In the Clouds of Heaven and in the Vault of the Firmament ...

[SFMCjohn]

I love your ride reports John. So awesome. :thumbup

Hey boney,

Thanks for reading and for the kind comments! :thumbup

see you around the campfire,
-- SFMCjohn

 

[SFMCjohn]

Another mountain we can (maybe) ride up ...

I'm sure many of us have see BigWan and LittleWan's EPIC ride reports on
ADVrider, but for myself, here is a link
to an individual ride report post about Dimond Peak in Nevada, near Eureka:
http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/nevada-food-for-the-soul-delicious-dirt-on-big-bikes.1086016/page-10#post-27482977 ...

A pic from Diamond Peak cribbed from BigWan's ADVrider.com ride report ...

So, now that I've see pics of big bikes on top of Diamond Peak
in Nevada, I'll look on Google Maps, AAA maps, and NF maps, and
maybe plan a trip out that way ... I have been south of Austin, Nevada,
and through the Ruby Mountains on KLR trips, and I don't think Ereka is too far from there ...

And just because these guys have the (amazing) ability to ride to the top of
this mountain does NOT mean I can ... I probably won't
even be able to find the way up ... :laughing

My KLR rides are often a pale imitation of my better's efforts
(my ride reports, too! arty), but I've learned that there is no
pale
imitation
of
sitting in a hot spring,
or of eating at a good restaurant,
or of a nice camp site,
or of a nice camp fire ... :ride

And man-oh-man, how cool would it be to ride
a bike to the top of that mountain? :laughing

 

[Leo_jb]

Hey John!
Thanks for the inspiration. I tried to follow your example this past weekend with a trip out to 395. I varied the route a bit because I wanted to visit Bodie as well. Rode out Saturday from SF to Bodie on 108, took the dirt rode in and out of Bodie (awesome spot, btw) then spent the night at Buckeye hot springs. I wanted to spend the night on the Mt. Patterson, but I was running out of time, light, and energy. Sunday morning I took Bircham Flat road out to Lobdell Lake (which is an empty reservoir at this point) and took a few wrong turns before I got to the turnoff for Mt Patterson. At this point I was running a bit behind schedule and was starting to worry about the mileage, so I bypassed the road up the mountain in lieu of heading further north. Absolutely gorgeous road, though a bit difficult in a couple of spots. One steep, rutted downhill in particular made me re-think the wisdom of being back there solo (though I did have my InReach with me). Stayed on the road until Risue Canyon Rd, then back to 395 via Topaz Lane. Back home via Hwy 4 after lunch in Markleeville. Great trip, thoughI'll have to go back and get up the mountain next time. It'll be easier now that I know the way. Thanks again for the inspiration.

 

[SFMCjohn]

Hey Leo_jb,

I've seen pics of the route I think you are talking about
(I've never done it, the pics of the downhill
scared me skinny ...:laughing)

I think there are some pics toward the start of the BAARC
thread of the way you went ...
If I can find those pics I'll post 'em up ... :ride

There is a single-track route that heads off to Risue Road
to the east of Jackass Canyon, along Desert Creek, I guess ...
(I'm just guessing that Jackass Canyon is the route you wound up
taking ...?)

Anyway, if you like single track, check out the Desert Creek route, unless the water is high (there's a ton of creek crossings ...), but the route is (relatively)
level ... as far as anything up there is level ... :teeth

It's a great area, and maybe we're square for your showing me
Buckeye Springs ... arty

see you around the campfire,
-- SFMCjohn

 

[antidote]

That was a fun trip. Thanks for including us.

 

[Leo_jb]

Here's the nasty downhill. It doesn't look too bad, right? But the road has a "V" shaped cross section, and the deep rut in the middle is filled with big rocks. Plus some turns and really slippery surface. The piece of crap Mefo Explorer on the back of my KTM just would not track straight and kept slipping towards the middle of the road. Made it down, but not sure I could have made it back up again.

 

[Leo_jb]

Hey Leo_jb,

I've seen pics of the route I think you are talking about
(I've never done it, the pics of the downhill
scared me skinny ...:laughing)

I think there are some pics toward the start of the BAARC
thread of the way you went ...
If I can find those pics I'll post 'em up ... :ride

There is a single-track route that heads off to Risue Road
to the east of Jackass Canyon, along Desert Creek, I guess ...
(I'm just guessing that Jackass Canyon is the route you wound up
taking ...?)

Anyway, if you like single track, check out the Desert Creek route, unless the water is high (there's a ton of creek crossings ...), but the route is (relatively)
level ... as far as anything up there is level ... :teeth

It's a great area, and maybe we're square for your showing me
Buckeye Springs ... arty

see you around the campfire,
-- SFMCjohn

You got it right. Jackass Creek to Desert Creek to Risue Rd. If I had stayed on Desert Creek I would have gone through the single track I think. Maybe next time.

 

[SFMCjohn]

You got it right. Jackass Creek to Desert Creek to Risue Rd. If I had stayed on Desert Creek I would have gone through the single track I think. Maybe next time.

Found the thread I was thinking of, I'm sure
you've seen it, it's one of T O Double D's threads from 08/2010 ...
http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/baarc-good-bye-god-were-going-to-bodie.615342/

And one of the many pics, gives a pretty good view of the
rocky "V" in the middle:

Certainly not a series of pics to encourage one to head out there alone on
a loaded-for-camping-KLR ... clearly I forgot about this old thread regarding the general
area (although I have always remembered to avoid Jackass Cnyn) ... :laughing

I guess I just kept going back over about eight seasons, mostly
because it's so reasonably close to Lower Haight/Sonora Pass ... and so
very
beautiful ...
I do remember turning around
about half-way up the first time I tried to ride up
to Belfort/Mt Patterson from the east towards the west ... :rofl

Think Todd's got some pics of the Desert Creek single-track from the linked thread, too ...
He has a ton of pics, the ones we're talking about are in the middle
of post #3 ...

Lots tougher riding in the Sweetwater Mountains than where
I usually ride in the Mendo NF ...
looking at that old thread again reminds me why I was so
happy to be able to camp up on Mt Patterson in this thread ... :ride

 

[SFMCjohn]

That was a fun trip. Thanks for including us.

Hey antidote,
Thanks for reading and taking the
time to post! :thumbup

see you around
the campfire,
-- SFMCjohn

 

[Saltwater]

That looks like fun.:ride

Ive got to tag along with you one of these days when you head over that way.