HighAdventureTour 2012: From Insanity and Beyond....

Hey Bud thanx for chiming in and adding a new dimension to the Ride!! I like how ya fill in the details like the gas station burrito's sitting at the Junction where we met the forlorn girl and your flow... I like youir style...

Oooh boy I had totally forgot about the run in with the Officer in Cascade... a preety good sized guy unaptly named "Little John".
Yea folks we were coming outta town limits and I was getting impatient following this long line of traffic, sooo I pull out and haul ass, doin' about 70 in a 45... and in a NO PASSING zone! As I do this, I see a sign on our left< << POLICE STATION! What, oh shit!!! I then say to him "Man this is one of the stupidest things I've done in a while!" He says "Nooo it isn't!" Implying he's seen me do waaay stupider things... he may be right. Just as these words leave his mouth... I see blue lights in the rearview mirror! :eek1
What he forgot to tell you is.... he had been preparing to meditate and the car would no doubt be full of odors... odors I can't smell since the accident, but the LEO may???

As Al said I greet him with poitive energy and he flows along with us.. He say's he was following us a couple cars back, since the end of town and wasn't gonna pull us over EVEN though we were going 10 over! But just as he was about to turn back, what happens.. I pull out and pass in theee nooo passing zone right in front of him. LOL sooo he has no choice but to come back and check us out. As Al said he just wrote us for the minimum he could, ignoring a traffic device or something minor, and I shook his hand thanking him. (I had shook it as I introduced myself when he walked up to the car also -as a gesture of kindness, and was kinda suprised he took my hand as it could be dangerous to do so in a bad situation, obviously he felt comfortable) so with a minor fine as a reminder that the universe was saying... HEY SLOOOW DOWN A LITTLE, we cruised on.

Great stuff Jim, very good detail, it looks like your report is headed in my direction next... It'll be interesting to see what you find on Vanisle...

Hey dude... thanx alot! aaah we find some interesting stuff right off the bat... then Alex stays a few days longer than I.... he'll have to post up that stuff, since I don't know exactly what he got into? All I know is I got into some shit while we were split up.


Teaser:




















Yup Yup quite an Adventuuure!!!

All I can say is DAMNNNN........looked like a wild ride......

Good to hear from Al! Always like to hear his point of view too!

This sounds more accurate. I'll go with this.


The next morning was a new day, with many possibilities ahead of us. The couch beneath me, however, was much more comfortable than the ground I had grown accustomed to. Jim rose before the sun had a chance to break the treeline and headed out to do what Jim does, and as the door shut and the counterweight shifted alone the hand-hewn wall, I rolled over and went to sleep...

By the time I DID get up, the sun was high and the grass was dry. Jim was no where to be found, but I was greeted with friendly eyes. This dog is hilariously shaped. Imagine a full size Border Collie torso on Campbell soup can legs. Good stuff. I wish I could remember her name...



I believe that I spent a fair amount of today just lounging about the farm. I use to work on one, and my aunt had one when I was a kid, so this really took me back. I scoped out the horses, chased the dogs around, and snarled at the pigs from a distance. What disgusting, disgraceful, obnoxious, delicious creatures. Tosh and the kids came cruising in late in the afternoon, and by then Jimmy had already begun digging into Janis. What he found was somewhat concerning, but I think we both were put at ease once he had gone through and made some adjustments. I've never known a man to go through KLR engines like our Jettin Jim, although lately I've found myself right on his heels in the land of oil and shrapnel.

We spent the rest of the evening just kind of hanging around, telling stories and sharing theories on life, love, and the universe. I'm still very much a student and an observer, and so I found myself more often than not just listening and questioning an idea here or there to prolong and expand the thought process. It's something I very much miss as of late. Surrounded with the internet and basic cable, I'd much rather sit on the back porch and contemplate existence. This continued on late into the evening until the day as a whole ended rather mellow and unnoticed, more so just merging into the next than ceasing.

--------

We packed up the next morning and prepared for our ride. Jim poked fun at the mug hanging off the side of the bike, urging me to leave it there. "It adds to the whole nomadic lifestyle, dude." As the miles passed over the next several months, I would occassionally find loose pocket change rattling around this tin cup. Never quite enough for a cup of coffee, but the novelty of it all never wore off.

