KTMrad 514 Posted June 22, 2006 Well, it was that time of year again....Memorial Day Weekend, and time to get my yearly dose of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, some awesome Adventure Riding and exploring for future rides. After last years solo adventure, this year my friend Ron decided to join me on a 5 day ride. WARNING.....This write-up has LOTS of photos !! I wanted to get out of town Thursday night, May 25th, and Ron would meet me somewhere along Highway 395 north on the east side of the Sierra Nevada on Friday. I left San Diego 10:00pm Thursday night, a little later than I wanted, so knew I'd be getting to my campground destination pretty late. I blasted up the Interstate 15 to Highway 395 north. Had a midnight dinner at Wendy's, then continued on up the 395. Up north around Coso Junction, I started fighting the nods....I had to pull over at a rest area, walk around a bit, sit and close my eyes for a few minutes. After a 45 minute break, I got back on the bike and rode the last 50 miles to Diaz Lake County Park, where I arrived at the campsite at 3:40am. I looked around, the ground looked weird, like it was wet....but pitched my tent and got to sleep around 4:30am. I left my cell phone on, expecting a call from Ron about 5:00am, when he was leaving San Diego. Sure enough, he called at 5:10 and was surprised when I answered....he said, "what are you doing up ?" I said he should look for me the next morning at the campground, since I would be sleeping in. Agreed. DAY 1 Later, at 8:30am, I got a call from work while sleeping in my tent and she said I sounded tired....:eek1 Well, I told her I was still in my tent, she laughed. Schedule for next week was arranged while I laid there in my tent. By now, the sun started beating down on the tent, so I couldn't sleep anymore. I got up, leisurely packed up my stuff and Ron called again. He would be getting in later, so I told him to meet me in Independence. Ready to hit the road, after about 3 hours of sleep.... The ground was wet, as I suspected the night before....the ranger who collected my $10 said the sites were under water the weekend before, and they just opened the floodgates of the lake to allow access to the campground...here's a picnic table submerged...the lake level still high.... View from the campground....rocky Alabama Hills with the Sierra Nevada Mountains behind I went to breakfast at the Mt. Whitney Cafe, on main street in Lone Pine. I waited around thinking I might see Ron ride by, but decided to go load up with supplies for the day's off-road riding. As I was walking out the door, I saw Ron ride by. I quickly loaded up the cooler and chased Ron down a few miles up the road in Independence. Ron and his 640 Adventure at the gas station where we hooked up.... After a beverage break, we took Mazourka Canyon Road, which quickly turned to dirt and we started climbing up and up into the Inyo Mountains. Ron at Badger Flat Spectacular views riding through mountainous terrain....Sierra Nevada Mountain Range across the Owens Valley Ron with the bikes on top of Mazourka Peak....elevation 9,412 feet Looking north towards the White Mountains With a view like this, it was time to enjoy a cold Sierra with the Sierra in the background Interesting cloud formations Next 3 Photos, camera panning south to north across the Owens Valley Yours Truly From Mazourka Peak, we headed east over a few ridges, on a fairly rough jeep trail.....not tough, but a little challenging in spots on the fully loaded, big KTM's. Then north to Papoose Flat Nice 2 track dirt roads with green grass growing... On top of a ridge....KTM 640 and his big brother 950.... Immediately after that ridge, I knew there was a tricky downhill section so I walked down to get some photos of Ron attacking the downhill We had no trouble, but here's evidence of someone else having problems on this hill....broken clutch lever and mirror :rofl Another awesome view across the valley at the Sierra Nevada We took a wrong turn, missed the trail to the soft, sandy canyon that I took last year, but that's OK....the new trail we found went to Harkless Flat, and then there was a long, steep downhill, twisty section that was a lot of fun !! We ended up at pavement at the Saline Valley Road, headed west to Big Pine. It was too late in the day to explore more dirt to Bishop, that would have to be next time. So, we hopped on 395 north and arrived in Bishop at 6:00pm. As always, Memorial Day weekend is Mule Days in Bishop, a huge event there. We brought our camping gear with us, knowing we probably wouldn't find a motel with rooms available. BUT, we gave it a shot. We saw 3 motels on a side street, and the first one we stopped at had a room....BINGO !! Since I only got 3 hours of sleep the night before, I wanted a room and Ron agreed, so we got one at the Elms Motel for $125 + tax...ouch, but not bad with 2 of us. Was now time for a cold ale after 5 hours of heavenly adventure riding in the mountains....bikes at the motel View west from Motel Typical side street in Bishop...nice I hopped back on the bike to run to the store, and went down the side street next to the motel, thinking it was the street where Dale lives....the guy I met while in Bishop last year. Sure enough, his house was about 100 yards from the motel....Cool !! We later called Dale, but it was too late to see him that night, so we agreed the plan tomorrow would be to go riding after we watched the Mule Days Parade. Friday night, Ron and I had dinner at Whiskey Pete's (lucky to find a place open after 9:00pm in Bishop). Then we headed to the saloon there, for the usual festivities and scenery, since it's a pretty happenin' spot during Mule Days weekend. We were out late, but didn't matter since we weren't getting up real early tomorrow. To be continued......... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 514 Posted June 22, 2006 DAY 2 Ron wanted to go to the Mule Days parade to meet a lady who actually lives outside San Diego, I wasn't crazy about going to the parade....Ron said, "c'mon.....it's Memorial Day Weekend....let's relax a little, plus, this is the largest NON-MOTORIZED parade in the US". So I figured, "why not". I'm actually glad we went, I thought it was pretty cool. Bear with me through these parade photos.... An actual "20 Mule Team" Thought y'all might like this one !! Mini Mules Marshall's Posse Looks like Wyatt Earp and his Gang Ron and his lady friend Ain't that cute ?!! The first motorized vehicles down the street were the clean-up crew....lots of "piles" in the street ....and the scenery on the sidewalk adds to the photo.... After the parade, we rode to Dale's house, ready for some ridin' !! Finally got to see Dale's creation, he'd been telling me about since he got it....his homemade dualsport.....check this out, it's a BUELL FIREBOLT !! Completely stripped and done-up just the way Dale wants it !! Dale said, "you want to hit dirt right away, from my house?" Well, what do you think....of course !! After gas, we followed Dale half a mile from his house, through a gate to the Canal Road, which is dirt. All of a sudden, Dale was gone....he was crankin' on that Buell. He waited for us at the turns, and then we crossed 395 and he showed us more dirt to get to our destination of the day....the Buttermilk Loop. I would not have known these trails myself, so it was great having a local show us around !! On one ravine crossing, the uphill side was loose and I watched Dale motor up it, but then his bike stalled at the top. After, I told him with some type of knobby on the rear, he would've made it up no problem. He said that wasn't the problem, his Buell has an intermittent electrical stalling problem, it just happened to cut-out just before he reached the top of that hill... On the way, we came to a stream crossing that was running too fast....if we fell in it, we'd be swept away. So, Dale took us to another crossing over the same stream....this one was a little tricky....definitely didn't want to fall off this little crossing.... Ron being a backup for Dale as he crossed....Dale's handlebars barely fit between the railing, so he was real cautious !! Ron at the first crossing Ron at second crossing half way across Here, I'm starting across the first one What made this tricky, is your bars were up against the railing on both sides, which were not centered with the steel grates below....so your tires were over to the left edge of the grates....just as I was almost across, my right handlebar hit the right railing, so my wheel turned to the left....I thought "don't panic now....keep up your momentum, slowly, and don't let that wheel drop off the edge !!" Luckily we all made it across with no problem. We had to take a few miles of pavement, heading up in elevation towards the Buttermilk Loop, and Dale knew of a different way in than I did last year. As we got up about 8,000 feet, it started snowing lightly on us. The clouds looked like bad weather where we were heading. Dale took us off the road on some neat trails that went up the steep sides of a mountain to the main dirt road for the Buttermilk Loop. Ron and I couldn't believe how well Dale was doing on that Buell, with Supermottard Tires, low ground clearance, through rocky, loose terrain. Ron crossing stream Beautiful forests, trails and scenery in this area Takin' a break....Ron and Dale Mountain peaks hiding in the clouds Looking west towards the Owens Valley Another stream crossing, I remembered this one from last year.... Rocky canyon, and snow covered peaks in background 950 Poser After the Buttermilk Loop, Dale took us on some single track trails....:clap Big Bad Ron.... I was having a blast on these single track, when I