Hixon, Thomas Mtn, etc. 11/19/10

[dirt dame 561]

So the morning sky was cold, heavy and gray at my house, but by 8:30 in Anza it was delightfully blue with a nice shiny sun warming us through a few errant cirrus clouds. It ended up being MCtrails, Pyro and myself which was good because I know how Alan and Troy ride, so I could be sure to try to include fun stuff for them without worrying about newbies or large adventure bikes. I only needed to worry about myself on some of the stuff I picked.

The three Musketeers rolled out of the staging area right on time at 9 o clock. I decided that we would go over by Tripp Flats trail and head across the ridge to Hixon trail. I didn't have any plan for after that. Like so many of my rides, I let the route sort of unfold as I went along. (The only constant was getting to the Secret Legit trail in a reasonable amount of time.) The first thing I did was try to find a dirt road short cut from Baustista road to Cary road. All started out uneventful as I spotted a likely lane and we headed up it. Within a mile it ended however and there was a small, sandy entrance to a lightly used singletrack trail right there. So the adventure began. We dropped quickly into a wash filled with rocks and sort of deep sand (my favorite ), and went along until a couple of large boulders all but blocked any further advancement. Undeterred, I got off the TE and shoved it into the tiny gap ahead of me, wiggling it through from behind, both footpegs folded up and scraping the whole way. The guys bikes were wider than mine, especially Pyro's KLR, so they found the bypass up the side of the ravine and met up with me just past the obstacle. Then we had to make an abrupt rocky climb out of the wash and followed some pretty gnarly local singletrack between properties and over hill and dale. I felt a little over my head in this section, but mostly because I had little idea of where I was going and I was riding my tallest, heaviest bike. I was glad to find the pavement finally, but would gladly reride that stretch on any future ride.

Once we were up on the fire road that leads to Hixon, I lost the guys for a moment. Thinking that they were adjusting clothing layers or maybe taking some pictures of the sweeping vistas around us, I stopped to take a couple of shots myself and waited for them to catch up. When they did, it was bad news....Pyro's clutch cable snapped. But in his usual Pyro Adventure ride fashion, he decided to give it one last go, and rode the 650 cc beastie down Hixon trail without a clutch. Luckily, the trail had been groomed a while ago and the steep part was not so evil. He parted company with Alan and I on Bautista road.

So now it was just the Two Musketeers. We had lots of choices of where to go next to pick from. We had descended through the cloud cover on Hixon and were now under the chilly pall as we headed for Hemet. I thought of Bee Canyon, but decided that it would take us too long to reach our next venue (which was really the main course of the day), so we went up Rouse Hill and down Little Thomas to Lake Hemet. It was lunch time and the market at the lake has deli sandwiches fresh made and lined up in the cold case. Not much else is around the area for dining, so we had lunch there, sitting on a little log bench in front of the store with the cold wind whipping across the lake and onto us.

Next up.....well, you must know what that was. Time for the Secret Legit trail tour. It's about an 18 mile loop. MCtrails and I scouted around and found some interesting trails, including some singletrack. It was a lot of fun exploring, and late in the day we saw a bobcat go scampering through the pine prairie. Neither of us were quick enough to get a shot, but the longhorn cattle managed to elude the camera pretty well too. By now the clouds had crept over the landscape where we were and the sky was darkening. The temperature indicated that the cold front was moving in, so we made our way back to the highway and buzzed back to Anza. Even though it was cold, the traditional post ride ice cream finale at DQ was in order before hitting the road.

Thanks to Pyro for joining me....you'll just have to make it back another time. Thanks to MCtrails for joining me (and thanks for lunch). Hope The Three Musketeers will hit the trail again soon.

Now....the pics.

First thing in the morning.

Somewhere in Anza.

Obligatory Hixon Trailhead shot.

Scenery: we has it.

Lake Hemet where we soon would be for some grub.

Foods. Pork....BBQ style.

On our way to my new favorite area.

We have arrived.

"I was there" shot.

[mctrails 38]

Another great day on dirt bikes! Many thanks, Mimi, for a fun ride and another excellent trip report and pictures. I hope Pyro made it back OK. Bummer the offroad part of his ride had to end so early. Let's do this again sometime.

Here Pyro and DirtDame work through a challenging spot early.

Pyro's opinion on his broken cable. I don't blame him.

Mimi wasn't taking any bull from this guy.

[baldbeemer 0]

Nice report! Looked like a lot of fun!

[dsfox 0]

Nice .....I recognize some of those roads from our anza ride earlier this summer....Loved that area....when you guys go back, I'd love to join you ....thanks for sharing...

[pyro 1]

Thanks Dirtdame and McTrails. I look forward to riding with you both again soon. Very nice write-up Mimi and great photos! Looks like I missed the best part darnit. . . I knew it! I was put out of the game early with a broken clutch cable. I guess those things only last 50,000 miles or so. What a rip off! I wonder how many times I've pulled that clutch lever over the past 5 years . . . It was a chilly ride out there this morning with more drizzle and fog, my favorite! The dirt riding was short (for me) and sweet. There's a lot of great stuff out there. I only got a few pics this time.

Some fun stuff right off the bat this morning.

Horny toad probably froze to death the night before.

Cool fire roads with great views.

Tragedy strikes.

Top of Hixon.

On the way home I look down and the speed is indicating 120+. I was only going like 70ish! Later it started fluctuating and almost spinning around. Has anyone else had this happen? Could it be the cable or do you think the gauge is broken?

Thanks again ya'll. See you next time.

[dirt dame 561]

On the way home I look down and the speed is indicating 120+. I was only going like 70ish! Later it started fluctuating and almost spinning around. Has anyone else had this happen? Could it be the cable or do you think the gauge is broken?

Clutch cable, speedo cable....I'm glad you made it home with your throttle cables still intact!

[TrophyHunter 15]

Wish I still had Friday's off....I would've been all over this one. Looks like a great ride.

Troy, it's well known that KLR speedo cables only last 37,929 miles.

[pyro 1]

it's well known that KLR speedo cables only last 37,929 miles.

Yep, i guess your right brother. hahahahahahaah . .

But when you add the year and a half or so that the speedo didn't work at all, that means clutch and throttle cables are good for about 50k! Not bad.

Clutch cable, speedo cable....I'm glad you made it home with your throttle cables still intact!

I hear that. Well, time to bite the bullet and order up some new cables then . . .

[dirt dame 561]

Clutch cable, speedo cable....I'm glad you made it home with your throttle cables still intact!

I hear that. Well, time to bite the bullet and order up some new cables then . . .

Just sayin'....

[husky4me 0]

Seems like a fun ride, thanks for posting! I have not been much involved with SDAR for the past few years... Good to see you riding Troy! Greetings to all!

[dirt dame 561]

Seems like a fun ride, thanks for posting! I have not been much involved with SDAR for the past few years... Good to see you riding Troy! Greetings to all!

Nice to hear from you, Martin. Thanks for stopping in. Hope you can join us more often.

[Kiwi Wayne 3]

Looks like fun times.

Pyro, Just buy a new KLR!!!

I ended up in Singapore. Work sucks

[christi20 0]

OK, so did anyone get gps tracks?

Looks fun. Bummed I could not make it. I would have had more fun.

[dirt dame 561]

OK, so did anyone get gps tracks?

Yes, but about 18 miles of it is sworn to secrecy.