Once again, Jim had a gameplan set and I was just along for the ride. This was his land, he and these mountains had history, and I was just along for the lessons. Twisties, dirt, trees, and rock. Along the way Jim would occassionally shift around in his seat and wave me up along side him, pointing enthusiastically in the distance at an animal, the river, or a dirt road cutting through the tree line. At the next stop stories would be told and memories shared. I was having a blast just taking it all in, and slowly falling once again for the pacific northwest.



A quick stop for grocery store sandwiches and a photo op where I found my bark buster hanging on by a thread. Jim was at it before I had much to say, cranking down a random bolt he fished out of his pannier and calling it good.



From there it was over to his buddy's shop on the other side of the dam. I hung around front and admired the machinery stashed in front of the shop while Jim made a few phone calls. Within the hour, we were rummaging through stacks of bike parts in an effort to find a replacement spring for his carb. There were entire rooms within this shop that were filled four and five foot deep with stacks of motors, frame, wheels, carbs, and shocks. A replacement was found, Jim seemed happy, cash was exchanged, and we were back on the tarmac.

From the shop, we doubled back over the Dam and into the town of Bridgeport. I don't have many (any) pics of right around here, but I'll add a bit on to what Jim has already posted. The first rest area is where we pulled off for a photo op. Jim pointed to a few spots along the river and at the base of the dam, telling me tales of some of the monster fish he would tangle with before wandering over to three fellow riders and making introductions. I, on the other hand, was drained from all the heat at this point, and the distinct lack of any shade out in this part of the country didn't much help the situation. I meandered over to the only tree, on a grassy little island in the center of the parking lot, and spread eagle on the grass for a spell.

Back in town a few minutes later, we stopped at the Tavern where we met John, a good old boy who was either on his way to, or returning from, tackling the sinks behind the bar. I believe that's what the coat hanger was for, as well...

Alright, in regards to the rubble video, you may have heard me say something that could be interpreted as "No Fucking Way" when looking at a small pile of gravel. And that, as a matter of fact, is exactly what I said. What the video doesn't show is the angles dealt with. It was all loose, round river rock that had washed down from the hillside. There was no flat, level, packed down trail to follow, and I had JUST watched Jim nearly eat shit trying to pass the same section. So, yeah, not a pansy. I conquered that right there.

And on to the scene of the incident. I had only heard stories of that night from Jim's friends, family, and the man himself. It is not my story to tell, but I will say that when I found myself standing on the side of the road, about to take a picture of this man laying in the middle of the road, I had a very strange feeling. I thought back to passing that stretch of highway in Alaska, where I had found myself laying in the center of the road. The people that stopped to help, my slumped torso, limbs laying at odd angles. I can only imagine what was going through Jim's head at that time as we just kind of stood in silence and took it all in. Wow...

We wound around, leaving nothing but a quickly fading dust trail in our wake, up and into the hills.









The riding was phenomenal and the weather held beautifully all day. These are the kind of rides that you could only HOPE to be a part of. We cut along the mountain, following the contours of every gully and switchback all the way to the peak, where we met Mr. Nice Guy. I... can't remember his name. We burned a good twenty minutes or so picking his brain on everything from the history of this mountain to which trails were passable. As it would turn out, very few were indeed passable. He told us of some hikers that had wandered into camp a few days before, hikers that had spent days battling the snow only to end up here cold and wet, before heading out over the other side the next day.

We doubled back from here, poking and prodding each and every turn off and trail. I really wanted to press on, I was sure there was somewhere we could go. But the snow was everywhere, partially melted, and three foot deep in some spots. Very slick and unstable terrain, and so we looped back around and headed down the mountain. I was once again consumed by the road and before long I found myself solo. I took this opportunity to pull over and take a breather, waiting for Jim who would surely show up in no time.





