 |
 |
                    
|
 |
              
  
|
| Jim Glitch: Surfing Big Sur to Baja |
| Gordon White | Wednesday, 16 December, 2009 | ||||||||||||||||
|
Jim Glitch takes us boondocking on the beaches of Baja in his tricked out Hallmark and Aluminess camper. The waves are calling. Let's ride...  Jim fell in love with surfing in his mid-twenties and never looked back. For decades, his passion for wave riding has brought him to Baja, Mexico in search of good waves, good weather, and good times. Today, Jim enjoys boondocking for weeks in comfort with a Hallmark Guanella pop-up camper, Aluminess aluminum bumpers and boxes, and warm Pacific waves. For Jim, a pop-up camper in Baja, Mexico is a surfer's slice of heaven.
TCM: How did you get into surfing? Jim: We live in Cambria, on the central coast of California. We are just south of Big Sur about half way between Los Angeles and San Francisco. We moved to Cambria in 1977. Not long after, my friends introduced me to surfing. I was twenty-five years old. Thirty-one years later, surfing remains a passion. TCM: What is it about surfing that keeps pulling you back into the water? Jim: Unlike a lot of sports, surfing involves a real interface with nature. We see dolphins, elephant seals, sea lions, and even an occasional whale at a distance. The ocean is full of life. Weather conditions, variations in swell size, swell direction, and wind speed make for an ever changing playing field. Surfing can be a demanding athletic activity, yet it is often just a simple relaxing pleasure. TCM: Do you have any interesting surfing stories? Jim: I’ve never encountered a shark while surfing, but I do know of local fisherman who witnessed a Great White shark bite a seal in half just yards from their boat. It was not too far from one of our local surf breaks. I did have an encounter involving a gray whale, which surfaced twenty or thirty yards from the spot we were surfing. While not a dangerous situation, it was definitely something to remember.
TCM: When did your interest in surfing and truck campers collide? Jim: Living on the central coast of California, we are relatively close to the Baja Peninsula of Mexico. In Baja, there are many remote beaches that have good surfing, kayaking, fishing, and excellent camping. In the late 1970s, we started going to Baja with friends and family. Initially we tent camped and later upgraded to a pick-up with camper shell. Our gear has been evolving ever since. Now my beach camping includes a Hallmark pop-up truck camper. The Hallmark is much more comfortable in the weather and wind. TCM: Do you see other surfers with truck camper rigs in California and Baja? Jim: We see many different approaches to beach camping in California and Mexico. Younger surfers are doing their best just to get out there with whatever resources they have at their disposal. Older surfers are typically looking for a little more comfort. While there are a variety of solutions, most RVs don’t have the ability to access the more remote locations. You need a nimble vehicle. Although not always essential, a four-wheel drive truck can be a definite plus. A slide-in truck camper, especially a pop-up with a lower center of gravity, is a highly desirable set-up for camping at those remote spots.
TCM: Tell us about your truck and camper. Jim: My wife and I started truck camping with a 1999 Ford F-250 with a Four Wheel pop-up camper. The Four Wheel camper was a short bed model and eventually we wanted a little more room. We purchased a 2006 Dodge long bed diesel pickup and began to shop for pop-up campers. That’s when we discovered that many of the pop-up camper manufacturers were located in Colorado and would be displaying their campers at an RV show in Denver. We flew to Denver in February of 2006 and attended the show. After a couple of days looking closely at all the campers at the show, we decided to purchase a Hallmark Guanella. TCM: What did you like about the Hallmark Guanella? Jim: We felt the Hallmark was the best pop-up camper at the RV show. The Guanella had many of the features that we were looking for, including a fiberglass exterior. TCM: What options did you go for when you ordered your Guanella. Jim: We kept things fairly simple. We requested a slightly different configuration of cabinet drawers and doors. We also wanted a larger water tank. The water tank was important for us because of the dry camping we like to do in Mexico. The larger tank allows us to stay out for a couple of weeks without having to resupply. Hallmark is an excellent company to work with. They were very responsive to the small customizations we asked for in the camper.
