CORE Primm/Bar 10 Fall 2012

[Crawdaddy 96]

Another fun Primm/Bar 10 CORE Club event in the books!

We had about a dozen riders show up for the optional Primm day......here's a shot of Mike Gaynor in front of the Pioneer Saloon (our start/stop point for the loop):

Mike's a pretty modest guy - Bet you didn't know he was the winner of the 2008 North Nevada Rally, placed 5th overall ironman expert as a privateer in the 2010 Best of the Desert Race, and most recently placed 4th in the Mexican 1000 Rally held last Spring (category - under 700cc/tank over 5 gallons)

Mike making his way through the Red Rock washout:

Another scenic stop along Rocky Gap Road as we drop into Red Rock Canyon:

The first lookout along the optional Whitmore Pt. GPS Track:

Ben holding court with a few of the boys at Bar 10 Ranch:

Bar 10'rs Chillaxn around the lodge:

The work area:

I can't think of a more relaxing place to sit and have a cold beer:

As usual, I rode solo all three days we were out near Bar 10 sniffing up new wrinkles for next year......found a couple of gems and a few duds....typical exploration....

This wrinkle will be on the return track next year......beautiful meadow with overgrown/forgotten/"whoop free" two track.......nice:

[Crawdaddy 96]

Some folks think GNR stand for "Guns and Roses".......well, it also stands for "Guns and Riding"......

The Bar 10 ranch has a skeet range too.....some great trail riding, followed by a cold beer, then pop off a few rounds......

THAT's what I'm talking bout'

[SCHWINN 0]

I have to make the time and do this trip. Chris ..You pick the best time of year and I will go with you guys. BTW..The shotgun shooting is called " Trap Shooting "...Skeet shooting has 8 stations and a high house and Low house.

[KTMrad 508]

Great pix, thanks for sharing.

[fudgypup 4]

looks like it was a great time.

Any big bikes show up?

[Crawdaddy 96]

looks like it was a great time.

Any big bikes show up?

Rigger Dan was there with his 990, Fabless on his 690, Strega on his 620, my friend Mike on his mutant 625 rally machine, Ben on his XR650R......I think that's about it for bikes over 600cc

[Fabless 0]

Part 1/2

Last year I rode the October Bar 10, my first real experience riding dirt for any length of time, on my then-new KTM 690. The riding itself was spectacular, despite the many falls and consequent workout from repeatedly lifting my bike. I also met several good people who took me along with them on a number of rides this year, helping me continue to improve my riding. This year, a group of them invited me along on a Utah trip which connected with the Bar 10 ride on Saturday afternoon.

We arrived at Bar 10 at the tail of 240 miles of riding from Escalante, taking our time in the last few miles preceding the ranch to savor the moment, though CiD chafed at the casual pace.

After a brief rest I headed down to the river, making the most of the remaining daylight. The ride down was considerably rockier than I'd expected from last year, something to do with the intense rain they'd gotten not so long ago, and I carefully chose my path down the switchbacks to the overlook. By the time I arrived, the sun low in the sky made for perfect shooting conditions; the still air and clear light made every crevice leap out.

The fact of having been here a year earlier in no way diminished the surprising intensity of being present once again, this time with the entire overlook to myself.

Back at the ranch I took the chance to meet this year's riders, among them some familiar faces.

Trap shooting behind the ranch. If you look closely, you can see the clay pigeon exploding in this shot.

Crawdaddy regales us with tales from the trail.

Views from the ranch toward the airstrip and overlook.

It was a long day for RiggerDan (who impressively managed to ride his 990 down to the overlook, among other places) and CiD. We were ravenous and looking forward to the locally-grown beef.

This year I slept in a wagon and really liked it, much nicer I thought than staying indoors, though I was glad I'd brought some warm clothes for the cool air.

The ranch at dawn.

It seemed there were an inordinate number of flat tires being repaired at the ranch this year, four as I recall.

Group shot at 9AM.

Head back to our bikes. Toroweap today.

This was my first experience with a trials rear and, while I liked its handling on dirt, rock and asphalt while riding in Utah, the MT43 had begun to chunk as you can see here.

With the tire in this compromised state, I had to make a decision whether to try the hard way to Toroweap; or take the easy route I'd ridden last year and thought to be a bit too easy. I decided to live on the edge and go hard ways. Rather than an abrupt transition, the difficulty of the hard way gradually builds up. Someone had stopped in the middle of the initial climb and once he cleared out, I got turned sideways trying to resume the climb. Another rider materialized to help me straighten out, and once I got going again, I didn't stop until I reached the top. Much of the climb is covered with baseball-to-grapefruit-sized rocks, including on a few switchbacks so it was a bit of a challenge to maintain momentum through the turns. The climbing was too steep to stop for pictures until the summit, where we were rewarded with nice two-track through pine forests; I cooled off and waited for Roger who was helping other riders below.

Roger arrived and we took a little to time to clean off goggles before continuing.

