KTMrad 508 Posted October 8, 2013 It had been 2 years since my last Sierra trip (my half a century celebration ride), and I was having withdrawals....needed a fix of the Sierra Nevada mountains and needed to clear the head. The Airheads BMW Club was having their yearly Kings Canyon Gathering of the Tribes (or Clans, depending on the year, I've been to this Rally twice before, always a good time)...I know many of the Airheads for 10 - 20 years and this was the perfect time to get away and head to the Sierra. DAY 1 I started a day late and missed riding up with everyone else....I got an 11am late start on Friday September 6th, so I had to blast up the I-5, 405 to 99 to get up there at a reasonable hour in the evening, and to Visalia...from there took little backcountry, twisty roads and from Orange Cove to Dry Creek Road which parallels the mountains where Seqouia Nat'l Park is. I stopped at a local saloon for a quick refreshment, then tried finding the road that turns to dirt and heads up the mountain into Kings Canyon Nat'l Park, but I made a wrong turn on Hogback Road and ended up taking the 245 into the Nat'l Park at night. Here's Codyboy seeing me off...he always knows when he can't go, watches me packing up the bike knowing he's not going. Cool old barn on Dry Creek Road Less than an hour from Stoney Creek group campsite with the Airheads in Kings Canyon, so time for a quick beer. After leaving the Mountain House Saloon, I did the last 30 or so miles at night and finally arrived at the campsite. Airheads...what a bunch of stargazers...it was a gorgeous, clear night. I was the last one to pull into camp (kinda normal for me), and they had cold dinner waiting for me, even though food was cold, it was great after a long days ride. Kevin and Kelly...my good friends who always cater the Saturday night dinner at the Desert Dash...they did the cooking at this campout also....Salute ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bikeslut 1 Posted October 8, 2013 Long days in the saddle...looks like a good time Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 508 Posted October 8, 2013 DAY 2 I offered to lead a dualsport ride since I'm pretty familiar with the area, we had a few people interested, but some had only street oriented tires and/or minimal experience off road on big bikes, so we ended up with a total of 3....me on the 950, John on his old trusty Airhead R100GS, and Brad on an F800GS. We hit a dirt OHV trail near Sierra Lake on the west side of Kings Canyon...there were a lot of dirt roads and turns, so when we saw a fire ranger....I stopped to talk to him..."Nacho" was really cool, liked our bikes, and gave me a map of the area and told us which trail to take which would lead us down to the Kings River. We had a blast heading down the long dirt road, which dropped a few thousand feet in elevation, then decided to take a dip in the river...it was pretty low since it was so late in the season and the rocks were real slippery due to algae, but it sure felt good to swim for awhile. Ready to Rock ! Brad John We were going to head all the way up the mountains towards Shaver Lake and Dinkey Lakes, but time was passing quickly, so at Balch Camp we looked at my map and saw a jeep road that I hadn't done yet. We got to the start and it said NO MOTORIZED...so we turned around, but I decided to double check the sign...the no motorized was for dates written in faded permanent marker on the sign, from December thru April, so we knew we were good to go....ended up being a really fun, challenging in parts...jeep trail. When I ride with people I know who are good riders, I like to stay right with them...but John thought he was holding me up. He waved me by...a few minutes later we stopped to let Brad catch up, and I told John to just stay right ahead of me, because I was having so much fun watching him ride that old Airhead GS thru the tougher stuff...wish I had a videocam to record the action. Some of the photos are hazy, due to smoke still lingering in areas, from the huge Rim Fire that had been burning in the Sierra for weeks.... We had a blast dicing and playing on the jeep trail, then got to the main dirt road which took us down to Pine Flat Reservoir, then to pavement along the lake. This road is one of my favorite, middle of nowhere roads as it zig zags along the lake shore for about 15 miles, with nobody ever on it...our own personal racetrack. I have seen Pine Flat Reservoir at least 7 times over the years and it was really low this year...drought conditions for sure. I was mesmerized....you can see the high water mark is a few hundred feet up from where the water is now...I never saw it this low. It got pretty warm and we were a bit tired after some great riding, so we wanted to stop to replenish with water, Gatorade and gas in Pedra....but the store I knew of was no longer in business. So we headed to Squaw Valley on the way back to Kings Canyon and stopped there. Saw a bunch of guys on sportbikes, so went to talk to them to see where they were from...one of the guys is an SDAR member Drew (don't remember his forum name)...he was riding with another guy from San Diego and some guys from San Francisco....what a small world, last October he was on our Noob Ride out of Ramona on his KLR so he knew me. Tall guy on the left is Drew. Drew's bike is the Duc Hypermotard After a well needed rest and rehydration, we headed back on the road to find our way to the dirt road which would take us up into Kings Canyon..... TO BE CONTINUED Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 508 Posted October 8, 2013 DAY 2 CONTINUED.... We took the 245 to Badger and turned off to find the road I wanted...but as we went thru Sierra Glen, a tiny little town with a bar/restaurant, we saw a ton of people there...so decided to stop to see what was going on...and maybe another refreshment :lol:/>/>/> It turned out to be a private party for some guy named Jerry...we later learned he was the owner of the joint. There were lots of cowboys, people dancing to a live band, a bunch of cuties, and lots of people having fun...they welcomed us to their party. This guy named Chuck (in the middle) came up and talked with us for awhile, really cool guy, made us feel like we were locals. There's Jerry...man of the hour ! John went and bought Jerry a beer for his birthday, so he hung out with us for awhile...L to R, JohN, Jerry, Brad and me.... The band....played a lot of country music...we were joking around to each other, and I said..."Wonder what would happen if I yelled out Country Music Sucks"....John asked where my KTM keys were, because I wouldn't be making it out of there alive... :heh:/>/>/> After hanging out and having a great time with the locals, we hopped back on the bikes and headed off into the night to find our way to the dirt road (Whitaker Forest) going up the mountain into Kings Canyon..... John's a character...always the star of the show :lol:/>/>/> Just me with a Seqouia Tree.... A little blurry photo, but you get the idea....an awesome night ride ! We got up to Stoney Creek camp after 8pm, and again....they had dinner waiting for us...again, the last ones back to camp. A bunch of people wanted to hear our stories for the day. We did close to 150 miles, about 50 miles off road and then some awesome twisties for the rest of the ride ! More to come, folks ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hobiee 28 Posted October 8, 2013 If you hang out on that old iron bridge for 15 minutes you get to see quite a show. They release water from the reservoirs out of the piping upstream. It comes blowing out of there with enough force to soak the bridge pretty good. I almost soaked myself the first time as I had literally just walked across taking some pics. I love the jeep trail you took. If you take it all the way to the top there is a really cool camping spot with a little cabin in the trees. Not really a big bike friendly climb up towards the top but a really nice remote camp spot. That trail climbs in elevation pretty quickly doesn't it? Its cool to see the terrain change on trails like that. I love that area, I have gotten lost in exploration many many times. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 508 Posted October 10, 2013 DAY 3 Sunday morning at the campsite, many people were packing up their bikes early and heading home...a few were going for a couple more days of riding, but I had another 9 days planned, so I was in no rush. I hung out and helped my friends pack up all the cooking gear, leftover food, etc. while helping finish off John Covington's excellent home brew (he's won a bunch of blue ribbons in beer competitions). I was the last one left in the campsite, and it was real quiet and I enjoyed the solitude for a bit before heading out on the road out of Kings Canyon. What a great group campsite with beautiful big trees. My goal for the day was to leisurely make my way up to Bass Lake on really twisty, backcountry roads....but little did I know how my plans would change abruptly..... On the way out of Kings Canyon on Route 180, I remembered this little restaurant in Squaw Valley I stopped at a few years ago...so when I saw it I decided to stop and get some lunch, the sign said under new management. Clingan's Junction Café....I pulled up right by the front door and got off the bike. I walked in but nobody was in the dining room, but I saw a sign that said "If I'm not out front....holler, because sometimes this is a one woman show". So I hollered, and the owner came out and asked what I wanted...so I ordered a burger and fries. I went across the street to the store and bought a six pack and it was time for a beverage while waiting for my food. Nancy the owner started talking with me quite a bit, and we seemed to hit it off. I told her I was heading to Bass Lake, so she had to show me the fish on the wall that her father caught awhile back.... I started meeting and talking with a bunch of locals, having a good time...I really liked this guy named "Tank". Nancy's employee Allen on the left, and Tank's owner William with the cowboy hat. Met another local named Tiny...classic, he was