spotted some soft sand.....and did just what I didn't want to do....lost the front in the sand. The bike landed on it's left side, against the side berm of the trail. I couldn't get any leverage underneath to lift it up. So, it took me about 5 minutes....my friends would be proud of me, I had to drag the 950 on her side, to the opposite side of the trail, get the rear off the edge until I had leverage to lift her up. Once I had her upright, Dale and Ron came walking back down the trail, and helped lift the rear end back onto the trail, so I could just hop back on and continue on. We rode quite a few miles of fun single track....still couldn't believe how good Dale was going on that Buell....the only time I saw him go fairly slow, was through a wooped-out section. Dale on his Mighty Buell Firebolt Then we headed down into a canyon, past some old mineshafts...Dale said he got some gold out of one of them many years ago. In this canyon, we came to a stream....we had to ride up the stream a ways, then turn left to get to the other side. I watched Dale go with no problem. Next was Ron... Ron turns the corner.... I hear Ron yell, so I yell back...."What, did you dump it?" Yep, he dropped it in the stream. I rode by Ron to the other side, so I could get off quick to help him pick it up. Now, the bike wouldn't start. We thought the worst, but after letting it sit a few minutes, Ron cranked it and she started firing....finally started up. Water was blowing out the pipe Dale smiles as Ron gives me the Salute !! We figured there was just water in the exhaust, she was running good. Lookin' better, no more water out the pipe... Out to the main road and back to town, Ron setting a waypoint. Look, it's me again.......and more trails across the road, to go layout next time, going up to Coyote Flat. We rode 5 hours and only 60 miles, but it was primarily dirt, and awesome dirt it was !! Ron and I relaxed back at the motel room (we got the room for another night, didn't feel like finding a campsite). By the time we called Dale, he didn't want to go to dinner that late, so we agreed to meet for breakfast on Sunday morning. Ron and I went out again to Whiskey Pete's for more a hootin' and a hollerin' :1drink To be continued for Day 3............ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 514 Posted June 22, 2006 DAY 3 We walked over to Dale's house and went to breakfast at the country-club with he and his wife. We talked over a good breakfast, about riding, off-road legislation and land use battles (Dale is very active in the off-road community up in the Bishop area), and more riding. After a good breakfast, we said our goodbyes to Dale and his wife. We leisurely packed up our bikes (that's what I love about vacation and trips....no rush, no agenda) and left Bishop at noon. We rode a few miles on pavement north out of town, and then immediately hit the dirt road to Fish Slough and the Volcanic Tablelands. Indian Petroglyphs.....hundreds, maybe thousands of years old Red Rock Canyon Ron Ron coming down a jeep trail. We started out on a main dirt road on the other side of the mountain, which eventually became a faded, barely used jeep trail. Ron asked if I was sure it was the right way. I said, "No, but I'm pretty sure it will cross that ridge and drop down the other side to connect with another trail". He said "OK, you lead". The trail started going up a steep, loose, rocky uphill. I stopped to make sure Ron was OK. He said he was having just a little trouble, all the weight on the rear was making the bike want to lift the front wheel going up the hill, but he agreed to keep on going. We made it up and over with no problems. Ron with the bikes, and the White Mountains in the distance, to the east Studly Adventurers Posing After many miles of scenic dirt roads and jeep trails, we came out on the Benton Crossing Road, headed east to route 120, which we took a few miles west to a dirt road turnoff on the map. This headed into Adobe Valley. The narrow two track trail reminded me of a route I did last year in the Mono Basin, which turned into nasty, deep volcanic ash. I told Ron I hoped this would not end up being the same type of terrain. He said, "Well, let's give it a try and see". So we rode down this narrow trail, our panniers smacking the sagebrush and bushes as we rounded each corner. We passed Antelope Spring and other natural springs and lakes in the area. Fortunately, the terrain never got too soft. In some places, we couldn't tell if the terrain was wet and we were going to sink in and be swallowed, but it was all fairly dry. Miles of this trail went through beautiful, tall grasses with white, hard packed dirt.....I felt like I was riding on a beach.....it was awesome !! Stopped at this old cabin Adobe Valley with White Mountains in the background After riding through a short section of