Several minutes would pass with no sign of Jimmy. I stepped out onto an outcropping and listened for a motor, some road noise, something. The air was still and no sounds came from the barren timber below. I crouched low and held my breath. A stiff breeze passed through, and I heard it. Something. Silence once again. I exhaled, then breathed deep. I waited and once again, just as a breeze swept down the mountain, I heard it. Jim's voice, telling a tale of life and love, no doubt. A smirk crept across my face as I exhaled hard in a fit of laughter. The last of the breeze swept away that last lingering plume of smoke as I jumped in the saddle and headed back up the hill. Several miles up, and on the other side of the valley pictured above, I ran into Jim, simply amazed that i could pick up on his voice across such a distance.

"Found some friends, didn't ya?"

"You know it. Ran into a cool dude and his family up in the trees, great people. Ya just missed 'em."

Awesome.

Kill the sound, and my apologies for the fuzziness. I don't really know what happened...

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http://youtu.be/7r2gVyFhwVk

Back down the mountainside, we followed a few paths off the main road before settling on a nice camp right along a rushing stream. Very serene. We pulled some logs and branches out of the woods and made quick work out of them utilizing my trusty folding saw and hatchet. I threw my hammock up amongst the trees alongside the stream and settled in for the night. It had been a long while since I had had a campfire to get lost in and it was surely missed.

I rolled out of my hammock the next morning and stumbled over the barren roots and rocks towards the still smouldering campfire. A few deep breaths and I was able to work the coals back into a half decent fire which allowed me to brew a mighty mediocre cup of coffee. Jim was still in his tent, though I could hear some rustling every now and then. With a cup of java in my hand, I reclined back against my wadded up down bag and soaked in the early morning rays. This, by far, is one of the best ways to wake up. Nothing but relaxation and the crackling of the coals.



We packed up camp by mid morning and headed back on the road. Not 50 yards past the first right hander onto Route. 20 we passed a Bronco parked on the side of the road. I second guessed turning back, but by the time I glanced in my mirror Jim had already pounced on the opportunity and had straddled up alongside the immobile vehicle. I doubled back to join Jim and dismounted to evaluate the situation. A family of four, I believe, had come down this way for some quality family time camping and whatnot. Father, Mother, Daughter, and Brother. Dad was the only one out of the vehicle with the hood popped, though he hadn't gone much beyond that. Maybe we had just come in the knick of time. I'll tell you this, they couldn't have broken down in a better spot.



I grabbed my tool roll and crawled underneath the truck where we soon found the problem. The main radiator hose had cracked and broken off at the lower radiator inlet. I managed to remove the broken piece and cut off the bad section of hose. Thankfully there was enough to stretch the hose over and reconnect. I set about checking the rest of the hoses and snugging up the clamps while Jim made a run to the river with every empty container we had. I think he ended up making two or three runs for water before we had enough to get them on the road. In the mean time, I shot the shit with the family a bit and snapped a few more photos. Meanwhile, wave after wave of V-Twins would cruise by, and to each I waved or nodded. Not a single one stopped, slowed, or even gave a thumbs up/ thumbs down. Not that I expected them to.





We wish the family good luck as the last of the air gets burped out of the system and headed back down the road. Another beautiful day lay before us as the wind whips along the mountain peaks in the distance, creating plumes of snow that seem to absorb into the atmosphere.

My feeble attempt at fly-by photographs.


I was in the lead at this point, and flew past a small parking area off to the side where I saw three other dual sports hanging out in the shade. I assumed they were just taking a break as they didn't seem to be digging into their bikes or appear the least bit distressed. It wasn't until several miles later, as I snaked along high above the river, that something would get my attention. This something was a bald man with a jacket in his hand waving me down with both arms and yelling. I flew past at warp speed, slowed to the side, and doubled back when the coast was clear.

"Howdy. You sure know how to get my attention. What appears to be the problem?"

As it would turn out this man had a flat. Peter and his wife, Judy, were down from Salmon Arm B.C. on a weekend ride when his BMW got a bit squirrely. They had been there for a good twenty minutes and no one had stopped. He said that if anyone on this road had what they needed to get on the road, one look at my bike told him I was that man. I got a solid laugh out of this and started digging. Sure enough, there was a mighty hole in his rear tire and his mushroom-style plug tool wasn't working right. I spent a good ten minutes filing and straightening his tool out so it would discharge the plug right. I pumped the crack full of some of my patch glue, let it get tacky, then popped the mushroom plug in place. It aired up just fine, but we decided to hold tight for a bit to let the glue set.



