The Mobius Trip

Moose markings?



You guys rawk so hard it hurts! The video definitely adds a new dimension. I don't know how you can ride those awesome trails at such a sedate pace... I do KNOW why... Survival and all, but I would have such a hard time containing myself... Thanks again for taking the time to put this RR together. So many of us live vicariously through you and this RR.

Glad you made it home safe and sound. Looking forward to V...

Doc, that's not very nice! I hope she gets you back for that.

Yes, I am in trouble, but it was her first time, and noteworthy as such, and that thing is a piece of kit that every woman should own... she said so herself, and it significantly changed the nature of the rest stops for both of us... no more grumpiness, delay, waiting, inordinate worry about poison ivy, etc... just stop, go, and go.

Anyway, 'nuff said; on with the show.

Yeah, the survival aspect is part of it, (meeting a fully loaded logging truck heading downhill at 30mph towards you on a single lane-wide gravel blind curve puts the fear of god in you for a few hours, at least) but you also have to realize that I'm taking vids mostly when the scenery is especially beautiful, or when the trail / terrain becomes particularly interesting, and we're riding slower then...

There are what we called the "transit" or "liason" sections which connect the tasty bits that we definitely wick it up for. Here are a couple of examples:

Disclaimer: no story content, just riding... Skip at will.

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and traversed through some majorly huge pine forest.



I mean, really impressive old growth



At the bottom, we headed west again, and into the Humbug Valley.

We found that we were on the CBCDT:



and so we stopped to get ourselves a little history.



This is Soda Springs



(click the small photo below to access a bigger version if you want to read it -- choose X3 or O)





It is located in the Humbug Valley:





Ta da!

we passed the Lemm Ranch



which had some cool old structures.





And a big 'ol weathervane made from the hood of a car, which I thought I took a photo of, but didn't, so I'm stealin' someone else's to show you:

of easy gravel, took us up and down,



and through the woods to Hwy 32.

Along the way, we got our first glimpse of Lassen Volcano peak,



Our first sighting of real red fall leaves,



and were just generally enjoying the ride

Right before we got to Hwy 32, the road was blocked as a wrecker was pulling a wreck out of the woods.



We chatted with the guys in the truck who were waiting to get by... seems like the driver of the pick-up was trying to turn around and backed up off the road. :eek1

Not pretty. The tow-truck guys let us scoot around after a few minutes, and we were back on our way.

on Hwy 32, we cut back into the forest, and descended to cross Panther Creek,



The bridge had some pretty wide gaps between some of the planks,



as a child, I had a phobia about walking over bridges where you could see down through it. I guess I'm over that.



It was beautiful country, and you could tell we were getting into an area of volcanic geology:



The riding wasn't particularly challenging, but we were in a nice groove, enjoying the sights, and laying down the miles.

to around 4000ft, and found ourselves on another ridge,



We were on the Lassen Trail, and came upon another historical marker at "The Narrows"



There was another plaque as well, more like a shrine of sorts (click on the photo below to access a larger size --X3 or O, if you want to read the text);



It was a cool place, and I can't imagine hauling a wagon train up through there. sheesh.

Any chance you remember what this sign said? Or a clickable pic?

and started thinking about stopping for a snack.



I knew that the Black Rock campground was up ahead, and that it looked pretty cool on GoogleEarth, and figured that might be a good place to take a break.<object width="640" height="360">


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If you can't hear what I was saying, it's basically that as cool as Black Rock looked on GoogleEarth in virtual reality, it was WAY cooler in real life.

from afar,



closer,



even closer



it's sort of like the yin to crystal mountain's yang

[flashback to M-3]

fixed; click on it, then select size "O" and it should be readable.

crawled right around the base of Black Rock



and as it crossed Mill Creek,





there was some educational and historic info about the valley and the rock: (click on the photos below to access larger images -- select "X3" or "O"riginal size)





This last one in particular is worth reading. It tells the story of the last "wild" Native American. Fascinating and sad.

We found some shade, and a picnic table at a campsite,



It was about 1:45pm, and we had covered about a hundred miles. We snacked on beef jerky, the rest of the pumpkin bread, and some peanuts. A couple of ATV riders drove by, and we saw a guy with a fishing pole. Took some photos of little rocks,



and the big one,



geared back up,



and were back on our way.

on the other side,



we continued to have great views of the Black Rock, and also of the rest of the valley.



I stopped to take a few photos of a lava outcropping I thought looked cool, and LDF motored on ahead...



I saw that the climb up this side was steeper, and more technical, with a wicked drop-off to the left, and cliff to the right. I thought it would be a good place to do a mobile video update, talk about lunch, and where we were headed... you know, boring stuff. Little did I know...

Disclaimer: don't miss this one... it's probably one of the most exciting episodes of this trip. <object width="640" height="360">


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... of the video, I have positively identified the stuff in the road as:




















Beaver poop!!!

Going through the photos and sequence, I'd forgotten what a great day this was.



After the bear episode, the next two-three hours were spent on some of the most remote,



most difficult to navigate,



and most beautiful terrain we've run.





We were up on Bucks flat, which wasn't flat at all... trying to connect two different National Forest road systems via some BLM territory on roads which were labyrinthine, sometimes non-existant, and sometimes gated.