it went on like this for miles... Fandango Canyon road would be the final obstacle before Christmas Valley. and at the rate we were going, Xmas Valley seemed to be a reasonable destination. It would require a 4-mile out & back from our route, but we were running out of energy. I think somewhere in here was that bizarre red & white cattle guard that had the potential to launch you into orbit. No pics. And this being used to hold the gate closed:
turnoff to Xmas Valley: We found the motel, and snagged the last couple rooms. There were some hunters gathered in the parking lot. It wasn't hunting season for anything, but they'd arranged with a local farmer to hunt squirrels in the fields from little squirrel blinds. It sounded more like target practice than anything. We fueled up, got groceries, showered, and went to the Feed Barn, for an awesome pizza and beer. Some of the hunters were there and asking about our trip. Good vibes. We capped things off with a piece of home-made peanut-butter cream pie. :dg
I'll be curious to hear how you like them, and what sort of mileage you get. What tires are you running for Mobius 9 ?
I would guess that they graded it with a motor grader. The rocks would push up through the gumbo since then. Maybe it was used for a fire break at one time. Whatever the reason, the soil was disturbed and the grass grew back and has kept the sage brush back for now. Watch out for all those beef giving you the stinkeye, they are more unpredictable then bear and flash floods. David
Awe... the WORLD FAMOUS red cattle guard on Fandango Canyon Road. Been there done that!!! Sounds like you enjoyed the beer selection in OR.
For M9 we ran the same Maxis Desert IT fronts and Pirelli MT21 rears that we had on from M8. They now have about 5000 miles on them. The rears are about done, the fronts have at least one more Mobius left in them. I'm looking forward to trying the MT42's. We'll be running higher pressures than typical for trials tires on account of the luggage weight. I'll be experimenting, maybe start at 30psi?
In my mind, It seemed like alot of those sections just went on forever. One thing is for sure....Mr Jenkins was quite the guy. His spoken words, many of times, provided me some inspiration to keep moving forward on that tough terrain. LDF
MT21 front and rear Rear was new at the start of M8 in September 2011, has about 4000 miles on it (800-900 miles paved). It's pretty much done. Front was new at the beginning of M9, hardly worn.
Well, we were over the first hump. From Christmas Valley to Crater Lake, our course would traverse some BLM ranch land, and then the Fremont and Winema National Forests, before we'd be on pavement to get up to and around Crater Lake. Despite our struggles, we were more or less on schedule. Crater Lake was our day's destination, and I was pretty confident we'd get there with plenty of time to explore and take pitchers. I knew that the North Access Rim road would still be snowed in, so we'd have to either circle around the north and west, or head south and backtrack. It was a bright, crisp morning: Some snaps of our digs: <iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="640" height="360" src="https://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/1876518323_Q3qBVkF?width=640&height=360"></iframe> Almost straight out of the gates we hit this:
it was just a 100ft. short-cut they were blocking out, but it was a harbinger of things to come. :huh Even with only 120mi. to ride today, we'd find some challenges. The dirt road between Xmas valley and Silver Lake was primo, though. and then a bit 'o pavement to Silver Lake,
at Silver Lake. We were planning on camping at Crater Lake, but we figured we'd be passing something where we could pick up groceries between. We'd passed through Silver Lake on Mobius 4 in Sept '09. Here's the post: Not much has changed:
we were back on dirt, BLM ranch land, but within 5 miles: There was some kind of Dude Ranch, and some guys on a 2-seater ATV buzzed over and basically told us we couldn't pass through. They weren't too helpful, either. We checked the GPS's and maps, and plotted a go-around. The go-around was another 5 miles (would have been about 1.5 miles on the road we were on), and it was kind of sketchy, not really clear if we were trespassing or not. We had to cross a dilapidated wooden bridge, do a washed out hill climb, open and close a gate or two, and most disturbingly we encountered something I'd not ever seen before. :huh No pics, but I'll describe: A regular cattle guard, with a single piece of wire across the road between the posts, about headlight height. No sign, no flag. I was leading, and am in the habit of slowing down whenever there's something man-made coming up, be it a culvert, or a signpost, or a fenceline. Thank goodness I did, 'cause if I'd just presumed this was just another cattle-guard... yikes! :eek1 We were glad to have bypassed the Dude Ranch, but just as quickly, we ran into this: Damn. That's a NYC-type lock. They're serious. But it wasn't like we were in the middle of nowhere with no alternatives. These weren't the kind of struggles and obstacles that we found particularly rewarding, so we made a beeline to pavement (Bear Flat rd), which we only had to take for 5-6 miles until we entered the National Forest and could ride dirt unimpeded. Now THAT's more like it.
