ADV/DS ride Lake Berryessa/Knoxville OHV/Rayhouse Rd.

1962siia

1962siia

Well-known member
The ride hasn’t been very active in recent history but it’s a fun ride. Not sure if fire has closed things or not.
 
SFMCjohn

SFMCjohn

13
well, OK, got some small interest in a n00bie camp out on the Saturday before the next Second Sunday ride ...

so: NOT an official BARF Adventure Riding ride, totally outlaw-style, COVID distancing,
masked-up for safety, show-up-or-don't type thing.

Saturday 10/10/2020
meet at:
Starbucks
4470 Central Way Ste 100
Fairfield, CA 94534
between 9:30am and 10:30am ...

try to ride to Buck Island and camp out. try to meet anyone doing the second Sunday ride on Sunday 10/11/2020.

Have no idea about the current fires up there, so maybe we'll do 11/07/2020 instead,
or 10/10/20 will work out and we'll also be able to do a n00bie camp out on 11/07/20 this year, too ...

buckisland.jpg

zoom map link.

SFMCjohn said:
buckislandroad.jpg


the dirt road down to Buck Island ... they've had bulldozers on Reiff and down to Buck Island recently and the roads were in much better shape than the last time I was up there ...

buckisland.jpg


view of Cache Creek ... my campsite is in the lower left corner of the pic.
The road you can see across the river is new ... bulldozed during the big fire.

buckislandtent.jpg


it was hot, so a swim in the creek felt great. Because it was a weeknight, had the entire place all to myself. :gsxrgrl
Click to expand...

been a year since I camped out at Buck Island, plus the current/recent wildfires,
so any recent local intel would be welcome.

Bunch of bail out camp spots (Knoxville, Cache Creek, Indian Valley Reservoir), if we need them,
or for next time ...

OK, see you in Cordelia ...
if my bike starts, maybe. :toothless:ride:blah

Mr. perpetual-n00bie,
-- SFMCjohn
 
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Cabrito

Cabrito

cabrón
SFMCjohn said:
the BARF Baja vets! :laughing:thumbup

10/10 Buck Island overnight should be less of a commitment of time/money, and no passport required ...
Click to expand...

I've been wanting to check that area out forever. I've seen your past reports on it, and not sure why this isn't already a go-to destination.

Do you know if it gets crowded or what it's like when other folks are there? Looks like they have a few vault toilets, but that it's sort of dispersed camping and you can camp right on the edge of the river/creek.
 
SFMCjohn

SFMCjohn

13
there have been other people there when I’ve been there on the weekend ...

it’s an area where you’re allowed to shoot ... last time I was at Buck Island on a weekend there was a nice group there that had some sort of automatic weapon cannon they were shooting at 2am ... was a truly impressive noise. :laughing

Buck Island used to be a put in/take out area for the commercial raft companies, but the area is a lot more remote since they gated the Zero Ton causeway ...

we’ll see ... there’s a little pond at the Buck Island/Rayhouse Rd intersection, and a road that goes up Stony Ridge past the pond (south of the Buck Island intersection) where there may be some room to pitch a tent some day ...

when I was last at Buck Island in 2019 the pit toilets were looking unused with the grass all grown up around ...

idk ... maybe Rieff/Rayhouse/Buck Island could be a bit gnarley/steep/scary for a new rider on a big bike, especially with 90/10 tires if it’s rained recently. I won’t ride there if it’s truly muddy.

we could always punt a bit and take Hwy 16 first, and have a bail-out to the Indian Valley Reservoir or just camp at Cache Creek/Hwy 16 if there has been rain ...

suppose they start locking the gate at the Knoxville end when it starts raining ...?

guess my idea was mostly the overnight so peeps can test their bike loading and new equipment, and to see if we can catch the Second Sunday day riders somewhere ... I’ve never done the Sand Creek dirt, either ... have a new 9” frying pan I want to try to use.

