The Mobius Trip

[DR. Rock]

was a bit sandy,



and washed out,



but the next range over Cherry Creek summit (7201ft) was pretty awesome.



mostly because of the spaceships to our north.

[robincx]

You have succeeded in making me realize that the sale of my trusty DRZ was a mistake. Currently looking for a well equipped dirt mule.
Cheers, and thanks for the inspirational report.

[DR. Rock]

is some great trail through this area,







Range, valley, rinse, repeat.



The hamlet of Cherry Creek -- it looks exactly like this in GoggleEarth Street view.

[DR. Rock]

at the bottom of the next valley was HWY 93. See it down there?



Boooorrrrrring!

[DR. Rock]

We tapped into the old CA telegraph route:



Schellbourne Pass turned out to be a high-speed graded road,



A few miles later, we split ways with the Pony Express...



we were looking for something a little more challenging.

[DR. Rock]

took us north, on Spring Valley road, then on some smaller unnamed ranching roads and looped back to HWY 93 at Langes station (on the old Stage Coach route) for fuel.



It was a pretty nice section,



We passed another hangin' tree:

[DR. Rock]

we were confused...



There was supposed to be gas here, but everything was shut down. A sign on the door said "this is no longer a gas station, it is a private residence"



We assessed our gas supply,(No, not that kind)

and considered our options.

[elgato gordo]

[DRRambler]

THAT was not a good feeling

[redog1]

Well, what happened?

[DRRambler]

Originally Posted by redog1

Well, what happened?

Patience Grasshopper

I won't talk out of school but I'll throw in a few photos during the intermission.



Blueberry napping



How many of these guys almost got run over?



Annoying sign



Amphibious craft may be required



Can it get any better?

[taco250]

Originally Posted by albertastrom

can it get any better?

no, it can't!!!!

[DR. Rock]

We broke out the maps, and considered our options. Dave had the least remaining range. LDF & I still had our fuel bottles, but we didn't think we could get all three bikes to Wendover via pavement with what we had.

We considered flagging down a passing vehicle, but then Dave wandered over to the other side of the parking lot where there was a small hatchback stuffed to the gills. A young gal was hauling belongings from one of the back buildings.

"Hi, any idea where we can get some gas?" Dave asks.

"Well, I have some in a 5-gallon jerry can that I keep for just such occasions. The couple who ran the gas station for 45 years retired this year and occasionally people stop by expecting to be able to fill up, so we keep enough to sell so they can get to Wendover. I'm just about to leave, but I can sell you what I have at cost."

THANK YOU TATIANA!!!!



Turns out she'd been working on a project for the USGS for two years, and the project ended, or funding was cut, can't remember. She was leaving Langes Station for good, and moving back to Oregon, or Washington... passing through British Colombia or something.

Her assistance was humbly rewarded with a Mobius good-karma pin, which she enthusiastically accepted, saying that she collected pins. We hustled to split up the 5 gallons, so we didn't delay her, said our thanks and good-byes.

A little googlesleuthing reveals that she is an accomplished photographer, wild-life expert, and an avid outdoorswoman. She can add this to her accomplishments: Mobius hero.

Tati, if you see this, best wishes for finding a new gig, and thanks again!

[DR. Rock]

enough gas that we didn't necessarily have to hightail it to Wendover directly on pavement. That said, we didn't have enough to do the whole route as planned; heading back into the sagebrush, East of the Kinsley range, then crossing HWY 93, going West and then over the Dolly Varden, across the big valley, and finally over Morgan Pass to drop down into Wendover.

Our abridged plan was to hit pavement to the other side of the big valley, and then head north, and go over Morgan Pass, and end the day in Wendover at a cheap casino motel. We headed off,



What is difficult to appreciate is how windy it was. I was riding point, which I usually do on detours until we get back on our route, LDF was in the middle, and AlbertaStrom was riding sweep.



We had about 15 miles or so of pavement, so I put my head down, and dialed in the tunes. After a few miles, Ranson pulls up to me and over the squawk box says, "Francine got blown off the road!"

[marty_uiuc]

Originally Posted by DR. Rock

From the interior of the cab he starts spewing a rant about our campfire and how it's windy and it's been a really dry spring and streams that should be running are already dry and we should put the campfire out.

We acknowledge that it's dry, and thanks for your concern and we'll put it out.

He challenges, where are you gonna get the water?

I reply simply that we have water. Period. I try to give him an opportunity to finish venting, and to demonstrate some social skills. He perseverates on in the same tone, and and now I'm starting to get a little pissed. Dude is really being an asshole. Not wanting to escalate, I just keep agreeing with him. OK, we'll put it out. Anything else?

There's people who live and work out here he says.

And I smile and say OK... thanks again. And think to myself, if we cause a massive brush fire tonight, who stands more to lose, dude in the pickup, or us in these tents?

Dude drives off in a huff, and we're left to speculate whether there'll be consequences.

It's been a while since someone's gotten in my face like that, unprovoked. For a brief second, I missed the city, where maybe 1% of people will give you the time of day if you ask, and the other 99% will completely ignore you.

this summer has been one of the driest in a long, long time. the scuttle butt is that ranchers in northern NV/southern OR are being forced to abandon their cattle if the BLM says so due to brush fires, and many fear they'll have their land leases revoked due to the drought. so the guy you encountered was probably venting due to some of the angst he may be feeling about his livelihood. i am not trying to justify the way he was acting towards you, as it was uncalled for. just wanting to give you some information about why he may have been such an ass.