GS2Offroad Adventures

Mt Hoody Rallymoto(tm) 2009 Results

2009-10-25T16:06:00.000-07:00

Mt Hood Rally Moto 2009
Score Board

 
Bike Sub Stage Stage Stage Stage Stage Stage Road
# Rider Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 Points
95 Peter Nielson 60:00 16:03 7:04 6:31 16:26 7:17 6:39 0
2 Gabe vonAhlefeld 64:36 17:54 7:39 7:06 17:24 7:45 6:48 0
21 Mitch Comstock 64:54 17:06 7:46 7:00 18:02 7:54 7:06 0
11 Tim Harmon 66:35 17:09 9:49 7:11 17:38 7:48 7:00 0
7 Tim Wright 69:39 18:55 8:25 7:36 18:49 8:21 7:33 0
5 Dennis Boone 70:59 18:37 8:53 7:51 18:59 9:08 7:31 0
84 John Marshall 79:42 21:23 9:25 8:40 21:11 10:01 9:02 0
12 Jerry Brown DNF 15:53 7:00 6:26 16:02 27:20 0

Mt. Hood Rally

2009-09-29T17:22:00.000-07:00

Next up on the Rallymoto(tm) schedule, the Mt. Hood Rally, October 24 near Hood River.

Welcome Message from the Chairman

Always designed with the Clubman Rallyist in mind, the Mt. Hood Rally has become a popular fall event. As event Chair, I'm honored to welcome competitors from near and far to Hood River Oregon for this year's event.

This year we continue to offer 2-pass Recee on Friday afternoon.

This year's event will again offer include RallyMoto™ allowing motorcycles to compete at the event in addition to the cars. I'd personally like to welcome all the RallyMoto™ entrants to the event. I encourage all automotive ralliests, especially co-drivers, to offer assistance where possible to these new competitors, as they are not intimately familiar with this style of competition and our timing system.

As always, the event wouldn't be possible without the cooperation of the agencies charged with managing the roads we use, including Hood River County, the US Forest Service, and Wasco County.

The event would also not be possible without the efforts of the many volunteers, to whom we owe a debt of gratitude.

Additionally, we are working toward making the Mt. Hood Rally even friendlier to novice and seasoned rallyist. To this end we have chosen to pattern all our documentation after the FIA World Rally Championship regulations. We hope that including information about the local resources both helps you enjoy your visit to Oregon and increases the economic impact on the area.

I look forward to seeing you at the event.

Simon Levear, Mt. Hood Rally Chair

Augering In

2009-07-28T18:14:00.000-07:00

Bill Holmes airs out his truck out at the Idaho Rally, augers in, and then drives away.

Wild West Rally 2009

2009-07-16T19:32:00.001-07:00

Next up on my Rallymoto(tm) schedule, the Wild West Rally, September 26-27, 2009, Pomeroy, Washington

Idaho Rally Rallymoto(tm) Overall Results

2009-07-16T19:23:00.000-07:00

July 10-11, 2009
Mountain Home, Idaho

OA  Bike
Place #  Rider                Bike                              
1   22 Roger Neth           KTM 525 EXC              
2   12 Jerry Brown          BMW X Challenge   
3   21 Mitch Comstock       KTM 640 Adventure          
4    5 Dennis Boone         KTM 950 Adventure

Idaho Rallymoto(tm)

2009-07-03T20:52:00.000-07:00

Rebuilt the carb, new front tire, new chain and sprockets, ready to wrap it out at the Idaho Rally!

Bike Prep

2009-06-14T19:30:00.001-07:00

I started prepping the KTM today for the Idaho Rally in July. Back in April at the Desert 100, I noticed a bogging or fuel cut-out problem that brought me to a dead stop several times. It happened when the engine was under load and at lower speeds. When cruising on the gravel roads at high speeds everything worked well, so it's a bit of a mystery what the problem is.