deep, volcanic ash, the trail followed a powerline through the Adobe Hills. Here's a view of the Adobe Valley below, as we climbed higher in elevation This powerline trail hit us with all types of terrain....rocky uphills and downhills....soft, deep volcanic ash.....rutted out areas.....some sections were a bit challenging....here's Ron on one rocky downhill Ron at the California - Nevada border No Comment Looked like we were going to ride into some heavy rain We hit pavement again for only a few miles west, Highway 167, then found the dirt turnoff to take us into the Bodie Hills. We stopped at this unique, old structure....not sure what it was, maybe an old well ?? As we headed northeast in the dirt, luckily we rode away from these storm clouds Mono Basin and Mono Lake Ron checking out the view Heading towards the Bodie Hills Many miles of dirt roads led us to historic Bodie State Park (ghost town). We stopped at the entrance station and asked the woman if the dirt road leading over the mountains to Masonic Ghost Town was open. She said, "Open yes, but we wouldn't advise you go. We had a truck get stuck there last week". I said, "Well, that was last week. I think we have to give it a try". I looked at Ron, and he agreed. She wished us luck. We both had already seen Bodie Ghost Town, so didn't stop this time, but got a few photos from outside anyway We turned north on the dirt road to Masonic, which would take us all the way to Bridgeport in the dirt. We quickly climbed into the clouds until we came to this.....Ron surveying a possible crossing I tried following a set of 4x4 tracks across the snowdrift, but the heavily loaded KTM just wanted to slide This made me feel like I was riding across Antartica The weather looked pretty bad on the mountains close to 10,000 feet, but we continued on. We found a way up and around the huge snowdrift and pressed on. Ron going around the second snowdrift Ron going through the third snowdrift We stopped here, when we saw the next huge snowdrift covering the road in the distance As far as we could tell, there was just too much snow up there to continue on. Even though we had to turn around, I think Ron's still havin' a great time here !! Here, I'm going back through one of the drifts Ron, give it MORE GAS !!!! OOPS....Too late !! With a quick push, he was through the snow. Look close, here it was snowing on us As we went around the last big snowdrift, a pickup truck saw us and he decided to head the opposite way, the direction we just came from. He must've thought he was going to be able to continue on....I tried waving him down to warn him that it was impassable, but he didn't see me. Oh well, guess he'd find out for himself. We had to ride west from Bodie to pavement, then a few miles into Bridgeport, where we decided to get another motel room for the night. We had just ridden 140 miles in 7 1/2 hours, and less than 30 miles of that was pavement. What an awesome day !!!!! Had a great dinner and beers over discussion of our fantastic riding so far, at Rhino's DAY 4 to be continued......... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 514 Posted June 22, 2006 DAY 4 Packing up and ready to leave the Silver Maple Motel(nice place, reasonable price $75 was the going rate) in Bridgeport 1880 Courthouse in Bridgeport Headed north on 395 to the Sonora Pass - route 108 turnoff. Up and over the Sierra Nevada mountains heading west. The Pass Road heading down into the valley Fellow biker enjoying the weekend ride. Breaktime in the snow Stream running under the snow After dropping down from the pass, we took a turnoff to the quaint little town of Tuolomne. Then Ron took me on some great little, narrow one-lane twisties (only to be found on County Maps) that headed down to the Tuolomne River. Today would be most, if not all, pavement :cry I guess the local kids really like this bridge Folks enjoying other fun forms of recreation on Memorial Day Weekend Just one of the narrow, one-lane twisties We really had to keep the speeds down and watch the corners for oncoming cars. Here's a view of one twisty road on the steep hillsides along the Tuolomne River. Stopped in Coulterville for lunch at 3:30pm, a big biker hangout Neither Ron nor I had ever stopped here before The plan from here was to try to get to Porterville tonight, at a reasonable hour, since I didn't want to make the last day a long one and get home at 10:00pm like I usually do on a ride like this. So, we had to take some fun, backcountry twisties to hook up with the dreaded Highway 99 south. At one point, heading towards Merced Falls, I knew Ron passed the correct turn to head to 99. He turned around and we both stopped. We looked at the map, and saw we had another option, so we headed southeast to find "Indian Gulch Road". This looked interesting on the map, and I said to Ron, "We might even find some more dirt" !! Indian Gulch was a narrow, unmaintained one-lane road through farmland, and then connected with Indian Gulch Extension....... AHHHHH, this turned into dirt, one more last dirt road of the trip. We had to stop and celebrate. Ron blazing the trail ahead Ron loves to Pose E-9-R....yep, a Poser Too Big Bro and Little Bro posing After this last, fun dirt section of about 15 miles, we hit the 99 south and arrived at a Motel 6 in Porterville for the night. We decided we would wake up and try to hit the road by 7:00am tomorrow. Last Day to be continued......... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 514 Posted June 22, 2006 DAY 5 - LAST DAY We left Porterville at 7:15am, took County Roads to Fountain Springs and then to Glenville, some roads we've done many times on other Airhead BMW gatherings. From Glenville, we took route 155, which is almost as good as the Mighty 190, but is much more direct to get to Kernville. Route 155 twisties Took this shot over my shoulder.....not too bad Got to Kernville 9:00am for breakfast at a favorite spot....Cheryl's Diner Here's one for y'all.....OH NO...food pix !! Nice, relaxing breakfast outside Lake Isabella was close to full capacity, due to all the runoff from another heavy winter of snowfall in the Sierra History on Bodfish Caliente Road, town of Havilah 1867 Schoolhouse I like to check out historic places Switchbacks on Bodfish Caliente Road, another favorite twisty road Famous Tehachapi Loop....major engineering feat Wind Farms in Tehachapi...there must be thousands of windmills here Needed gas so we rode by Willow Springs Raceway. We saw bikes at the Streets of Willow track and wanted to stop, but decided to blow it off. Went and got gas in Rosamond, then down Highway 14 to Angeles Forest exit, took the awesome twisties to Wrightwood for a traditional beverage stop, before the freeway haul home. Celebrated our last 5 days of riding with....what else, but a cold Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Like the "Priceless" One last FYYFF for the road Cody Boy is happy to see me home And, now it's time for........ Another great 1316 mile Adventure Ride, to the spectacular Sierra Nevada mountains. I'll be getting another fix, going up around July 4th to Bishop to explore more routes. If you want to read about last year's solo High Sierra Adventure, go HERE Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elofdahl 0 Posted June 27, 2006 Great write-up and photos! I love that part of our state, but was relegated to the pavement and easy dirt until recently. I too, will be checking out more of the Bishop/White Mountain area after July 4th (I can't stand holiday weekend traffic). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 514 Posted July 16, 2012 There are a few of you who are travelling in the High Sierra this year, and one posted about the Benton Crossing area on the way to Bodie...this write-up has some names of other dirt roads and areas near there which you may want to explore. I have maps and detailed files (Terminator) should you want to disuss your options. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Afry 1 Posted July 17, 2012 Good stuff, when Craig gets back from the love boat we need to get together for our Sept ride and pick your brain. Missed ya yesterday at the Hideout - had to work late and didn't get there till 1 so I hit Jasper Trail out of Ranchita and found virgin sand in the washes after the rains smoothed it out - nice ride. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 514 Posted July 17, 2012 Good stuff, when Craig gets back from the love boat we need to get together for our Sept ride and pick your brain. Missed ya yesterday at the Hideout - had to work late and didn't get there till 1 so I hit Jasper Trail out of Ranchita and found virgin sand in the washes after the rains smoothed it out - nice ride. Sounds good. We didn't make it to the Hideout yesterda, had a slight route change due to an early morning issue on the trail...still a great ride, pix and write-up will be posted tonight. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Afry 1 Posted July 17, 2012 1342485912[/url]' post='130541']1342483810[/url]' post='130539']Good stuff, when Craig gets back from the love boat we need to get together for our Sept ride and pick your brain. Missed ya yesterday at the Hideout - had to work late and didn't get there till 1 so I hit Jasper Trail out of Ranchita and found virgin sand in the washes after the rains smoothed it out - nice ride. Sounds good. We didn't make it to the Hideout yesterda, had a slight route change due to an early morning issue on the trail...still a great ride, pix and write-up will be posted tonight. Looked like a great ride ...that's the beauty of what we do...and have as options when ---- happens! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