As we waited for both the patch and Ironman Jim, I jogged down the road and jumped in some of the snow melt off that came tumbling down the mountainside. I spent the last few minutes with the couple exchanging info and admiring Judy's bike (the make and model are beyond me right now. It's name was Leo, so I'm assuming it was italian.) I asked them to shoot me a text when they got where the were going, as none of us had a whole lot of confidence in the patch. They agreed and sped off in the direction we had come just as Jimmy caught up. He told me of his own good deeds back at the pull off where he'd repaired a bike and played Pony Express for a man with a broken rig.

We hopscotched down the highway, passing baggers and family vans in an unusually fluid fashion. Long gone were the days of grip it and rip it, or maybe we were just feeling mellow on this day. We stopped once on this stretch to get our fill of juice drinks and gas station burritos. I managed to score a hell of a Skagit "Engine No. 6" sticker which instantly made Jim fairly envious. Being the crafty sumbitch that he is, he doubled back and managed to bribe the nice lady behind the counter into giving him one of every sticker they had. I deemed this a low blow and decided to continue on with my day.

Once again Jim took the lead with a destination in his mind. He spoke of the Longhorn a couple of times, but I really didn't know what to expect. I was just along for the ride. We pulled into this quaint little town that didn't feel any bigger than this one main road and the buildings on either side of it. Jim dropped his jacket on his bike and bound his way up to the front door with the kind of enthusiasm that can only mean one thing. There were girls inside.

Holy crap, were there ever. As Jim already made fairly clear, Jennifer stole the show. While all of the girls working there were cute, cool, and flirty, Jennifer is the one that had the energy Jimmy likes to see. She wasn't above jumping on the table for a killer photo op, or to shake her head in displeasure when I chose something on the menu that she didn't agree with.

I believe I left Jim to do his thing while I conversed a bit with a couple behind me. They were from my area in New York, and we compared notes on how it had changed throughout the years. Good, happy people. Ya just can't get enough of 'em. I wanna say they even covered my bill or bought my a drink that night as well, although I can't be too sure.

Anyhow, as the evening wore on and the food settled, I took the opportunity to do some wandering around the town, as I've been known to do.







I kinda faked interest here. The owner of this bike was watching me take pictures of everything else, so I thought I'd give him something to feel good about. More than anything, I was trying to figure out why he was trying to protect his kickstand from the concrete.










I run into a guy named Steve out here, and we just kinda talk bike BS. Where we've been, what we've done, and why our bikes are what they are. Jim trots over and joins in only to find that somehow they know the same group of people. Awesome. In the end we leave with an invite for a few beers at Steve's place and follow the man back to his humble abode, throwing sparks behind him in blatant disregard for his chrome pipes. I love the attitude. Good times, man. By far one of my favorite days on the road. You just HAD to be there.

Thanx again for filling in the details brutha... gooood times fur sure!!!


I get up maaybe a bit earlier than Al, have coffee with Steve as he heads off to the dock, then pull Desiree' into his shop. Even though the rear tire isn't completely gone... yet, I'm taking this chance ~a dry shop and an air compressor~ to change it out. Who knows if in the next few days will be raining on VanIsle and what sloppy tracks we might find, it had rained last night and chased us off Steve's lawn where we were sleeping out under the stars, besides I've been carrying it around long enough now anyway! His shop is very cool with a couple nice bikes and a sweet convertible Chev or Pontiac? Maybe Parepin will remember...


Using my Ultra light 10oz. Trailstand (ooooh yea) from fellow inmateSteve here: http://www.endurostar.com/


Havta look at my notes for the mileage... but still has maybe 300mi on it, if ya were staying on the slab.


All betta now...


I was feeling pretty good and really appreciated Steve taking us in, letting us use the bath house, leaving his shop open for us, then just going to work. Saying lock up when your done... shit he had just met us last night at the Longhorn... so I had to leave him something to show appreciation.
Sherri had had a good month back home... shared it with me... so I shared it with him.