really a huge guy, but he didn't want his picture taken ( I always ask first ). I was having such a great time meeting tourists, customers and locals, and Nancy kept coming out to talk with me in between serving people...and I had a few beers, the time flew by and soon it was getting late, so I knew I might not be leaving anytime soon. Nancy said she rented cabins out behind the restaurant, so I decided to stay for the night. Found out Nancy's place is a historic building, built in the late 1930's. Nancy said she does some art on the side, and she used to do it more often before opening this restaurant just a month ago...here's some of her artwork.... Here's some local historic photos on the walls in her place.... Ahhhh....finally a late night dinner from Nancy A bunch of college students from France who were in party mode...they pulled in to the café after 10pm, the café gets a lot of tourist traffic from Seqouia and Kings Canyon....I'm sitting on the right with the KTM hat. Nancy on the left with her employee Tamy on the right and me in the middle. I was impressed, Nancy was getting help from different locals who just liked her and wanted to help her out with the new business...here's Larry, the designated Apple Peeler with the fancy shmancy machine, voluntarily peeling apples.... ONe of Nancy's specialties is homemade Apple Butter, so there's lots of apples to be peeled ! I was up late partying with the locals, tourists and Nancy, so next morning I slept in until noon..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hobiee 28 Posted October 10, 2013 Hahaha awesome ! My dad always used to say that spontaneity is what makes life fun. I love the unplanned stuff. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Covered in Dust 162 Posted October 10, 2013 Great trip so far Randy, we want more. CiD Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 508 Posted October 10, 2013 DAY 4 Got up at noon and loaded up the bike, then time for breakfast at Nancy's Café.... I ordered my breakfast just in time (eggs, bacon, fried buscuits with Apple Butter and fried biscuits & gravy), before 18 Swiss Riders pulled up on rented Harleys, one of them walked in and was waiting for Nancy to come out, I told them she has excellent food, that's all they needed to hear....I went inside to tell Nancy she was about to get slammed... Nancy was jammin', taking care of the food orders for all the swiss people, so I said my goodbyes to all...she said she would like to see me again on my trip home...I liked hearing that, so I altered my plans for the rest of my trip...I would not cross the Sierra to explore on the eastern side, but decided instead to go see long time friends on my way up to explore the western Sierra, then come back down to Clingan's Junction on my way home. I left Squaw Valley at 3:30pm and a few miles west, turned on tiny, twisty backcountry roads on my way to Bass Lake. From Centerville took Watts Valley Rd to Pittman Hill Rd to Tollhouse Rd up the mountain to Pine Ridge, then Auberry Rd thru Alder Springs to Auberry, then Power House Rd to Redinger Lake Rd to Italian Bar Rd to Road 225 and into North Fork or Bass Lake. Many of these roads were awesome narrow, tight, twisty secondary forest roads similar to Engineer Rd, Otay Mountain Rd and Kitchen Creek Rd in San Diego County. At Bass Lake, I called Larry Langley (he invited me to come stay at Rancho Relaxo), promoter and founder of California Trail Rides and Orange County Dualies. I didn't really know Larry well, but I did some of his dualsport rides in the '90's, and saw him at the Saves The Trails Rally in Bakersfield last year. He's also on Facebook a lot, so I got to know him some more on Facebook. He gave me directions to his place, and I pulled up around 6pm. Some pix of the ride up on those tight backroads.... I like damn dams :lol:/>/> Ahhh, time to relax at "Rancho Relaxo"..... B)/>/> Old shed on the property... View from Larry and Sue's backyard... Sue and Larry...and of course, cute little Maggie May Larry made me one of his special meatloaf burgers for dinner, then we spent a few hours talking all motorcycle stuff, it was great to get to know Larry better....then we called it a night. STAY TUNED FOR MORE...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 508 Posted October 10, 2013 DAY 5 Woke up at Rancho Relaxo and offered to take Larry and Sue out for breakfast. Sue was busy, so Larry and I went to Ducey's on the Lake...good food, good view ! Bass Lake out the window.... KTMrad....poser ! After saying goodbye to Larry and Sue and thanking them for their generous hospitality, I left Bass Lake headed for Oakhurst, then Route 41 north to Yosemite. I hadn't been there in a few years (been there many times, but never get tired of it) and wanted to see Glacier Point, only been there once before. On the main Wawona Road in the Park, I got stuck in traffic behind a Yosemite Park Tour Bus for about 15 miles, and he wouldn't even pull over when he could've to let traffic by. I severely wanted to pass him but knew they have radios, and there