I tried to stay home....really, I did. I clocked nearly one month of domestic duty after the amazing "Dragon Hunt" on my WRR, before wandering again. But this wasn't my fault.... KLR Monty (from Texas) started bugging me to go ride Colorado. And then the wife starts dropping some encouraging hints like: "you should go....and the farther, the better". Sounded like a Plan! So I called up my favorite Wingman, The Krabill (of course). He missed out on the famous Dragon Hunt. Surely he won't pass up a Colorado trip....its just a weekend jaunt. I dial the phone & he explains that he's going to some sissy class reunion...:huh MIA again! I can't believe it. Two Strikes in a row on The Krabill. Maybe he's getting too soft to ride with me anymore. I notify Monty I'm coming and to meet me in San Isabel post haste! The word is spread, and Garand steps up to the plate...quick to steal the base from Krabill. And just like that....in mere days, we're on the trail in San Isabel, CO. Here's the cast of characters for this next round in Highfive's Excellent Adventures. Monty had the most time of the bunch, and rode his green Mobile Mansion up from Tejas. I threw my WRR in the truck and raced all night just to beat him there. Garand beat us all! Now, for everyone who wants to know whether or not a little 'ol WR250R will tote a big guy with loaded with gear through the Rocky Mountains, then get your ears on ( ). This RR is going to shed some light.....once & for all. HF
We depart from Lake Isabel up the mountain on a nice looking two track called the Cisneros Trail. Well, at least it looked nice....on the U.S. Forest Service MVUM maps that I downloaded. So much for planning! I mean it was ok for me, but a little rough on my Trail-mates....especially the Exxon Valdez towing half of Cabelas on board. Don't get me wrong, Monty is a real PRO at this Dualsport stuff. He is like a miracle man. Pulls anything you'd ever need out of those bags on his KLR. (edit: well almost anything....please remember this point for later) I mean, he's got a freakin GRILL hiding in there. And a cooler! The dude cooks steaks with cold beer out in the bush! :eek1 And he can ride it nearly anywhere. He's got one of those KLR's that's "never been washed....never gonna be." With something like 50,000 miles on it! Here he comes up the Cisneros Trail: Take a good look at this happy smile..... Its about to change! And its my fault. Well, I guess he's partly to blame. After all, he's the one who begged me to go. Let that be a lesson to all: sometimes you really do get what you wish for! Just saying... The nice cushy Two=Track kind of got a little rougher (ok....a lot). It quickly grew skinnier and rougher as we climbed the mountain to get over the pass. At more than one point, we had to stop and take a hike to survey the hazards and plan our line. Evening was fast approaching, and neither Monty or I had much sleep during the last 24 hours. But fortunately, no one went down. Garand & I did fine picking our way through the rocks on our WRR's while Monty just plowed through like a battering ram. Happy to be on top! We made it out of the Dark Dungeon of a forest.....only to discover we still had plenty of daylight remaining. I'm mean seriously, it got so thick and dark down in those woods, we actually NEEDED our headlights! HF
"Finally".....Monty says...."we're back in business!" So, I keep us on the straight and narrow from here on....really I do. Ok, sort of. I promise them both to "hang in there with me....just over the next hill, you'll see!" (edit: its always just one more hill...eh?) Well, they did. And it was soooooo WORTH IT. Now that I was "off the hook", it was time to find a secret secluded campsite for our first night. Aaahhh....the spoils of victory....as we watch our first mountain sunset. See that dip in the far mountain range in front of us (just right of Garand)? That's Medano Pass. We're heading for that hill tomorrow.....any 'ol way we can find to get there. "Just keep your eye on the target", I tell them. We're gonna climb over that 11,000+ ft. pass and find the Great Sand Dunes on the other side! But for now, let's make camp. I just love it when I hook up with hardcore Riders that really know how to camp! Three more days to go. This time, I CAN actually wait....if you know what I mean. HF
Looks sweet so far. Thanks for posting. That single track is my kind of riding Look forward to seeing more
I'm a hammock fan boy... I haven't slept a night in a tent since I bought it. I like the versatility and all the creative places you can make your hang!
If Highfive does not mind I will chip in with some background plus my POV. I met HighFive at last winters frozen Kiamichi dual sport ride. He, Krabill, and myself did most of that ride as our own small group. Let me tell you, those guys can ride. I can sometimes learn from watching them ride, that is if I can keep them in sight long enough. Anyway, we talked then about a Colorado trip in the summer. So in June I emailed them saying that I will be going in July with or without em. Krabill could not make it, but it did not take much persuading to get HighFive there. The plan was to meet Friday evening in San Isabel. Thursday morning I loaded up the KLR and slabbed it to Clayton Lake SP, NM. I camped the night there. I wasn't in a hurry because I thought I was ahead of HighFive and Gary. So, I decided to hit some dirt roads into CO. I am riding along when I spot a sign for Long Canyon Rd. I recognize this road from numerous TAT ride reports. So, I decide to go that way. It was a good ride, with a kinda steep, rocky uphill section. I stopped for a break at the top of the hill, when I look down at my rear tire. Oh no. This tire was brand new when I left. And it was fine that morning when I left camp. So 60 or 70 miles of gravel roads, and this is the result. So, my new plan is slowly head for Trinidad to look for a tire. As soon as I come into town I spot Valcom Motorsports. I was in luck. They had a K760 that would fit. They let me pull my bike inside and loaned me a lift to remove the wheel. I let them do the tire change. Great bunch of guys there. So, back in business, I check my voicemail. Highfive left home early and was almost there. That means I need to hop on the interstate. I arrived about noon, found their trucks, and quickly found them. Looks like we have bonus riding time. Soon we were off. This would be the first day that HighFive tried to kill us. We take off down a goat trail which gets very rocky as we climb.We banged ,scraped ,and rock-crawled our way through, after all this is the fastest way over the mountain. We finally break out of the woods and ride a little more before finding a camp site. I did not get many pics today. I had my hands full most of the time. Here is another shot of our first camp site.