The two-track running along the palisades to Toroweap seemed to have degenerated into a barely-discernable path running toward the airstrip. At this point I got a flat in the front, luckily not far from the shade of a pavilion, where Erick and Kevin provided me with assistance swapping out the tube, helpfully supplying a valve fishing tool and a bottle of Windex. I hope someone's got pictures of the repair; the dowel came in handy once again, the 5th or 6th time this trip, and things went very fast.

Finally arrived at Toroweap, where the welcoming committee showed remarkable enthusiasm at my arrival.

Erick and Roger rest in the shade.

Tokens of my gratitude to Kevin and Erick for their assistance with the tire.

As Crawdaddy likes to say, "This never gets old."

Need to camp here sometime.

Craig from Half Moon Bay, who came with family. It would be great to see more families join future rides.

I'm not much of a group portraitist so you get what you get.

The recent rains made the vegetation more verdant than last year.

To be continued...

-Fabless

[Fabless 0]

Part 2/2

We stopped to inspect one of the campgrounds on our way back...

and CiD convinced me to make a side trip to hike with him down to Nampaweap. I ran out of water around this time but no matter, we were not far from home.

Relaxing after the day's ride of 90 or so miles. It felt like a luxury to finish the day with so much light left, compared with our Utah routine.

Another flat, this time striking Crawdaddy.

Views of the wagons.

The long-awaited Navajo tacos. Bar 10 was not prepared for our collective appetite, I believe.

On my run the next morning, I stopped to take pictures of a small herd of horses, thinking they might get spooked and run off. Instead, they trotted towards me and gathered around as I stroked them.

Lava field remnants.

Deep erosion gullies ran along side the main road to the overlook.

We took the straightforward way back, to St. George and then slabbing to Mesquite.

Bar 10 once again delivered great riding and a wonderful time. An increased familiarity with my bike, as well as knowing many more of the riders this time around, added considerably to the experience.

-Fabless

[WARP9 0]

Crawdaddy & Fabless... Thanks for sharing the pics & the stories! So awesome. Would love to do that adventure sometime! Glad you guys had fun

[tsr 0]

No offense to anyone else, but it's good to have a photographer taking pictures. The perspective and technique are noticeable and get closer to what we saw with our eyes. Nice pictures and write-up!!

[dsfox 0]

Great Photos......the Arizona Strip, Bar10, Tuweep camp......

surely among my favorite areas to ride...(guess I keep gathering "favorites".....easy to do up there)

sorry to miss this one..looks like a fun group...hopefully next time...Thanks for sharing...

[Strega 0]

That rocky hill climb, on an Adventure bike, with 5.5 gallons of gas in the tank is not advisable. It was hard.

[paulmbowers 236]

Fabless is NOT a professional photographer, but I am.

And when he goes on a ride, I don't even bother to bring a camera.

[tsr 0]

Fabless is NOT a professional photographer, but I am.

And when he goes on a ride, I don't even bother to bring a camera.

Now, there's a compliment !

[DustyRock 0]

The pictures & RR are Fabless !! I went on my 1st bar 10 ride last year and this RR brought back Fabulous memories !!

[Erick 0]

Here are a few pics to add to the mix. Great ride, good seeing the familiar and new faces. I always have a great time on this trip. I didn't take very many pics, mostly played with the gopro.

We rode Red Rock Canyon on Friday 10-5, here we are a few miles into the ride

Up at the top, taking a little break

Here's a quick video riding up at the top of the canyon. Tons of rocks, fun times

Day 2, headed out to the Bar 10. This is a section of double track just as you head into the first mountain range

Climbing up a rocky section

A few of us stopped at the top

Whitmore Overlook, here's a video of the view/drop

Incredible view

[Erick 0]

Day 3, heading out to Toroweap. The climb through the mountains was very rocky, once we got through the mountains, we took a double track through a field. Fabless pinch flatted in THE best place I've probably ever seen someone flat. We're in the middle of nowhere and he has a flat a few hundred yards from this nice covered campsite.

Fabless goes to work and swapped the tube out in short order.

Then we continued on to Toroweap

Approaching the edge is always interesting...

Kevin hanging out on the edge

The required over the boots shot

Fabless in action

It's a long way down...

[Bagstr 287]

Eric,

Thanks for the video. Looks different without sheets of ice.

Dave

[Fabless 0]

Thank you for the ride report, Erick, and photos from the flat. You guys turned around to help me when you didn't have to, and I really appreciate that. I liked the video of Red Rock Canyon -- brings back fond memories.

-Fabless

Day 3, heading out to Toroweap. The climb through the mountains was very rocky, once we got through the mountains, we took a double track through a field. Fabless pinch flatted in THE best place I've probably ever seen someone flat. We're in the middle of nowhere and he has a flat a few hundred yards from this nice covered campsite.

Fabless goes to work and swapped the tube out in short order.

[...]

[Crawdaddy 96]

Great trail tales/pics.......thanks all

[WARP9 0]

Sweet vids! thanks for posting