My first ABDSP visit, but nope it won't be my last

[kato 54]

I was debating but why not, i feel like sharing this one. sorry if it's a bit long and boring. maybe I m just writing this to make sure I don't repeat my mistakes (mainly to know where I am at all times from now on)

OK so I only had sunday off last weekend and that meant no DD for me this year (no way I was going on my first Dash and miss the first ride + BBQ sat night), it's gonna have to be next year), but did manage to be in OW early enough sunday and thought I'd spend the whole day "taking it easy" linking the 78 and s-2 then slab home back to sd. I had done extensive reading on the area and knew I had to stay away from any major drop offs since I was riding solo. But somehow I missed the part about the diablo drop off being the only way to connect..

Was very windy in OW around 7am, sand storm windy:

So I decided to take a nap and let the wind die down while readjusting my twisted forks. plus I needed to test my new thor rig, works great. and that front right blinker i didn't need anyway:

After warming up and picking up 3 liters of water I was ready for this easy ride through the park:

Taking my time and taking it all in, probably one of the most beautiful place i've visited in my life:

What does this sign say? sandstone canyon.

Cool, it's not showing on my super hightech android phone gps, let's go find out where it leads:

(and about 30 minutes later) ok cool it leads nowhere. It was definitely worth the ride though:

Found out (too late) that my GPS is basically useless in ABDSP, probably because it's not an actual GPS, all it shows is a red dot in the middle of a big green thing. most trails are not on it.. no problem, I know I'm on fish creek and there's gonna be some sign for 'arroyo seco del diablo'. there's gotta be. I'm pretty sure.

fast forward a while (and a couple more naps in some DEEP sand), more pretty sights:

.. and then came up on this pretty scary drop to me, and especially to my klr (it's the part that you don't actually see in this pic, if you haven't been there). My thoughts at this point are that I can't really turn around because it's a long way back, I m getting low on water (1 liter left) and getting exhausted from manhandling the water-cooled 650 in the deep sand. Plus it's 1pm already, the red dot is pretty close to the edge of the green area, gotta go forward and get out of here. There I'm thinking "make it down this without major damage to the bike and everything will be fine":

managed to make it down no problem, "I love this bike!". Wonder what that drop was.. anyway whatever, let's keep focusing on surfing out of this new deep sand part, felt like it was water, and get out of here for a cold beer.

Keep in mind I was still riding looking for arroyo seco del diablo at this point.. then came the blow. In my case a heart attack. ok that's why i haven't seen a soul for a while in this part on the park (seemed kind of odd).

I had seen pics of this hill before. I realized then that I was in the very place I did not want to visit alone, and way out of my way. Trying to keep cool and still thinking the way ahead was my best option I spent much energy hiking up and down (with boots) to try to find a way up and get me and the klr to safety.

I weighted my options again and my priority was to not end up on foot with so little water. A klr tumbling down this hill might very well sustain major damage and force me to abandon it, not good.

At this point not knowing how much longer i would have to be in the dez i decided to recharge my phone. Got the usb cable out of my pocket only to discover that it got ripped to pieces during one of my bails. no way to charge the phone with 10% battery left. Now both me and the phone are in orange, water level in the red. The only thing in the green was the gas tank, at least something is going right.

After scooping around (maybe just unconsciously waiting for some 4x4 to pop up at the top with a hook..) I decide to find a side line (i know im supposed to light thread and not really do that but i considered it survival, not accumplishment..). the idea is that if the bike falls to its side in that dirt it wont tumble all the way down. let's go. I start bombing up the hill and made it about 15 feet up on the side before getting my rear wheel stuck and falling in the cactuses. Way too steep. now I m cursing in my helmet as i know i wont make it up this obstacle.

Was no fun and very energy consuming to get the bike back down backwards (no way to turn it around) from the side of heart attack, but managed without dropping it somehow. Sweating bullets at this point, lips chapped, you know.. and here i am heading back where I came from, couldn't believe i would be going through all this deep sand again (for some reason the sand was much deeper around Fairchild Hill) and still I had no idea how to reach arroyo seco del diablo. Did I mention I'm low on water?

So there I am, up and down making my way back and thinking about Fairchild Hill, bracing myself.

When it appeared in front of me i didn't even stop. Instead of dropping my 15 pound backpack I dropped to first gear got on the pegs and revved hard without even touching the clutch. Do or die style. 1/2 second later i was on top.

Without even looking back or feeling happy accomplishing any of that I simply kept going, focused on getting out of there.

About 30 minutes later i met a small group traveling in a 4x4, someone knew the area and explained that to reach arroyo del blah blah i had to go up the diablo drop off first. That's great news because I feel pretty much invincible right now just point me in the right direction. Oh, and I'll leave without asking any water too. HOW did THAT happen I have no idea.

