3,876 miles ripping it up on my 690

Thanks to all, for your responses and feedback! OR400 I have ridden with some of the BDS crew back in 2011, I think it was written up as the Waldo lake ride. Kurtw was there with his 690. The eastern OR area is spectacular and I intend to get over this late summer for a 10 day ride. If anyone has any gear questions let me know.... The next few days are excellent also!

I have a gear question!!

Tell me about the extra fuel bag. Did it soak thru and stink up your stuff in the GL? I have thought about bringing one of those along and have been afraid it would funk up whatever it was tied to. I have been asking anyone who has used one how they liked it.

Tell me what you think!

It was perfect. I never had any leak or smelly gas issue. I seriously have a great sense of smell. I kept the nozzle in a zip lock in my "tank bag". Ride 38 has the info on it, since he was so kind as to let me use it on the journey! I used a bungie cord up each side and just pulled it tight. I never once thought it was a liability. It pours well and you can even get it to just drain into the tank while you ride, with a filter even. The unit was very well built and durable. Although the thing is a bit spendy!

So it must not be a Dromedary water bag. :huh What is it exactly?

It is specifically designed to carry fuel. Ride 38 had it sent to me because of CA laws. When he could not make it I brought it to him tested and approved! You'll have to wait for his reply to get the brand.

Ok gang, so I'm one of the flakes who couldn't get the full adventure in with Lupe.He whipped the entire idea up about a year previous to departure with a headcount of about 5 of us but heads started rolling off the list about a month before jumping the start gate in Big Sky country.
Lupe & I settled for a compromise and connected in Kernville to track up the Sierras as close to the Pacific Crest Trail as possible -without being on a war path mentality for a finish line. This meant four days of braaapin', fishin', boozin' & hooligan'sm wherever the day took us. All was fair game, shortcuts, fire-trails, tarmac... whatever a wink of courtesey and nod of apology could get us out of.
]The rough route to follow was framed on a few previous RR posts, some which you guys may remember...the epic Pacific Crest Quest R-dubb did ten years ago http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22989 , and the tad more casual route, recently taken by DirtClaudeKilly http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=803524
We really weren't sure how far we'd go or how true to form we'd stick to these fella's GPS tracks, but the coord's were logged in and we wanted some elevation.
-Any chance of camping next to tweekers & gakkers was banned from here-out but you never know what you bump into out in them thar hills!

Great ride report, I too share your terror of lightning.

By the way, this is a beautiful shot. Do you remember where the location was?

https://lupenurse.smugmug.com/photos/i-HFWPzN2/0/XL/i-HFWPzN2-XL.jpg

Hughmoris, It's Colter Bay at the Grand Tetons, those mountains are the Tetons. They are amazing and the lake makes it surreal. The lake has great fishing also. I never tried but I saw some nice stringers.

Enjoyed reading your report! That 690 looks like a blast!!! Respect for all those hwy miles down I-40... that shit is boring!

So, I slept well with the river running so close and no gang bangers. Plus the hours of dancing the previous night was almost like a day in the saddle. I take it slow since I know Ride 38 wont get here till noonish. I fill up with gas and fluids and prepare for the next phase of this adventure. I wait at the park on the river right in town where the outdoor band payed last night. I nap off and on just listening to music and people watch. I finally hear the four stroke rev and know it's time to get at it. Ride 38 and I are pumped to get some time exploring in. It is odd at first following him up and out of town. We get to the start of the trail and the road is closed with a deterrent, you know, a gate. Well, lets just go look.






I think I can squeak by and do. We both get up to a point a half mile up this nice washed out road and the trail gets completely over grown. It would make a great camp spot but thats not important yet.


The ride back down.





So that was a loss and we hit some more slab till we find another nice trail that works up and over a mountain. I'll have to let Ride 38 give the particulars if wanted. We do a lot of this at first but then things smooth out.





We come to some great vistas and even go through a indian reservation that makes me a bit worried at first. There are these posted signs basically telling you to not pass through and that you are on tribal land with tribal laws. It is a bit intimidating to think that your now not gonna just a get a trespassing ticket. We end up stopping and looking out over a valley when we get approached by an oncoming vehicle. They are indian and very nice and helpful. They point us down the road and have no issues with us.



Perfect DS roads













So we drop of the mountain and start to head into the valley looking for camping and beer. We come into a small town and get gas and beer. We find out there is camping about 30 minutes away via a narrow windy road. We go for it and head back up into the mountains towards Bulch Camp. On the way up we go by an amazing vista. The campground has no sites available and it's just as well. We start scavenging for a place to get off the road and plant it for the night. The vista has this little dirt road that comes off of it, PERFECT!





this one Ride 38 took



Only down side to this spot was no campfire. There was no need and it was pretty dry. It ended up being a great spot with an amazing sunset topped off with a cool city/valley view at night of the lights.



It's hard to see but you get the idea.






It was a good day but also a bit unnerving at times. I had been doing my own thing for a while and now I had to bounce ideas and thoughts off of Ride 38. We have been tight friends for many years. It just took me a bit to not have that go go go go. I had to relearn how to function and relate to another. I had to open up! We had a good night catching up and just running through our gear. We both have a passion for quality, durable equipment. Shooting stars and beer faded into snores and middle of the night pissing in the woods!


Kernville to Off the road near Bulch camp 11651---11776

Yo MasterMarine, Here it is.

Thanks Ride38. Unfortunately, Just Gas Tanks does not sell those anymore. I just bought a big tank for my 500 EXC from them last week and asked about it. I will search up that manufacturer.

Great Ride! Thanks for putting in the time to share it!