Then it's downtown to Show Al.. The Horseshoe Cafe.. a greasy spoon that's been dishing it out for 114yrs.
We set at the bar and I told stories of some craaazy late nights here when I Long lined back in 2006... necked goyles showing parts that tease etc...
We suit up and a kind dude walks over to express interest in our tour.


When I go to fire Des' we hear a weird kathunk clang... hmmm it's the starter fighting to turn over a high compression 705, without a compression release (no spring to hold the exhaust valve open). She lights and we head for dry-dock.

She's a Beauty ain't she... My Bro-in-law Sean's co-owner/pilot/ walking toward the boat. This boat is different in that the whole crew co-owns it and share the bounty equally!!! Really cool considering alotta the time ya got a maniac like captain and a buncha crazies trying to keep up with his demands.


Haven't seen Sean since branding calves at his place last spring... Always smiling.







Their doing some quick repairs before heading up to fish off Yakutat, AK. She's a 72ft rough sea handling piece of art, complete with an auto-baiter and slightly different setup than his last ride the St. John II also out of Ballard. For anyone who's ever baited Skates you know how nice an auto-baiter can be!




Next door we meet another cool guy rebuilding this ol' girl...






Pretty cool how you have to fight, tug and manipulate things...


We say our goodbyes and head out.. Sean say's "hey come back again tomorrow..." aaaah I doknow, were just kinda roaming around, but peace bro. We were heading for the Olympic penninsula... buuut somehow Mt Baker came into the conversation, I think thats our new plan.


As we leave...


That IS a serious Tonka toy right there!

As we hit the streets I notice Desiree' pulling a good bit harder evertime we leave a stoplight. About 900mi on this new engine now and it's starting to wake up!


Up the flower lined Mt Baker Hwy... our goal other than enjoying every second... up ahead.






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The roads getting a little twistier... Al ask if I'm pushing it? Naaa not really... feel like I haven't slept much lately, but he seems to be and tears off ahead.






Near the top it gets really nice and twisty... and the sun starts shining down really nicely.






We get to the parking lot and start taking pictures... feels like we're in a Vulcano's Cauldera.


Peaks and Glaciers all around us...




We PPP then head back down the Mtn.. we had seen a dirt road cutting off a turn.


We find it and rip down the valley a couple miles... to a nice culdesac. It's an aggressive ride and Al works on his high speed dirt skills! I almost bite it HARD doing 50mph over a drainage hump with a long ride on the front wheel, fighting a tank slapper! A spine tingling reminder of past mistakes.


As just hang... just taking it all in, up roll an Asian couple on a Vacation from their home country. They are very friendly and offer us dinner... we decline but remember to honor their charity, and get our bowls out.


As we're eating up rolls another visiter.. a bunny.




I think it was a Doe checking Al out.

I ask to borrow Al's monocular to try and get close up shots of the glacier...






As the sun starts to set we burn again and just chill...






What a way to spend an afternoon... then we do another little rip up the dirt to the Hwy and then... just coast... silently.. all the way to the bottom. Miles and miles... seeing whos bike will roll faster. I should have taken a video.


Well looks like we haven't left town yet... shall we go find a Bar/Food? Yea we roll into Fairhaven and settle into a quaint little pub.. welll quaint until the girls showed up.




The girl in the black is waaaay tooo drunk.... and the other falls madly for Alex! Ask him how many months she would text him?!?! It goes really good for a Looong time and I think Al and she may get to release some built up.. you know what... they want us to come home with them etc... aaah... NO! I just can't take the drunk DEMON in that other girl! It brings up stuff in me I'd rather not see again. I... I... I know she's drunk and doesn't know any better yada yada yada, aah I... just observe my reaction and try to learn from it... in the old days things would've been broken, the barkeep senses the mounting tension and tries to deflate it. I just get up and walk outta there, when Al comes out we decide we could go back to Steve's.. he left us an open invite. And that's our plan.
This is just the opposite energy that I experienced for the last two days... where I had focused waaay out ahead of myself into the Cascades, and my soul/consciousness had expanded/grown. I had let it encompass everyone I met, in return everyone had opened to me... tonight ying-yang, I had let it shrink back up, it had been tested. Inside I had at least been aware of it enough to try to keep it expanded... aah the lessons of life.

