The Mobius Trip

[taco250]

Said it before but I'll say it again: LOVE THE VIEWS OF NORCAL, NV, SE OR!

Thanks for reminding me of the AWESOME beauty!!

[DR. Rock]

some flatlands on Willow Creek Ranch road, and started to climb,



It wasn't long before we found a flat spot, and decided to throw down stakes.

and then the strangest thing happened...



it was an annular solar eclipse, which hasn't been seen in North America for 18 years.

The light took on a very surreal cast, color seemed off, and our shadows got blurry,





There will be a total solar eclipse in August 2017, but the next annular one that is visible in the US will not be 'till 2023. How cool is that?

http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/05/16/...coming-sunday/





after about 10 minutes, it was all back to normal.



and we continued about our business, collecting firewood, and setting up camp.

[DR. Rock]

built our campfire,



and cooked our dogs,





and as the sun tucked in behind the hills,



we were visited by a curious herd.



This really was cowboy camping.



Eventually, we nodded off in our chairs, warmed by the campfire and bourbon-spiked hot chocolate.

[DR. Rock]

It was a long day!



But we covered some ground.





Day 9 track .GPX file available here.

[DRRambler]

Originally Posted by DR. Rock

It was a long day!

But we covered some ground.

Yes, it was a long day, having bad POIs on the GPS didn't help. But as happened every day, the camp that night was perfect.

[mtnman]

I've been enjoying your trip report, great as always. Here's the web site of the people who put up those historic trail markers, with guide books on where to find them.

http://emigranttrailswest.org/

[DR. Rock]

Originally Posted by mtnman

I've been enjoying your trip report, great as always. Here's the web site of the people who put up those historic trail markers, with guide books on where to find them.

http://emigranttrailswest.org/

That's an awesome link. Thanks!

[DR. Rock]

Today we'd continue east, from the middle of nowhere to east of the middle of nowhere. It was a solid day of primo DS riding. Minimal re-routes, almost zero pavement, and beautiful terrain.

There were a couple of range / canyon crossings that I was a little concerned about whether they went through or not, but they did, and it was good.

We were treated to another killer sunrise:



packed up,



and had wheels rolling easily by 8.

[DR. Rock]

right past our camp had some steep, steep hills. I'd just figured out how to have the % Grade continuously displayed on the Garmin Montana, and I was getting a kick out of glancing down and checking out how steep the climb or descent was.

I hate mondays:



So as I mentioned in the vid, the climb up to the summit had a 17% grade, but the next section down was in the high 20's.

Views from the top:



the way down -- the steepest part was just where the road disappears,





halfway down,



Another lone tree, and the view back on the steepest part.

[DR. Rock]

across Grass Valley, and on to Sheep Ranch Canyon.



We picked up the pace across the flats,



and headed over to the next range,



and at the top of the next hill, we could look down to the next valley... and like that, we'd established a groove, the rhythm for the day.



Only the gates broke that groove.

[DR. Rock]

I had to rub my eyes and look twice... is that a polar bear out here in the desert???



We soon figured out why this was called Sheep Ranch Canyon.



the hills were crawling with these tastey little meat-marshmallows.

[DR. Rock]

the polar bear lumbered out of the shade, and started herding the flock up the hill ahead of us.



You can see the rancher in the doorway of the camper if you squint real hard.



Ceremonial de-fleecing:



So this put us in an interesting pickle. Smelser pass was up ahead, and by rights it should have had about three switchbacks for the road to get to the top. But Noooo! They must have been plumb out of them, 'cause the road went straight up... and with the little woolsicles climbing up single-file, it became a rather intimidating prospect.

[Nomomo]

Originally Posted by DR. Rock

right past our camp had some steep, steep hills. I'd just figured out how to have the % Grade continuously displayed on the Garmin Montana, and I was getting a kick out of glancing down and checking out how steep the climb or descent was.

I hate mondays:

What is this thing you call "Mondays" It's been since August 2002 that I last experienced one. Thanks for all the work and effort you do to put out such a great report. It a real joy to follow your ride.

[DR. Rock]

Originally Posted by Nomomo

What is this thing you call "Mondays" It's been since August 2002 that I last experienced one. Thanks for all the work and effort you do to put out such a great report. It a real joy to follow your ride.

I LOVE it! You're living right, my friend. Stay thirsty, as TWMIM says.

[DR. Rock]

and I rode Honeybee up first... it wasn't pretty, the first section was by far the steepest.



I basically did a Rollie Free,



laid down on the seat, (stripped down to my underwear), and did everything I could to maintain speed and keep the front wheel connected to the earth.



Success!

Dave rode the DR650 up next,



Success! And with a 22% grade and a loose, rocky surface, I over-rode LDF's protests, and we leapfrogged Blueberry up.

Yadda, yadda... was steeper than it looks:



Here's LDF's photos of me riding her bike up:





and here:



but I gotta say... this video almost captures how steep it really was.