TCM: Tell us about boondocking on the beach. Jim: Our trips sometimes last a month. During the course of a month, we may drive back to the closest town to replenish supplies, but we can easily dry camp for two weeks without breaking camp. We are not using solar or a generator. We only use power for the water pump and lights. Our primary camping activity in Baja is surfing, but we also enjoy kayaking, hiking, and exploring the mountainous interior. We have a wonderful time whale watching ar Laguna San Ignacio. Laguna San Ignacio was declared a World Heritage Site in 1993 by the United Nations. It’s carefully controlled by the Mexican government in order to protect the whales. While the facilities are relatively simple, there is some provision for camping and a small restaurant. People who go there to view the whales are taken out into the lagoon in small outboard pangas by sanctioned guides. The whales come from Alaska to give birth to their calves. The best time to observe them is late February into March and early April when the males have departed to go back to Alaska. The females and calves are left in the lagoon for a couple more months. The mothers are very friendly and some will bring the babies up to the boats. They’ll rub their backs on the underside of the boat and will bring their heads up where you can touch them. It’s an experience I would recommend to everyone. TCM: Tell us about they kayak you have on your camper roof. Jim: Our kayaks come with us so that we have another option to keep busy and have fun. The Sea of Cortez side of the Baja Peninsula is a popular kayak and fishing area. Along most of the Sea of Cortez there is no surf, but there is excellent fishing, kayaking, and nice warm weather. TCM: Can you lift the camper roof with the kayak on the roof? Jim: Yes, we can. Originally our camper came fitted with a manual crank for lifting the roof. We later returned to Hallmark to have an electrically operated lift installed. Now we can lift more weight on our Hallmark roof, kayak and surfboards included. TCM: Do you use your camper for other trips and vacations or is it strictly for surfing? Jim: In the Fall of 2008, we took a three month trip across the USA. Our trip covered Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Acadia National Park in Maine. We then went down the East Coast to North Carolina, west through Tennessee, south by way of the Natchez Trace Parkway through Alabama into Louisiana, and then back west through Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and finally California. We camped in most of the National Parks and Monuments along the way. We have to say that the campgrounds in Iowa were among the nicest and cleanest. All told, we covered 13,000 miles.
TCM: Was the Aluminess aluminum bumper part of the vision when you put your rig together? Jim: Yes, it was. We had admired the bumpers we had seen on the Sportsmobile 4x4 vans. After some research, I learned that the bumpers were being fabricated by Dave Hoskins at Aluminess. Dave has a fabricating facility in Santee, which is near San Diego, California. TCM: How has the Aluminess bumper extended your boondocking capabilities? Jim: The Aluminess front bumper has a lockable compartment for a 12,000 pound winch; a nice feature for off-road travel. The rear bumper has a lockable storage compartment in the bumper with two stout swing arms to carry a tool box and an extra spare tire. The extra spare is a real plus in remote off-road locations. The tool box allows us to carry automotive tools, leveling blocks, and other items that we would rather not have bouncing around in the camper. I also have the Aluminess Expedition Kit. I definitely have use for the shovel in Baja. I have used it many times. There’s a lot of terrain in Baja where it’s easy to get stuck. TCM: Tell us about your experience with Aluminess the company. Jim: All positive. They have been extremely helpful. Their bumpers are well made and beautifully detailed. Dave has been very responsive to my questions and is very service orientated. TCM: What are your future truck camping plans? Jim: We’re going to Baja soon. Hopefully we’ll make it down twice this winter. Then we’ll go back again in the Spring for whale watching. Two other trips we hope to take in the not too distant future are to Alaska and Central America. TCM: We hope to get to Alaska and Baja, Mexico in a truck camper one of these days ourselves. Please keep in touch with your truck camping adventures and rub a whale nose for us. Jim: I will. |
||||||||||||||||
