Every pack job is specific to how long the trip will be; however, thesre are the essentails that should go on every trip to Baja:

1. Registration for your travel vehicle, off-road vehicle, trailer, and anything else that requires registration. If you do not have registration for a vehicle, bring a certificate of sale or bill of sale with your name on it and make sure it looks proffessional - this may or may not pass inspection and you can be turned away.

2. Valid drivers license, passport, or military ID with a picture.

3. Mexican Insurance (www.bajabound.com is the best for the buck).

4. Plenty of water. We use blatters so we can drink on the fly. You can get just the blatter with a hose at Wal-Mart now for $10 and they are waranteed for life. Larger bladders (90 oz.) are preferable for longer trips and can be found at any sports/outdoor type store. And, always bring a snack (nutrition bar), just in case you spend more time somewhere out there than you planned.

5. First Aid Kit: non-stick pads & medial tape, bandaids, anticeptic wipes, tweezers, gauze or an Ace bandage, Asprin or Tylonol, and Arniflora Gel (sooths breaks, strains, sprains, and bruises). You can get it at any health food store and I highly recommend it; there's nothing else like it.

6. Tools: Everyone has their favoite extras to bring, but these are the basics we inlcude: Tire changing tools, pump, a spare front tube, patches, and make sure you have plenty of glue. Bring a spare spark plug and the plug remover. Sockets, open-end wrenches, philips & flat-head screw drivers, vise-grips, needle nose plyers, cresent wrench, allen wrenches or sockets, duct tape, bailing wire, and a ton of zip ties. I like to bring a small bag of nuts, bolts, washers, and such that typically become useful. On more technical rocky terrain we sometimes bring JB weld. The guidebook recommends specifics like this for each ride when necessary.

7. GPS, Mount, and enough batteries for the trip or have it hardwired to your battery by Baja Designs 800-422-5292

8. Baja GPS Guidebook, of course, and the 5X7 mapcase for course description charts.

Our Set-Up

Baja Designs HID Lighting System, Dulop D739 A/T or D606 series tires, Magellan SporTrack Map or Meridian on a RAM Mount, heated grips (for the Lizard Lady in December), 5X7 mapcase clipped to handlebars (sold on this site) IMS 4 gal. desert tank (125 mi. to a tank on an XR400), IMS Superstock footpegs, stock jetting with an A16 needle and 408 slide, 96' Honda baffle (no matter what yr. your XR400 is), Moto-pannier saddle bags (available on this site), and Mountain Smith Packs stuffed with an Amrel Ruggedized Laptop, a toothbrush, and some clean underware.

BAJA & THE LIZARD LADY TOURTURE TEST:
I ride a Honda XR400 named Stella. She's a 1996 that I bought from a race promoter in Colorado, so you can only imagine what it looked like when I skipped home smiling with my new toy….. it wasn't pretty. Just by the looks of the frame, you could tell she had been ridden every day of her life - hard. She has now endured three 120-day rides in Baja with minimal maintenance in the high heat months (June, July, Aug., & Sept.) and three 2-week trips searching for single and two-track routes for the Baja GPS Event (life is rough) stopping & starting in high heat constantly, not to mention my non-work related rides. For those who have seen Stella recently, the comments have been funny to everyone but me. I've been to Baja with many friends on brand new or like new "other" types of bikes. What's funny to me is that Stella never brakes down and my mechanical skills are getting better on "other" bikes all the time. Here we are in 2003 and Stella is still rocking strong in Baja on some of the toughest rides available without ever letting me down. If I ever get a new bike, it will definitely be an XR.

We wear FOX appareal, knee cups, and chest protectors, Arai Helmets, and Alpinestar Tech 8 boots. We couldn't be happier with the equipment we use and abuse; nothing else has withstood our thrashing.

Torture testing with all that equipment is exactly what we do. This photo is on the XR route going UP!