Email to John Schilling regarding Camino del Diablo in 2018

Whole heartedly, it’s not what it once was. Even pre 9/11 it was tracked out by 4 wheelers yet it was still narrow and vulnerable to time and the desert’s fluidity. Much of that essence has been lost as a result of the border dynamics: border patrol tire-dragging the road, it’s a wide avenida in places. And the overall growth in human presence down there has simply trampled. It is still a profound experience in my opinion. But where I go even though I’m on a bicycle I’m trying to find places where there are as few humans as possible. Camino del Diablo was one of those places, even now.

Water was a non issue, kinda. I was able to refuel each day. So, that makes it minor, right? I portaged 4-6 liters each day. In retrospect, Each day really only required 4 if you are crazy, however your first refuel at Tinajas Altas is pretty mank. So portage varies per day. The tinajas, your first water option, are 50 miles from downtown Yuma; where I started at least. Those rain-catch pools are all that’s available to all animals and there’s plenty of detritus in the water. I assume a few rodents have drowned in them and so on… I’d filter it, but instead I passed it up for better water down the road. Those tinjajas are also tucked up into the mountain, off-course, so you have to work a bit to reach them. There’s plenty of evidence of First Nation use pre-history there too. I only surveyed the first/lowest pool which I pinned at the url below. There are another 3-6 pools up higher in the range. I should have scrambled to check those out but I was cashed on the day. If you do, snap pics. I’d like to see them.

If you don’t resupply there, Tule well is your next available source. It is reasonable to reach Tule in a day from Yuma if you get an early start. I didn’t have the daylight since I had to wait for the Marine Base to open to get the bombing range permit. That cost me 1/3 of the day. Regardless, Tule Well is a quality, maintained, no-need-to-filter well. I think it is near 70 miles into the ride. Check the url below for the pin. Once you pass Tule Well, it’s a day and a half, or two, to get to Ajo. Tule is your only “established” water source. Once you head further down the Camino, your options are essentially border patrol grace, and the blue tanks for Humane Borders (https://humaneborders.org/water-stations/), which I would not use unless I was in danger of survival. Further, all the wells on Bates Ranch were dry and crumbling. Bates ranch seemed equidistant from Tule well and I camped a stones throw from the ranch house there on my second night. I had the most intense nightmare of my life there in accordance with the ghost ranch and including wild horse and coyotes grazing and scavenging around my camp.

Alt idea: Look into Pozo Nuevo road if you want to stay closer to the border through Organ Pipe. I anticipate it is more wild than touring northward toward Ajo. I will explore that route next time. It would also add another day to the ride or more. There are plenty of options down there I think.

Last thing is logistics to and from. I took the train back from Tucson to Yuma, however even if you end your ride in Ajo, the method back to Yuma is via I-8 so there’s a fair amount of driving. If you were to tap the train from Tucson, then know that they do not have bike carrying option on it (as other Amtrak routes do)… however, the staff for the Amtrak I rode was so lax that in hindsight I could have simply asked to put my bike in the baggage area and they would have. there was plenty of room.

  • 1Original idea: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/26483364
  • Actual ride: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/19286499
  • Tinjajas Altas – https://goo.gl/maps/BEiKmobNweo
  • Tule Well – https://goo.gl/maps/UQ32NoD71VR2
  • Bates Ranch – no water
  1. Good luck on your travels. I look forward to your report on the ride.

    -dh ↩︎

About Gnome

David "The Gnome" Herbold is a lifelong cyclist who manages bipolar depression through an multimodal atonement process recognizing past harm,, various therapeutic approaches (physical and mental) and a vigilance of practiced love in the face of fear.