By the third morning of our May 2021 Baja run, we had two long days behind us. We had come over the mountains from Mike’s Sky Ranch and down to the coast, and the second night put us at Horsepower Ranch in Ensenada. This is the morning we packed up and headed back toward La Rumorosa to close the loop, with my brother Clint Olson, my friends Steve Anderson, Greg Fulton, and Mark Fulton, and the rest of the group led by JR Quintero from Baja UTV Tours.

The Second Night at Horsepower Ranch

Horsepower Ranch sits in Ensenada and has long been a stop for off-road groups running this part of Baja. After a full day of driving, it is the kind of place where you park the cars, clean up, and end up trading stories with the same people you spent all day eating dust behind. About 20 vehicles came in off the trail that night.

The Group Photo

Before anyone left in the morning, we got the whole group together for a photo. On a trip like this, that photo is the marker. Everyone in one frame, cars staged behind us, before the convoy breaks up for the last leg and the day takes over.

Rolling Out

Then it was time to go. The video shows the line pulling out of the ranch, one car after another heading for the trail back toward La Rumorosa. Twenty side-by-sides leaving together is a good way to start a final day.

The Trip, by the Facts

This was a 400-mile off-road run through Baja in May 2021 with Baja UTV Tours. We started in La Rumorosa, stayed the first night at Mike’s Sky Ranch in the mountains, spent the second night at Horsepower Ranch in Ensenada, and drove back to La Rumorosa on the third day. I drove a Can-Am X3 Max. Guide: JR Quintero. Group size: about 20 vehicles.

Reflections

The driving is the reason you sign up, but the mornings at the ranches are what I remember. A group photo, full fuel tanks, and a line of cars pointed at the same place. Five years on, plenty of the people in that photo are friends now.

Conclusion

If a Baja run is on your list, go with a group and a guide who knows the route. The trail is the draw, but the ranches, the staging, and the people are what make it a trip worth coming back for.

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