"next major intersection" he said, "if you ride at a good pace you can be back on pavement in about an hour..". So there I am back tracking for another while and almost missingthe "major" intersection, but went for what i thought could be it and when i finally saw something looking like a hard climb i knew I had made it to diablo drop off. Bombed up the first parts fairly easily, but the long sandy hill almost got me. I refused to lay the bike half way up that uphill sand box so i just kept revving hard, almost red lining, going 1mph, hoping to get some traction, and somehow it happened, i made it to the top.

Feeling "saved" I sat down up there and finally let myself relax a bit contemplating the dez. I even used a precious 1% of my phone battery (now the phone is in the red and I'm back in the greenish) to snap a pic.

Didn't see anyone at all during this whole ordeal, from that 4x4 deep in fish creek up until reaching S-2 at the end of canyon sin nombre, which i did about an hour later I guess. With one big sip of water left to get me to ocotillo. For someone who tries to stay of pavement as much as possible, I've never been so happy to see a road

[Joliet 0]

If you are going to go out by yourself much, think about getting a spot.

http://www.findmespot.com/en/

Thanks for the write-up and pics.

[kato 54]

If you are going to go out by yourself much, think about getting a spot.

http://www.findmespot.com/en/

Thanks for the write-up and pics.

thanks. yes I also heard about the Spot thingy from Bagster not long ago.. wise. i really need to look into that, and a GPS

[kato 54]

Looking back, though, this was just a rookie story of getting a bit freaked out in an unexpected situation. I really just missed a turn and got myself way deeper than expected that's all.

compared to some of the stuff I've read (like the bikeslut & co story in phantom I read last week) its peanut.

Just wanted to share, learned a lesson. See ya all soon.

[Goofy Footer 539]

You researched ahead of time, you went for it, put accidently yourself in a jam and scared yourself a little but you problem solved and succeeded in getting home safe. You had a blast and learned a good lesson. Sounds like a Win to me!

Anybody could have missed the Arroyo Seco Del Diablo turn off, don't get down on yourself about that. Last year I did many solo trips to the desert and I had a blast doing so. You set your own pace and lose yourself amongst the washes and canyons. Two things I did invest in though were a Spot and a GPS (albeit I was reluctant to spend the cash at first, they have become must haves for me). Spot will help keep the family at home happy because they can track you. West Marine has the Garmin 76Cx gps units for $150-180. Get a ram mount ($30) to attach it to your handlebars and with proper planning, you should be set to go anywhere.

IMO technology doesn't replace proper planning, it just opens new doors and makes certain things easier. A Tom Harrison recreational map for ABDSP and a compass are highly recommended too!

I'm glad you had fun out there, ABDSP is a great place to explore! Thanks for posting the pics.

[danrider 5]

I like your enthusiasm of riding out there on your own, and just riding. I do not need to tell you a SPOT is a cheep bug out for you in the event you got yourself in a bad way while riding on your own, that being said, good job!, write up, and enjoyed your pics.

[CL300CAPT 0]

Great write up. I was on the edge of my seat and could easily imagine myself in your shoes. Great advice from all the other guys too. Thanks for sharing your lesson, I feel I learned lots.

[poboyblues 0]

kato,

I saw you on Sunday morning when you were taking a short break at the Ocotillo Wells Ranger Station Road. My dad and I commented on you being out on the KLR solo. Very cool ride report.

[kato 54]

kato,

I saw you on Sunday morning when you were taking a short break at the Ocotillo Wells Ranger Station Road. My dad and I commented on you being out on the KLR solo. Very cool ride report.

Cool! I stopped there to fix my twisted forks and force a liter of water into my body before heading south.

I remember nodding at someone parked in a rv facing the bathhrooms, was that you guys?

[Oracle 195]

Cool ride...cool ride report!

[poboyblues 0]

kato,

I saw you on Sunday morning when you were taking a short break at the Ocotillo Wells Ranger Station Road. My dad and I commented on you being out on the KLR solo. Very cool ride report.

Cool! I stopped there to fix my twisted forks and force a liter of water into my body before heading south.

I remember nodding at someone parked in a rv facing the bathhrooms, was that you guys?

No, wasn't us. We were a big group walking over to the discovery center and we stopped at the restroom, of course, because one of the women had to go.....

My dad and I ride Ocotillo extensively and Anza Borrego, and we noticed you were solo and thought that was a cool thing. You blasted away from the bathroom and got a little sideways which made us chuckle a bit. I thought, "cool KLR". Sounded good and looked good, too. I'm glad you had fun and got home safe.