So we sleep well and the night was tranquil. I've got the packing up camp thing down so Ride 38 is amazed at my swiftness. I try to take my time but in reality I can't. I tend to like to get the work out of the way and then relax. The air is crisp. The view is still spectacular and we snap some shots to remember.

These bikes are ready for the day ahead!





The gnome gets in the adv spirit!




We roll back up to Bulch camp and check it out. The mighty sequoia's never disappoint and they will be common place today.


This one was once a shell for a store selling novelties to campers.










Lady of the day!













So we go off the mountain and head towards the valley looking for another way through the mountains. The tracks led us up some mountain that has several radio and cell towers. Ironically the reception was shitty. The view was great and the giant rocks made it fun to explore. It's odd to me that I find myself far more willing to explore when I have a friend than when alone. I guess it's the safety in numbers or the sharing of the moment that compels.



I noticed this just prior to the road that led up to the towers.




















We end up trying to follow the tracks down the other side of this mountain. We let ourselves through a gate or two and end up not being able to go any further.
We did not want to backtrack but we had no choice. At one point, when getting around a gate, I rode down a very steep embankment and blew a fork seal. I noticed it later in the day but thinking back I knew where I did it. I decided to not let it bother me and just rode it hard like I had been. I figured that is why there are two!!! We end up on the tarmac again and enjoyed a nice lunch by the river?? The place was on the way to the sequoia national park. We ended up going into the park and camping for the night. The campground was quiet and nice. We scavenged for wood and had a nice fire. I lost some pictures from the ride hence I don't have any of this camping site. The site again had a spectacular view of the valley below. If you have not been to sequoia national park you must, it does not disappoint! The day was great. We had good teamwork and just flowed. No worries about a deadline or destination. We just rode till we wanted to break and then rode some more.


Bulch Camp to Kings Canyon 11776 -- 11911

The 2nd or 3rd gate Lupe mentioned above had a Nature Conservancy placard on it despite being on the map as National Forest... figured blowing a fork seal may be a good omen compared to trampling sensitive grounds. It's tough to turn around so close to our goal (and exciting seeing an untried track) but catching the view back down was good to look where we had spent the last night:



Camp in the Sequioa's, after sunset we had an amazing granite perch looking over the Central Valley's August haze & blinking city lights.:

The evening after sunset's sorta a blur...
may have been the proximity to a General Store with fine selection of chilled micro-brews?
There was some nice left-over Valley Oak brought up by previous campers from the lowlands, we made for the occassion. Eyebrows pending.

Good ride, can't wait to see how it ends

Waking up and moving at a leisurely pace was in order. We had plans to keep on riding up the Sierra's, going back into the valley then back into the mountains where ever we could. We took our time finding our way down out of Kings Canyon. This place is difficult to ride through because it is packed with great scenery. I find myself starring into nature and not the road ahead. Soon enough we are out of the magnificence and into the foothills. We gas up and decide we need to ride, fish and camp at a spectacular spot. It's a order easily filled in these parts. We take a nice windy road to Pine Flat Lake. A guy on a duke is out in front of us and per the norm I must represent the 690. I take my time and pick apart his lines with the fully loaded enduro. We stop at the western part of the lake and talk for a bit about bikes and what not. The sun is cooking us and we need hydration. There is a little mart that has the needed ice and gatoraide. I fill my water bladder in the usual, hey can I get some ice please.

Ride38 found a path up towards some lakes that would suit our needs. The slab around the lake, heading back east, is fun and tight at times. The big hooking corners sweep around the fingers of the lake. We dice it up and have fun with the bikes before we hit the off road sections. The dust is thick off road and we space out just leap frogging the turns. Ride38 is familiar with the area and the two track is fun. I find myself pushing my blown front fork seal but at this point I just want more. The elevation leaves the heat behind as we climb into the wilderness. We climb towards Shaver Lake and stop short of it when we hit the slab again. We are at a campground that is busy. Sure it would work and showers would be nice but it's not the place. It's only about 2pm. We see signs for another lake. We get the fixins for the night at the little store. Yup, stuffing beers in any spot that they fit. Get a nice new lure for the local fish(planters).

The ride to the lake is great. We come to a peak that reveals it, we know we are home for the night......

Courtright! This place is spectacular. We luck into the last sight on the loop so the privacy was good and the view perfect. The one neighbor guy with is extended family was showing off all the fish he had just caught. Perfect. We get right down to business. Set up camp and get down to the shore.

That's Ride38 getting his line wet.











Notice the smoke next to the left peak. The fire seemed to die out by the next morning.




We immediately start catching fish. They are fighters and a lot of fun. I keep releasing them cause the bite is so strong. Like every other cast strong. Ride38 decides to keep this beauty. It ends up being the last fish caught since the bite just dies off. The fish made the meal that night perfect.






Since the bite was over I thought, why not ride over to the damn. I see a DS bike and it's actually a Husky SMR with wide dirt tires. This guy is fishing still so I talk him up a bit. He is up here hanging by himself for his birthday doing what he loves the most, camping from his bike and fishing a this lake. He is camped on the other side of the damn and off the path. I tell him to visit with us tonight if he wants to drink some beers and chill. Well at dusk he shows up with a bottle of whiskey and is ready to BS the night away. Random but a great connection. We all had plenty in common and the night was crisp and clear. The mountain air is unbeatable. I sleep like a rock!


Picture from the dam!




The spillway





I gotta have some FIRE!










Kings Canyon(Grant Campground) ------ Courtright Reservoir 11911-12030

I am working on getting the video to upload to smugmug. Here is a pic from day 14. I will update when I get it figured!

Glad to see you are back!

P.S. That sweetly setup XR400 makes me miss mine BAD!