25 April, 12:00
Conquering Baja
Words by Jordan Hanson
Baja is no stranger to anyone who is even slightly immersed in the off-road community; However, the lack of modern comforts and the harsh desert environment discourage a lot of travelers from entering this little slice of paradise. Baja is a place where you must learn to have an appreciation for the rugged terrain, the joys of eating dirt, bracing winds, and plucking barbed cactus from your foot. If you can’t fall in love with the harsh side of Baja, then there is little that you will find attractive about this place.
Exploring the essence of the human spirit...
Before we can enjoy the little slice of paradise that is, Baja, we have to make it to San Diego first. Our team left from South Dakota last week and will be making that long trek to San Diego, where we will then cross the border into Mexico. That’s a lot of miles on the pavement. It’s kind of ironic that off-roading to some is considered the ultimate freedom; However, it seems like we’re prisoners to the pavement at times on these long road trips to get to the destination. Once we finally arrive in Baja, it’s almost an injustice to the land to not take in all the off-road trails we can. These next two weeks our team is joining up with the Tacoma Beast team on an epic off-road journey through the Baja Peninsula. We will loosely be following the 2021 Baja 1000 desert race trail all while exploring not only the rugged terrain but also the essence of the human spirit