris. Tire sized ideally for the terrain.

: Chris stopped to smell the cactus and the ocean views along the Baja Divide route.

: Mike, from Canada, along the Baja Divide route. This guy has a great attitude in life.

: A bunch of us arrived at the same time and waited for a photo from the department of tourism. Fun day in Tecate.

: Nick bought his Hayduke from us, but Chris had never met him and they were riding together and realized the connection during the Baja Divide.

: Chris had a beach day and played in the sand. UnPredict Your Journey.

: Back in the 60s and 70s, the Cielito Lindo was only accessible by airstrip. John Wayne, Henry Fonda and the likes were regulars. John Wayne owned it for 10 years according to the current owner. Completely off the beaten path, the Cielto Lindo is just like it was in the 60s. Amazing. We had a great time staying and hanging out in the original lounge/bar.

: Chris stayed across from some old volcanoes in Baja. Old Mill, Baja California.

: Chris, Ana, Jace, Nicholas, Lael and a few others took the morning off from bikepacking the divide to go on the local shop ride and see the local singletrack. Fun morning in the hood.

: Taking the day off to supply up, Chris stopped at a hardware store to replace the bivvy pole he had left accidentally in the forest. A plastic weather strip did the trick, cut in size for the purpose.

: Everywhere around the northern part of Baja was spectacular mountains, terrain and vistas. Chris bikepacking through was a treat.

: Chris bikepacked along the coast and set up camp on the ocean.

: Chris found some terrific camping spots on the Pacific Ocean.

: Everyone got their wifi fix on the Baja Divide every few days at small cafe’s and motels.

: The Northern section of Baja is mostly hilly, so it was nice when we had relatively flat areas.

: The roughly 100 of us that set off on the kick-off of the Baja Divide route kept leap frogging each other. We often stopped and chatted camping and having meals like this lunch

: After riding in the mountains for a few days, the ocean was a terrific place to see and enjoy for about 20 miles.

: Sand dollars, Sand Dobs, Star fish.

: There was a lot of places to camp and have coffee stops along the Pacific Ocean.

: Chris went on the FASS Bikes shop ride in Vicente Guerrero with a bunch of other Baja Divide riders and everyone stopped for tacos. It wasn’t even Tuesday.

: Baja California is just plain beautiful with a variety of terrain.

: Chris enjoyed a couple hours of glorious down hill riding into town after the mountains.

: Baja is completely diverse in topography.

: We had a group photo in Tecate with the department of Tourism. A couple people from the Mexican government were in Tecate promoting alternative recreation for Baja and bikepacking is ideal. After the photo, most of the group found some coffee and/or tacos.

: A little time prepping bikes in Tecate before the group photos.

: The first night of bikepacking the Baja Divide on the kick-off week included food, freebies and the chance to have something silk screened with the logo. Just like summer camp.

: The first segment.

: Chris on his Advocate Hayduke before Colonet after leaving the Pacific Ocean.

: Bike packing along the Pacific Ocean in beautiful Baja, California.

: After riding up for a while, a long decent waited in front of us. Snacks and water celebration before dropping down to the water.

: The Cielito Lindo Resort is a snapshot of time forgotten. The 1960s Baja resort hasn’t been largely changed in over 50 years. Still a bit out of the way and worth every adventure nuance to find it and stay there.

: A celebration day at the Cielito Lindo Santa Maria in Baja California.

: Baja fish tacos are even better after a shop ride. We went riding with the local bike shop and stopped for tacos after.

: Chris brought along a couple of our bikepacking patches.

: Riding the dirt roads of Baja.

: Camping taco night.

: Getting out there and enjoying some very away time in a very away place.

: A whole bunch of us spent some of the funnest time in Baja waiting out the rain at the Cielito Lindo.

: Chris brought along his patch.

: Fass Bicycles shop ride day during the Baja Divide trip.

: One of the greatest meals and places along the Baja Divide was the Rancho el Coyote Meling in the mountains. The stove/oven is wood heated. Chris enjoyed some quiet time waiting for his breakpast.

: The Baja route is best done when the temperatures are cooler in the winter, but rain can strike.

: A quick selfie from Chris on the route.

: Downhills are fun after a few days of climbing in the mountains.

: We settled in an oak grove to protect us a bit from the morning dew and add a little warmth. Baja California is so diverse.

: An unscheduled impromptu Happy Hour at the Cielitio Lindo along the Baja Divide.

: Mike is da man.

: A few murals along the route. Chris tried stopping when the photo op was right.

: 2 for 1 Margaritas at the Cielito Lindo for Happy Hour along the the Baja Divide. Just about perfect.

: The bikes along the route were so different and all the set ups were too.

: So many hills. Never ending hills.

: Chris was riding along and all of sudden an art project occurred. Just wild. The picture doesn’t do it justice, but the owner of this ranch is more of an artist than anything.