Sooo we had snuck back into Steves after our little tour yeasterday, then in the morning head for the Olympic Penninsula, with a lunch stopped planned for somewhere down on the warf with Sean.
The ALRITA all fixed up and within an hour of being put back in the water...




Mood music for this day...


We eat with the crew then head South...


Chuckanut drive is a blast in the daylight... we again????? end up stopping by to say high at the Longhorn? Somehow Al lets Janis park next to the cruisers... he's loosening up.
I think all the Flowers in this pic are BEAUTIFUL!




Partaking with the Indian...


Forget this fellas name...


At the fuel stop I meet a nice guy with a '79 Ford like I used to have...


Then a stop at Skagit Powersports to look over gear... I use this time in the shade to swap my front T-63 around (don't know why I didn't at Steves? and play with my EndroStar TrailStand ) swapping it will more than double it's mileage. (I will get 6,300mi outta this thing!!! and it coulda went 1,000mi more)


From here it's Hwy 20 out onto Whidbey Island... and into Oak Harbor a Navy base where my uncle was stationed back in the 70's. Every other weekend my family (mom, dad and me) would drive over here to ocean fish, make fresh Blackberry Jelly and chase red, blue, yellow and green racers.
Deception Pass... some heavy current gets moving down here for sure, hence the name!






We roll into downtown and the Harbor Light.. a working guy/gals bar for some pizza and a couple beers.


Nice old artwork on the walls...




Moab maybe LOL...


Probably theeee only silent video I'll ever do!!!


The coastal fog is thick today... I love the effect it can give you, it deffinately closes in your... everything.










We get to the Port Townsend-Coupeville Ferry near the Fort Casey State park and jump on, ready to cross the Straight of Juan de Fuca... hmmm another funny word of the week in the english language... Adcock, de Fuca, and Chuckanut ... and of course the boats name ALRITA.. yea aall righta maaan!
The Strait of Juan de Fuca (called Juan de Fuca Strait in Canada is a large body of water about 95 miles (153 km) long that is the Salish Sea outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The international boundary between the United States and Canada runs down the center of the Strait.
It was named in 1787 by the maritime fur trader Charles William Barkley, captain of the Imperial Eagle, for Juan de Fuca, the Greek navigator who sailed in a Spanish expedition in 1592 to seek the fabled Strait of Anián. Barkley was the first non-indigenous person to find the strait, unless Juan de Fuca's dubious story was true. The strait was explored in detail between 1789 and 1791 by Manuel Quimper, José María Narváez, Juan Carrasco, Gonzalo López de Haro, and Francisco de Eliza.


AsI I'm doing another tire pressure safety check after the tire swap, the gentleman on the left of this couple (who'er just heading out on their very own little tour) asks me if I could check his rear tire out..? I't's been handling funny he says! I do and it's got only 12psi in it! :eek1 The front only about 18psi.. I get out my handy bicycle pump and top them both up to about 42psi...NOW your safe to go buddy! Another good deed for the day, and a funny re-realization of how unprepaired people can be...


Before long nightfall finds us winding our way along the Penninsula and into Port Angeles... where Al fashionably parks his bike in the local markets bicycle rack... we scrounge up some vittles.


Then we decide... we need to find a place to crash tonight??? A look up this creek.. a wonder over there... that stirs up nothing. We end up in a field next to a sand mound behind a Bike shop, since I could use a front tube anyhow.

This gets INTERESTING!

After throwing our bags down next to the girls... some C R A Z Y guy starts to YELLING at the TOP of his LUNGS at US!!!!

Holy loose a luuung chunk buddy...

I wish I could remember verbatim what he said! Hopefully Alex will.... something to the effect we were a couple a thieves in a pickup stealing something or another ( SAND??? )
I yelled back something like "hey dude we're just a couple bikers sleeping next to our BIKES waiting for the shop to open in the morning"
"No your not... yout taking shit, I saw your headlights" of our supposed truck.