aren't many passing zones with the speed limit being 35-40mph. So I stayed behind him until finally he pulled over at a tourist stop. Got to the Glacier Point Road and more traffic....I almost turned around because I got frustrated...then came to a construction stop and I pulled to the front of the line. Asked the flagman how much further to the Point, he said about 5 miles. Well, I'm glad I didn't turn around....the view at Glacier Point is spectacular and it was worth it. Half Dome Waterfall in the distance...unfortunately a bit hazy, due to lingering smoke from the huge Rim Fire that was burning outside Yosemite for weeks. I'm posting a bunch of photos from Glacier Point, because if you've never been there you don't know what you're missing and you absolutely must go see it some time...it truly is one of the "Most Spectacular Views on Earth". Sitting on cliff's edge overlooking Yosemite Valley thousands of feet below....I had to enjoy a cold IPA while I was soaking up the views.... One of tunnels heading down towards Yosemite Valley DONE FOR NOW.....DAY 5 TO BE CONTINUED Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 508 Posted October 15, 2013 Some of you have already seen this video from another post....but here is the view at Glacier Point on video...captures it a bit better than photos...... When you open link, video is in the larger window on the right....and you can click to enlarge to full screen. VIDEO LINK HERE Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 508 Posted October 15, 2013 DAY 5 CONTINUED After dropping down the mountain towards Yosemite Valley, I had to go part of the way thru the valley to head west....here are some pix from the valley floor.... As I passed the mighty rock face of El Capitan, I saw Search and Rescue vehicles parked and people standing and gawking at the mountain and I wondered what was going on. I saw this guy parked on the side of the road on his BMW Dakar 650GS, so I had to stop and say hi and meet him. Jake is a Ranger with the Nat'l Park and lives in the Valley. I asked, "I bet you get to go places in the Park where most of us regular folks can't go"...he said yes. I asked him what was up with the Search and Rescue vehicles....a climber was stranded on the face of El Capitan with a broken arm, and Search/Rescue had to rappel down to rescue him. You can't really make it out in these photos, but I was able to zoom in and see the climber and the rescue teams on the face of El Capitan... One rescue member is at the bottom of the vertical crevice in this photo... Here, you can barely make out more rescue team where the guy is on a ledge, on the lower horizontal white line in the rock face.... More from the 5th day to follow....... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FuzzyNugs 0 Posted October 15, 2013 Randy, this is a great story you are concocting here. Nancy's food must have really been something else to reroute the whole trip...looking forward to the conclusion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 508 Posted October 15, 2013 DAY 5 CONTINUED.... I left Yosemite on Route 120 West, my goal for the day was to end up on Placerville to see my old friend Kevin, who I met on my Alaska Trip in 2006...we became life-long friends. Anyway, as I rode on Route 120 west, I passed thru the areas where the Rim Fire had burned for weeks before....here are some pix of the devastation from the fire....this is near where the fire started....rumour is, was allegedly started by a hunter who didn't completely put his fire out ! Forests still smoldering..... Stopped at an overlook where they had a Fire Info Canopy set up....WOW, over 255,000 acres, 400 square miles burned, I believe the largest recorded wildfire in CA History.... A Tribute to fallen wild-fire fighters.... After spending some time at the overlook, I continued on Route 120 West...don't remember what town this was, but there's more than one Iron Door (like at Ocotillo Wells down in east San Diego County).... I love the little western towns... STAY TUNED...FOR STILL MORE FROM DAY 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 508 Posted October 15, 2013 MORE FROM DAY 5 I never used to stop and "smell the roses" on many of my trips, but as I did more big trips, I decided I wanted to know more about the places I ride through, so now I like to stop & check out historic markers and buildings to learn a bit about the local history.... Chinese Camp.... Just some old, historic buildings in Chinese Camp As I headed up Route 49 towards Placerville, I was making good time until there was a Road Closed sign with a flagman re-directing traffic to a detour...I asked what was up, and he said there was a major 18 Wheeler accident further north and nobody could get through...I asked how far out of the way the detour was, and he said over an hour. I was bummed, since I was trying to get to my friend Kevin's house by about 6pm for a BBQ....so I followed the detour, but found some backcountry side roads that would make the route to Placerville shorter, but my map for the area was not