Following the wisdom laid down in Laramie's Mikuni BST-40 Bible, I attacked the problem by stripping down the carb, thinking I might find a clogged slow speed jet. After disassembly and hosing down the insides of the BST with carb cleaner, nothing looked obviously wrong. Just to be safe I ordered up new jets. I also found that the adjustable idle mixture jet was jammed and I ended up having to drill a hole in it and use a screw extractor to back it out. Yet another part on order. Hopefully the threads can be cleaned up and all will be back to normal again.

Idaho Rally 2009

2009-06-13T08:27:00.001-07:00

Next up on the RallyMoto(tm) calendar, the Idaho Rally, July 9-11, 2009 in Mountain Home.

Gymkhana II

2009-06-02T20:25:00.000-07:00

Doo Wop Rally 2009

2009-03-16T16:52:00.000-07:00

Reluctantly crouched at the starting line...

Engines pumping and thumping in time...

The green light flashes, the flags goes up...

Churning and burning, they yern for the cup!

Just Another Day at the Office

2009-01-01T20:42:00.000-08:00

On New Year's Eve, Australian Robbie Maddison jumps onto and off of a faux Arc d'Triomphe in Las Vegas, breaks his hand, and is cooed over by a Barbie Doll. Only in America.

Gymkhana

2008-11-16T09:31:00.001-08:00

Ken Block and Travis Pastrana have been bringing some fire to the staid sport of rally car racing in the US. If you do nothing else today, watch this video of Ken Block artfully performing "gymkhana." Subarus are no longer just for soccer moms and granola crunchers.

Mt. Hood Rally Fir Mountain Stage

2008-10-23T20:34:00.001-07:00

A quick video clip from the Fir Mountain stage of the Mt. Hood Rally showing me not falling down as I stab at my front brake while entering the corner.

The Ring of Fire

2008-10-20T12:18:00.001-07:00

At the Mt. Hood Rally, 29 motorcycles started and 24 finished the event. I managed to place 2nd in Production 2 class and was 3rd overall motorcycle on my KTM 640 Adventure. My teammate Jerry placed 10th overall, 9th in class, and was the top BMW mounted rider on his brand new 650 X-Challenge. We both thank our sponsor, Ritz Construction and the excellent service crew that provided for our every need.

In the beginning, it was difficult to get my head around what this rally was about. It's more than a race: it's a combination of paperwork, organization, time keeping, navigation, transit and most importantly, the special stage. Just riding fast wasn't enough to win. Many of the quickest competitors on the special stages were harshly penalized for time-keeping or navigation errors.

Overall the organizers put on a tremendously entertaining event and I will return next year. The final score board can be viewed here.

Night Rider

2008-09-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

I've entered the 2008 Mt Hood Rally with my KTM in the RallyMoto division. The rally is October 18th and there will be a stage run after sundown. To prep some better night vision I've rewired my headlights with relays using the wiring kit from Eastern Beaver. I also installed Sylvania Silverstar bulbs. The relay kit delivers power to the headlights directly from the battery and the bulbs promise "the brightest, whitest, 100% legal halogen headlights." Would you like fries with that? This setup is not quite as blinding as HID, but the improvement over stock illumination is very noticeable. On a test ride I received several "dim your lights" flashes from oncoming vehicles while on low beam, another good sign.

According the NASA Rallysport regulations, certain special safety equipment is required for the night stage:

1.4.8 Equipment for Night Stages

In order to compete on a stage, when the rider’s ideal start time is after 15 minutes before civil twilight the rider must use at least one of the following:

a. Reflective tape with at least 10 square inches on the front and rear of the torso. Additional material on the helmet and motorcycle is recommended. If the rider is carrying a backpack, the pack must either have its own reflective material or not obscure the reflective material of the jacket. Example of acceptable material: 3M Scotchlite.

b. A pair of lighting sources whose energy source is independent of the motorcycle, such as flashing bicycle lights or glow sticks, to be affixed to the rider somewhere above the waist.

c. A “no motion” detector device. Example: American Airworks Super Pass II.