We just layed back down and waited for the inevitable...
Yup Johnny Law showed up 5-10min later... after explaining the deal/truth he was aaaall goood! Another offosir showed up and they were both into bikes sooo we were kinda C...lebs in their eyes, a good 20 minutes of BS went down including them checking out our girls, walking over and talking to the... MADman...etc... then we got to sleep.

Jim- What kind of air pump are you using for the tires ?

Hey man it's a Topeak Road Morph... I tested about 5 pumps including a Versair dual action, from 19psi back up to 35psi simulating airing down for the dirt and back up...it took the least amount of strokes of them all.

Now Al has the Mtn Morph it's larger diameter, higher volume for fatter Mtn Bike tires, and there's a very good chance it will out perform mine?!?! We haven't done a side by side test of them yet though...

It's lightweight and high quality...

I was up in that area last Sept. We camped in the Kalalock Campground. Beautiful country, and to top it off, it didn't rain on us a single time in more than 6,000 miles. We are going to make it back up there some day. Matter of fact, our favorite areas were from Northern Cali on up the coast to the tip of Washington. Your posts are some of the best, just saying.

Just found my notes... and this was Bart and Patty in the Longhorn, who Al was talking to... Her dad is from Pennsylvania.. sooo they had to buy us our first drinks of this trip... WoooHoo, Steve Bischus bought our second drinks a few minutes later!^)-

We get up outta the sand... and the next thing ya know we have company.


Roger Wheeler who has the excavation business next door had seen us and come over to see what we kind of adventure we were on.


He goes into telling us some of the fog I took pics of yesterday was from the fires in Siberia... and also alot of debris from the Tsunami that hit Japan floating in the San Juans.
We told him about the guy freaking out last night and calling the cops, and the cops telling us their wife's were NOT gonna be thanking us for encouraging them to go on an Adventure Tour of their own... and be FREE! He told us why there was all this sand around... it is SPECIAL sand from a local beach that turned into a softlike concrete when it dried out.. perfect for Sand Sculpture, and was used for a local competition.
He also told us a story of the Makah's, the local Indigenous tribe who a few years ago exercised their right to whale hunt again... using a 50caliber and a speed boat! whoa.... this resulted in them REALIZING it was A LOT of work... Greenpeace and the Governor payed them to NOT exercise their rights again... LOL.
I dug up this info on the hunt:
"On September, 2007, five members of the Makah tribe shot a gray whale using a .460 caliber rifle, similar to that used in hunting elephants, despite court-imposed regulations governing the Makah hunt. The whale died within 12 hours, sinking while heading out to sea after being confiscated and cut loose by the United States Coast Guard.<SUP id=cite_ref-14 class=reference>[14]</SUP> The tribal council denounced the killing and announced their intention to try the individuals in tribal court.<SUP id=cite_ref-15 class=reference>[15]"</SUP>
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We carve our own bits... and ride out for the Ferry to Victoria...






We get some grub at the Plunkin Shack... weird words again<< haha, which had an enormously BEAUTIFUL Makah girl working the counter... why no pictures I couldn't begin to tell you?!?!


Then go seek out a hiding spot for some of our belongings that the Queen and the Canadian Gov wouldn't want us to bring into their fine country... this marker to a fallen rider near by.


Quite a few fellow bikers heading our way...


Didn't quite get this..


Before long we approach some new turf...


Clear customs...


And ride around the southeast shoreline avoiding the business of the city as much as possible.
Alex had fallen into a foul mood all the sudden, but I don't remember why...? so we pulled off to chill out and take in the views, smells and to meditate just a little bit.
















With our heads straight...er, we ride out looking at a potential back way using some trails??? to get the heck clear of this city.
We cut our engines, causing a pause... I think we still spooked both the girl and the horse.






Our trail leads to this confusing intersection...


Even the doe wasn't sure which way to go...


To our left we see some guys walking, one maybe with a rifle? They are as surprised too see us as we are to see them.


We park and explain our riding into their backyard...