:blah
 
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wheel_muse

wheel_muse

bicycles 'n motos
Recon

Yesterday I rode from home to Hwy 16 thru Esparto then Rayhouse to Reiff Rd (east to west). Returning Knoxville-Berryessa.

The gate at the park on the Hwy 16 was locked, but the ride around was easy. Fortunately the west gate at Reiff was open. I didn't want to go back the way I came! Most of it wasn't hard riding, but man and machine were challenged in the rockier, rutted sections. Picked a delicate line with tender bits tucked between two 17" Battlewings.. :ride

This was my first trip thru Rayhouse - Reiff. There was a lot of evidence of bulldozer work on the east side. It seemed smoother.

The smoke was worst in Fairfield, but the real heartaches were Pleasants Valley Rd and Spanish Flat where there is so much devestaiion. :wtf Many homes lost. Vast amounts of territory burned. Sometimes every direction you look. Familiar stretches of flora now looks ghostly. Oaks with lines of white branch ash radiating out.

Then again, some lesser scarring elsewhere. Trees hurt, not killed. Homes saved. Untouched areas, pastoral peace.

JOHN, is your approach to Buck Island from Rayhouse? Or is there access from Cowboy Camp? I was tempted to check that out, but there were a lot of horses on the trail. Natch'
 
SFMCjohn

SFMCjohn

13
wheel_muse said:
Yesterday I rode from home to Hwy 16 thru Esparto then Rayhouse to Reiff Rd (east to west). Returning Knoxville-Berryessa.

The gate at the park on the Hwy 16 was locked, but the ride around was easy. Fortunately the west gate at Reiff was open. I didn't want to go back the way I came! Most of it wasn't hard riding, but man and machine were challenged in the rockier, rutted sections. Picked a delicate line with tender bits tucked between two 17" Battlewings.. :ride

This was my first trip thru Rayhouse - Reiff. There was a lot of evidence of bulldozer work on the east side. It seemed smoother.

The smoke was worst in Fairfield, but the real heartaches were Pleasants Valley Rd and Spanish Flat where there is so much devestaiion. :wtf Many homes lost. Vast amounts of territory burned. Sometimes every direction you look. Familiar stretches of flora now looks ghostly. Oaks with lines of white branch ash radiating out.

Then again, some lesser scarring elsewhere. Trees hurt, not killed. Homes saved. Untouched areas, pastoral peace.

JOHN, is your approach to Buck Island from Rayhouse? Or is there access from Cowboy Camp? I was tempted to check that out, but there were a lot of horses on the trail. Natch'
Click to expand...

so awesome you got up there for the first time this weekend, too! remember the first time I rode through Reiff/Rayhouse, not knowing what to expect, and being thrilled how much fun it is with the steepness, switchbacks, ruts and the lake ...

the turn off Rayhouse is the only in/out I’m aware of to get to Buck Island ...

Cowboy Camp is cool, but I don’t know of any dual-sport access from there ... Lynch Canyon Trail would take you close to the wrong side of Cache Creek/Buck Island, but pretty sure there's a locked gate at Hwy 20.

It's kind of fun to figure out the watersheds in the area. Cache Creek is full of water along Hwy 16 and then it turns away with all its water to run down from Clear Lake, and Hwy 16 continues along Bear Creek towards Cowboy Camp and Hwy 20 and is usually absolutely empty of water (at least compared to Cache Creek).

In any event, I've not heard about any fun dirt on the Cowboy Camp side of Cache Creek, west of Hwy 16 or south of Hwy 20 ... maybe someone will chime in ...?

btw, the locked gate is always there on the Hwy 16 side to control the Zero Ton bridge (that gets us on the Buck Island side of Cache Creek) ... the Knoxville side has a gate they close in the winter, I assume to keep people from tearing the road when it gets muddy with winter raim. my plated dirt bike friends say they can ride around that Knoxville-side gate on Rayhouse, and I believe them, though I'd never try it on a loaded KLR by myself ... I don't ride back there when it gets muddy, hear it can be pretty brutal ... :ride

thanks for posting about your experience! hope some other folks are encouraged to give it a try ... :party
 
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