detailed enough for the little back roads. I followed my instincts on some tiny, twisty back roads, made a few wrong turns, but eventually found my way back to Route 49. I went thru this cool, nothing of a town called Campo Seco and had to get some photos..... The whole detour cost me about an extra 2 hours... I called Kevin in Placerville and told him I would be late. I finally arrived at his house after 8pm, and they had an awesome BBQ dinner waiting for me... I met Kevin and his Dad Pat in Alaska in 2006, and today his Dad Pat drove an hour to come see me at their house and have dinner with us, I thought that was great ! The 950 after a good day's ride at Kevin's house Here's a pic of Kevin and his Dad when I met them in 2006 doing the ADVrider salute, at a bar in Homer, AK... L to R, me, Kevin and Pat.... I wanted to get a pic of the 3 of us doing the salute again, but I was bummed when Pat left before we could get the SALUTE photo ! DAY 6 COMING SOON....a day with a bunch of dirt exploring with Kevin.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 508 Posted October 17, 2013 DAY 6 Got up at Kevin's house and was looking over my 950 to check things...before I left San Diego, I had one broken spoke but was not worried about it. This morning, I found a second broken spoke and a crack in the rim, right where the spoke nipples come out of the rim. One crack and 2 broken spokes...OK, not too worried about it....yet. It was a work day for Kevin, but he mainly works from home, so he was able to go out with me for a few hours to show me around the local trails in the El Dorado Nat'l Forest. Kevin rode his custom Ducati 900 Monster converted into an Adventure Bike.... We started out from his house and immediately hit a bunch of bitchin' twisty roads to get up into the mountains. He let me try his 900 Monster ADV bike, and it worked great in the twisties...like riding a Supermoto Bike. When it got to the off-road sections, it worked well....but I was happier on my 950. Here we are entering the deep woods of the Western Sierra.... ADVrider SALUTE seemed to be the norm of the day :rolleyes:/>/> :lol:/>/> Kevin hadn't been riding in this area in awhile, so we were really exploring a bunch of routes....we went from dirt roads to Jeep Trails to Quad Trails to singletrack....here's a Manzanita Tunnel, we went thru a few of those.... We started out on a couple of singletrack trails, went in a couple hundred yards on each until Kevin realized these trails get pretty gnarly, a bit much for the bikes we were on....plus, I didn't want to break my bike or get worn out too much, since I still had many days ahead of me.... Here's Kevin after turning around and calling it quits on this one singletrack.... Me giving the sign...we're done on this trail. Notice the "OHV Funds at Work" sticked on the trail sign....Northern California gets a lot of trail support funds from the state and they love off-roaders in NorCal....it's really a way of life for many up there ! The 2 Big V-Twins posing together.... Since Kevin was technically "working", whenever we stopped he would check to see if he had cell service...and most of the time he did, so he had to make calls to clients to take care of business....I told him he should tell them he was calling from a mountain top while out riding :blink:/>/> :lol:/>/> MORE TO COME FROM DAY 6...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 508 Posted October 17, 2013 Yours Truly....self portrait & poser... We rode about 50 miles of dirt, exploring many trails in the area, then it was getting late in the afternoon so time to start working our way back to Kevin's House. We wanted to eat at this German Restaurant Kevin knew of, in the middle of nowhere, but they weren't open, so we continued on to Georgetown and stopped at the Miner's Club, a historic place and a Clampers Bar.... My Airhead BMW friends Kelly and Kevin (members of the Clampers) said NorCal is full of Clampers bars...just look for the red and black signs....sure enough, they were right ! If you don't know who the Clampers are, or E Clampus Vitus, check out this interesting LINK HERE....and Wikipedia LINK HERE Friendly locals at the Miners Club.... Me and Kevin....yeah, another salute ! :rolleyes:/>/> After some good times at the Miner's Club, it was time for dinner...we saw this historic building / Mexican Restaurant across the street....time to check it out ! For a little town in the mountains of NorCal, this Mexican Restaurant sure had some good food ! We ended up doing a night ride on awesome, tight & twisty roads on the way back to Kevin's house....we did about 120 miles today, about 50 off-road exploring....and it was an awesome day for sure ! DAY 7 is NEXT Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 508 Posted October 17, 2013 DAY 7 Started packing up my stuff the next morning, and figured I better take another close look at that rear rim with the crack...upon further inspection, I found 14 out of 18 spokes on only one side (the right side) had cracks around where the nipples come out of the rim, Not Good ! I discussed it with Kevin, and decided I might have to bail on any more off-road riding for the remainder of my trip and just try to get home. BUT, I had to try some other options. Kevin gave me the numbers of a couple of motorcycle shops nearby, so the first one I called was a KTM dealer. I thought it was a shot in the dark, but tried anyway. I called and asked if they had a used rim I could buy or borrow for the 950...the guy on the phone transferred me to the service department. Another guy answered and asked what I needed. I told him about my rim, and he said "C'mon by, I have my own 950 here in the shop, and I'll loan you my rear rim for the remainder of your trip". WOW, what a score...so I finished loading up the bike and headed up 49 North to Roseville, to Motorcycle Performance Center, the local KTM Shop. John Volkman was waiting for me, and as soon as I pulled up, he took the rear rim off his 950 for me, with an almost brand new rear tire on it...this really helped, since my TKC-80 rear was just about done and I knew it wouldn't get me all the way home. Kevin and his wife Cory before I left their house....one more SALUTE ! Now minus the salute. Me and my good friend Kevin... More cracks in the rim I found that morning at Kevin's house. ON the way north on Route 49, passed thru the town of "Cool"...so cool :rolleyes:/>/>/> :coolio:/>/>/> And the historic town of Coloma where the was a huge Gold Discovery in the area.... At the KTM shop.... One of the shop owners on the left, and John Volkman on the right.... I took off my rear rim and mounted John's rim with the almost new rear tire, then I packed up my rim to send home. I bought John a brand new replacement tire they had in stock, since he was letting me use his rim and tire for the remainder of my trip...and I could continue to ride dirt without worrying about a cracked rim ! Many thanks to John, what a great guy ! All mounted up and ready to ride, with John's rim on my bike.... John and I standing by his 950, minus rear rim that he loaned to me.... I went to the store and bought John a beer for after hours and an Iced Tea while he was working...I hung out for a bit to talk with everyone before I left. John and I before I left the shop.... Met this guy Ray in the parking lot who used to ride dualsport, now just rides a Harley....we enjoyed a beverage together. Well, this was supposed to be a day of off-road exploring for me...but the cracks in my rim altered my plan for the day. After leaving Motorcycle Performance Center, I called my friend Terry in Grass Valley and he invited me to come spend the night and have dinner. So another hour on the road to Grass Valley, then met my friends Dennis, Terry and his wife Pam for dinner. Ummmm, we're all on ADVrider website, so again....the SALUTE. I met Terry and Dennis in 1999 on a dualsport ride in NorCal called "6 Days of Northern California" and we've been good friends ever since. We also rode the Trans America Trail together in 2008. Here is Terry with his stable...and his wife Pam is starting to ride also. Their pooch...she's an old girl Terry had to go to work the next day and hit the hay earlier, but Pam and I sat up talking for awhile, then called it a night. DAY 8 coming soon.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 508 Posted October 18, 2013 DAY 8 Finally a day to continue my exploration of more routes from the 50 Adventure Routes listed in this book...I've been using this book since 2006 and am working on riding all of the 50 routes, I've done at least 30 of them so far, and continue to see more...today, I would explore the Diggins II Route....each route has a detailed description of how to get there, and what you'll see, including whether it's easy, challenging or difficult 4 wheel drive route. I've found out, if the route is described as challenging to difficult for a 4x4, then it will be about the same for a fully loaded Adventure Bike. Packed up and ready to go, I left Terry and Pam's and headed a few miles north to Nevada City to find the roads heading to Diggins II. Bridge crossing the South Yuba River... Met a guy named Christopher who was curious about my ride, so we talked awhile and he was happy to take a few pix for me since he is a photographer himself... Cute dog ! This bridge is a popular swimming hole area with hiking trails along the river. I enjoyed my short break getting a few photos, and talking with Christopher. He was an interesting guy...was volunteering doing trash pick up in the area. He used to roadrace at many different tracks and also was a corner worker, so we had a lot in common. After the bridge, the road turned to dirt and I rode up into the mountains to Malakoff Diggins State Park, with an old ghost town and one of the largest old Hydraulic Mines in the area, era late 1800's. Here you can see the hillsides where they did the hydraulic mining, using huge water cannons to blast away the earth in search of gold....Hydraulic Mining was outlawed in 1884. Met this couple Louis and Cheryl from Reno area, who were enjoying the local history also... More to Come...STAY TUNED... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 508 Posted October 19, 2013 Continued from the Diggins II Adventure Route....Day 8 This dirt road went thru some beautiful pine forests...here is the historic old ghost town of North Bloomfield... Since this is a State Park, they keep the old buildings in pretty good condition, some of them have original relics inside.... Sign inside the saloon..... Fire Station Some of the giant water cannons used in the local Hydraulic Mines.... The Clampers (E Clampus Vitus) were instrumental in obtaining many old buildings and artifacts from the old west and preserving them as part of our history ! The Ole Livery Stable... Cool old photos of the town in the late 1800's....I love this stuff ! There was an entry fee for the State Park, but the lady said if I was just passing thru and kept my visit about 15 minutes, she wouldn't charge me...so I took all those photos above and moved on....time to hit some more dirt in the forests ! TO BE CONTINUED.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 508 Posted October 23, 2013 DAY 8 CONTINUED I was following the directions in the Adventure Route book, but there were so many dirt roads without trail numbers intersecting with the main, so I made a few wrong turns...but I didn't care, I love to explore every dirt road to see where it goes....many of them were dead ends or looped back to the main dirt road. Here, there were huge piles of boulders and rocks, probably from local mines....I had to cross some of them to see where the trail went, but they dead-ended....no worries ! Here, the dirt road was getting narrower and eventually disappeared. Gorgeous thru the woods.... Just a few rocks :rolleyes:/>/> Then the trail started to get overgrown and I was bark-busting my way thru parts....absolutely love doing this stuff on a fully loaded Adventure Bike ! And then...I could go no further. That rut is a lot bigger than it looks, and the trail a lot narrower than it appears.... A little mud bog....not a problem. At one point, I saw a pickup truck with some guys in it and stopped to ask if they knew where a certain trail was....the guy stepped out, wearing camouflage, a handgun strapped to his side....then the other 2 stepped out, dressed the same way. They were Nevada County Sheriffs from the Narcotics Division. They asked if I saw a red Dodge pickup. I said no, and they gave me their card and asked if I saw the Dodge, to try to call them when I had cell service. Well, I never saw the Dodge. There are a lot of Pot Fields up there in the deep forests of the Western Sierra...I hoped I would not wander into one of them as I was exploring. Another dead end. Some good views, but I had to find an opening in the trees to get some good pix....the forests are real thick up there. After much exploring, I finally found the right dirt road that dropped down to the river... This dirt road was not really tough, but slightly tricky...off camber with a steep drop off into the trees on the right side, so I had to pick my way carefully thru some rocky sections, and I hugged the left side as I worked my way down.... And at the bottom, the bridge that crossed the North Fork of the Yuba River... Besides those Sheriffs in the truck, I didn't see a soul the last 30 miles or so....time for a break down by the river, and there were people camped enjoying the mountain water. Time for a cold one.... I took a boatload of photos from Day 8, so PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR MORE..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 508 Posted October 23, 2013 MORE FROM DAY 8 After a break at the river, the dirt road started to climb steeply up into the mountains again, with great views and some fun riding. There was a sign that said "Road Washed Out Ahead", but I figured it could be months old, so I continued on anyway. Miles into the deep woods, I wasn't exactly sure where I was, then saw a sign and figured I'd get my National Forest Map out of my tankbag to see which way I should go....I found where I was on the map, and was slightly off from the map in the Adventure Route book, but it connected together down the mountain....so no problem. I found my way down to Alleghany and Casey's Place, needed some energy and refreshments at the local Clamper's Bar.... Peanuts, water and Ale.... Just another historic old saloon in Gold Country.... Some history about the area..... Then I made my way down to a living ghost town called Forest City...a highly populated town :blink:/> The Ole Dance Hall.... After Forest City, the road turned to dirt again, up and over the mountains.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paulmbowers 236 Posted October 23, 2013 Think I found my Spring road trip destination. Book ordered. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr.JAJA 380 Posted October 23, 2013 Nice write up and inspiration for one of my first test trips around in the next future. Is there a map or GPS information from this trip available? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
