3-Day Ride to the Great Salt Lake, 2012

[Mercenary]

Keep it comin. I love this stuff

[Spud Rider]

Originally Posted by purpledrake

Yep, that's part of the story.

I know an aeronautical engineer (officer in USAF at Hill AFB at the time) who was responsible for testing the solid fuel sections being manufactured by MT. They would take them out onto the salt flats for test fires. I kid you not: He says that when they failed to fire, somebody would try to light them with burning newspaper.... Remember, this was the 1960s.

He said that the roar of the engines was so loud that you couldn't have a conversation at 100 yards.

The weather was perfect for the Skyline ride. Very well done, as usual. Boy, you really get around.

A burning newspaper?!!! Egads!

Does anyone know; when did they change the name from Morton Thiokol to ATK Thiokol?

Spud

[Spud Rider]

Originally Posted by Brown Falcon

Awesome pictures! Those roads look like a lot of fun riding.

BTW, what rear disc guard are you running, and what skidplate?

Thank you, BF. I installed a ManRacks disc guard and a Ricochet skid plate.

http://www.manracks.com/#!honda-xr650l/c108q



http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/p/...het+skid+plate



Spud

[Spud Rider]

Rising the next morning, I enjoyed breakfast in Ogden, then headed back north to Idaho. I rode to North Ogden, then turned east, traveling through Ogden Canyon to Liberty, Utah. I then turned north to ride off road to Paradise, Utah, and the southern end of Utah’s Cache Valley.





Climbing the Cache Valley Creek Canyon, I paused at a mountain pass before descending into the Little Bear River Canyon.







Entering the Cache Valley, I returned to pavement. I rode through Paradise until I reached Hyrum, then I turned east, and rode up Blacksmith Fork Canyon. Leaving the pavement, I turned onto Left Hand Fork Road, and traveled north until I reached the Right Fork of the Logan River.



I then returned to pavement in Logan Canyon, and rode north a few miles until I left the street behind at Franklin Basin Road. I would now ride 55 miles on/near the Highline Trail until I descended from the Bear River Range into Grace, Idaho. I rode about 7 miles before I reached the Idaho State border.









Continuing north, I rode down Hillyard Canyon, then ascended to Green Basin





Next I climbed to Horseshoe Basin.









Then I rode a pretty trail to Copenhagen Basin.











Descending from Copenhagen Basin, I crossed Route 36 at Emigration Campground. I continued riding ATV trails, fire roads, and gravel roads until I reached Cheatbeck Basin.



Now there was only one route that continued northward, running along the spine of the Bear River Range, leading to Grace, Idaho. I climbed the trail to Soda Peak.











Reaching Soda Peak, the shadows were lengthening as I continued riding north toward Soda Springs, and Grace.







I exited the ATV trail, and descended a fire road leading into Grace, Idaho as the sun was setting. Returning to pavement in Grace, I rode the rest of the way home in the gathering darkness. It was a long day’s ride from Ogden, but the scenery and trails were beautiful. I always enjoy riding along the Highline Trail.

Spud

[Barron]

Awesome pics and report Spud! Thanks for sharing, you really ride in some awesome scenery.

-Barron

[Spud Rider]

Originally Posted by Barron

Awesome pics and report Spud! Thanks for sharing, you really ride in some awesome scenery.

-Barron

Thank you, Barron. I'm glad you got your bike registered in Japan! How much do the NX650, 5th gears cost?

Spud

[ID XR600]

Thanks for the tour. Beautiful ride.

[fritzcoinc]

Super Spud. Absolutely super job. Thanks!
I think I'll plan a trip up there.
What are the best mounths to ride where you did?
Is there camping along the way?

[Spud Rider]

Originally Posted by fritzcoinc

Super Spud. Absolutely super job. Thanks!
I think I'll plan a trip up there.
What are the best mounths to ride where you did?
Is there camping along the way?

You're welcome. The warmest, driest months to ride here are July and August. The Highline Trail is entirely located within U.S. National Forest; therefore, campgrounds are abundant.

Spud

[purpledrake]

Great trip, SpudRider. The trail up Soda Peak was starting to get quite knurly, and pushing the limit where we want to be on a top heavy bike, out alone. All the way from Ogden, up through the Bear drainage, and back home again was quite a trip. Thank you for sharing.

[PacificPT]

Thanks for the tour, some really beautiful scenery you rode through.

[Brown Falcon]

I'd say that day 3 looks like the most fun to ride! I'll need to check that out if I ever end up out that way.

[Spud Rider]

Originally Posted by purpledrake

Great trip, SpudRider. The trail up Soda Peak was starting to get quite knurly, and pushing the limit where we want to be on a top heavy bike, out alone. All the way from Ogden, up through the Bear drainage, and back home again was quite a trip. Thank you for sharing.

Thank you, PD. The last, northern section of the Highline Trail takes a few hours to complete. As the day was lengthening I had to decide whether I could complete the more technical parts of that trail before it got dark. I could have descended to pavement earlier, and left the last section of the trail unfinished, but it's one of my favorite rides. I decided I had enough time, so I completed the last section, and reached less technical, fire roads before the light departed.

Spud

[Signal]

Good route choices

[Mr_Gone]

Keep riding, keep writing, keep photo-ing.