generally are pretty nice and easy. We found some shade and took a break. I think their definition or "Rough" is a little different from ours. The downside is that there's traffic. And usually some flavor of huge truck. I stopped to take some pitchers of the mountains ahead, Pulled up a bit to get a clear shot across this quarry: and I'm glad I stopped where I did, cause this monster came lumbering up: Poor LDF & Dave had to ride through the dust cloud... I just waited it out.
and turned left for 5mi. to Diamond Junction for gas. , NO gas. We checked maps, and spoke with the guy in the restaurant who told us our options were to backtrack north on Hwy 97 about 10 miles, which would then necessitate re-backtracking back to here... or to head to Diamond Lake Lodge where they probably had gas, but we'd have to pay more for it. Well, we had cell service, so we called and confirmed that they had gas. The guy asked where we were, which seemed weird at the time. We passed a guy on an F800GS along here who gave us the hand waving in a circle like you're handling a lasso "turn around" signal. But then he didn't stop, and we just kept going. Weird again. Maybe we've been away from civilization too long. Maybe the zombie apocalypse happened and we just hadn't heard.
there was a guy waiting for us, he pumped our gas (remember this is Oregon) well, actually just handed us the nozzle. And then he closed up, got into his pickup, and left. I guess they only open when someone wants gas. We noticed a sign that said what number to call if you want gas, so it was good we called ahead. <iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="640" height="360" src="https://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/1876518324_KrpTbD7?width=640&height=360"></iframe> We looped around Crater Lake National park, and started heading south down the west side: In this vid we hit the western-most point of Mobius 9. From here on, we're heading back to Idaho Falls. <iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="640" height="360" src="https://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/1876518647_SPg4Vr8?width=640&height=360"></iframe> We'd been climbing, and started to see snow. It was a great road as far as pavement goes.
Morning Doc! You didn't ask but : I don't want to start a tire debate but feel obligated to relate my experience running a MT43 on a Mobius style adventure. They are great tires with great grip when run at 14 or so psi but on a heavy loaded bike squirm really bad on the pavement. I ran a new tire on my WR 250 R about 400 miles down the highway at around 30 psi. I was loaded with food and camping gear. The tire showed excessive wear. I aired down to 14 psi and did the dirt/gravel part of the trip with good results. I ran back home at about 20psi with better wear results. I believe you will be OK if you change your pressure for the conditions. I ran about 40 miles at 14psi . The tire got hot enough to cause a patch to come off the tube. I also had a pinch flat while on the trail . I very seldom have tire trouble when running a 606 on the rear but had lots of grief with the MT 43. I really enjoy your reports and felt I should warn you. You may Love them.
In Oregon, there's no self serve unless... you're on a motorcycle, in a classic car, a hot rod or Diesel. If gas cost more there, I'd care. However, it rains most of the winter, and you get to stay dry while somebody else deals with your gas. I'm OK with that.
Thanks for the intel. We get a consistent 5K from MT21 rears. This will be a pretty cheap experiment. We have rimlocks, so low pressure isn't a problem except for pinch flats, and you're right, we'll be pushing the weight on under-inflated tires. We carry a small slime compressor, so I may be airing up & down more on M10 than previously. Typically we inflate to 25front & 32rear and leave it for the whole 2 weeks. Stay tuned.
to Crater Lake, it became more and more apparent we wouldn't be camping up here. But it was early, and we figured we'd see the sights, and then resolve where we'd sleep. On a lark, we stopped first at the Lodge, thinking for sure it'd be full, and crazy expensive. Turns out, today was the first day they were open for the season, and we could get a 2-bedroom loft-suite for $300. Now, I'm not going to defend the expense... We take what comes, and if the opportunity presents itself to camp under the stars deep in a canyon with rattlesnakes and black widow spiders, then that's where we'll sleep, and we'll love it. Or if at the end of the day we're dirty and tired with dodgy weather, and we get to a town with a cheap motel, well, we'll begrudgingly bunk there. On the other hand, if we can sleep in a historic lodge with a view of Crater Lake and eat at a restaurant with an actual wine list and white tablecloths, well then who are we to let some coin get in the way of all that. Tonight would be the vacation from our adventure, no apologies. If I'm ever here again, chances are it'll be with a walker. Since we were still wearing our gear, we decided to ride up as far as the Rim Drive had been plowed, and then return to our room, unpack, and then hike around.