Turns out the one dude sticks around and is 1. A partier ...2. A bike rider... soo he burns us down the BC way... and then tells us of this secret little trail to this lake back in the woods north of here. The Green folks have been trying to ban motorized vehicles by buying up all this land and making a green ribbon across the Island... we take mental notes, it's alot to take in all at once, stumble back to the bikes and go back into the woods to find our way out of this woods and to this secret lake... Sheilds Lake near Sooke, off Harborview rd. Go up this down that, ignore the gate, just go around and have fun! He says he may load his dirtbike into the truck and come camp with us later... using a different road to access it from the Northeast... hmm cool alright.


We do pop out onto some pavement and wind our way over to the West side on Sooke rd hwy #14...


We get to Harborview rd... go up until it ends in a parking area and gate... then go around said gate. It winds back into the woods on what looks to me like Mtn Bike trails.. sometimes a quad track or soo to remind us we're not the only outlaws around.




Some of the stuff we find isn't even single track... soon all tracks disappear.. except our own.




There are trails, some double track, forks and according to our memories we should be going this way... buuut we are questioning ourselves and our buddy back at the intersection the whole time?!?!?! Is he leading us on a wild goose chase? Should we go left instead of right?


We get to this creek crossing and it's clear to us that no motorized rigs have been through here since the lumbering era in the1920's maybe... the bridge went out loooong ago.




We decide to go for it maaan.. the lake iiis that way after all.
Here's how it goes down... after listening to the video I gotta laugh, since I sound like his damn dad giving him pointers... pointers he already knows.


After that bit of fun... it only get's better... or worse... no better!^)- depends on your perspective.. LOL!
In good places the track looks like this...


In bad ones like this...


It keeps climbing getting steeper mile after mile, then just yard after yard...






Full darkness has set in and we keep burning our clutches up... up, and up... getting off the bikes propping rocks under them or leaning against trees to keep them up. Filling in deep holes with more, and just different rocks.

We finally get to the point we have to make some choices... either go back down, unload all the gear, put on our lower geared countershaft sprockets on (we were both still running our 16T sprockets) and then attempt another run... or go back down and come back another day. It had gotten to the point WALKING was hard to do.. we climbed all the way to the summit where it flattened out and still had about 1.8 mi to the lake. This chute was STEEP and a 4x4 quad would struggle.


All sweated up we opted to go back down and camp... (amazingly niiice thing noo mosquitos biting at us) neither of us wanted to climb back up and then walk waaay back down for 100lbs of gear (each)... then walk back up and remount it all. Not at midnight anyway... if it were noon, I'd say yup yup we'd do it!
So back we go... every now and then stopping to take in the sounds, smells, and feel of this OLD, OLD forest... it was magical!
Once and awhile you could swear you heard a thumper back off somewhere??? Was our friend out looking for us?
Heading back down...


We get back down, go back around the gate... then just park the bikes in the parking area and lay down to sleep.

Around 1 a.m. or sooo, we hear a bike.. WHAT!!! yup it's a damn bike... I get up and shine my headlamp toward the gate.. he turns around and takes off... what, shit, hmmm, oh well.
Later in the night/morning the guy calls us, and yup it was him on the bike after all! He had been serious about meeting us and it was no goose chase. He had seen my headlamp but thought it was a ranger and sped off... shit I shoulda shined it on my own face and not toward him!!! It WAS actually mountain bike trails and we weren't supposed to be in there, I tell him of the track we took... and he says WHAT... NO NO not that old trail... nooo bikes do or can ride that!!! Hhhhahaha nooo shit... we did... we had taken just one wrong turn... or two!
Time for some shuteye...

Sounds like you had an EXCELLENT adventure!!! Gotta love it when the weather shines on ya like that too... I love the Northwest from N.Cali on up m'self
Thanx for the compliment bro! We do our best...

Thanks alot for the info.I have been wanting to get a pump like this for awhile but I never know what is good and what is junk,with so much product out there.
Anyway,I checked them out and ordered one.
Keep up the awsome reports,I loved the video you captured of Alex negotiating the rocky trail !!!
Your reports are getting me through the remainder of this Michigan winter till I can get out on some adventures myself.

Your Welcome Bro... that was a FUUUUN night, I'm glad we can help you bide your time until you get out on your own scoot!

Peace,
Jettn Jim