These no-motion Personal Alert Safety System (PASS) gizmos are used by firefighters and squeal loudly if no movement is detected for more than 30 seconds. I found some on Ebay that seem to meet the requirement. When I tested them in my living room, my wife immediately got annoyed by their siren, so they are effective! I also acquired some iron-on 3M Scotchlite tape and glow sticks to attach somewhere on my jacket. All this safety paraphenalia should make the night riders appear like a torchlight parade as we rally the gravel roads of Oregon.

We All Fall Down

2008-09-16T10:37:00.000-07:00

A fallen rider from the Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno 2008 race needs your help and prayers.

Our prayers for Anthony Modica ~ Fund Raiser Planned

Anthony was injured at the "Vegas to Reno" race. He is in Renown Hospital in Reno and we are all praying for his recovery. Many of you have called to find out how he is and I know that he needs our prayers. We extend our best wishes to his family and friends, we know this is a very difficult time.

More info here and here. Support Anthony T-Shirts are available from Blais Racing Services here.

Vegas to Reno and Bust

2008-09-01T17:32:00.000-07:00

As we slept on the roof of the Toyota 4WD Owner Magazine FJ Racer, the rising sun woke up the Nevada desert. John Rudzitis arose and said, “Dawn was exactly when I wanted to be driving.” We had been cruising on a whooped-out section of race course just 80 miles from the finish when nasty engine noises and spewing oil signaled our defeat. All we could do was phone our chase crew, report the bad news and wait for daylight.

Four weeks earlier, I had received the call from John. Did I want to compete in the Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno off-road race? This was a once in a lifetime opportunity so I committed immediately. More calls were made and our dream team assembled: John, Jerry Brown, Gary Patterson, Jay Fernan and myself. We each brought years of motorcycle and 4x4 experience but we knew little about the FJ Racer other than it was in California and had previously entered the Baja 500.

A week before the race, John, Jerry and Gary drove down to L.A. from Seattle and assessed the truck. Sway-A-Way mended a leaking shock and R&E Racing artfully welded braces onto the stock spindles. The rulebook wisely guided us: we needed fireproof suits, blue back-marker lights and a satellite tracking system. More phone calls were made, credit cards charged and overnight deliveries received.

We all met-up in Vegas where registration and tech inspection was a controlled chaos with lots of hurry up and wait. When we saw lines we followed them and eventually finished the check-in gauntlet. We received arm bands, tech inspection stickers and attended the driver’s meeting. At last, we were ready. This was really going to happen!

Race morning we impatiently waited for the first truck to take-off. As a last minute entry, we were stuck in the back and didn’t start until after 1:00 pm. With just seven hours of daylight available for the 456 mile run, we sped through silt beds and sandy washes. The suspension by Total Chaos dared us to go faster and faster. Driver changes every 100 miles awarded everyone a fair amount of seat time. We also had plenty of problems. A sharp rock gashed a tire—no fun changing while buggies blazed past in a storm of dust. The air filter was constantly clogging. Ruts dug out by the trophy trucks high centered us twice. A leaky fuel vent was fixed in the wee hours courtesy of Team Locos Mocos. But at 3:30 am, we were still cruising, confident of a finish, which for us would be a win.

At mile 370, I warned John about ten miles of blow sand ahead. We slammed through deep whoops, riding waves of sand. Just when I was thinking it doesn’t get any better than this, we clattered to a halt. Our stock engine, the last thing we expected to fail, could do no more. We climbed onto the roof and waited for dawn.

In the morning, the FJ was loaded on the trailer and we started slogging homeward. We placed 111th out of 202 overall (DNF) and 6th out of 15 in our class (1800 Sportsman). The dream was over—or was it? Casey Folks and the Best in the Desert Racing Association are dreaming big for 2009. Three days, 1000 miles, next year it’s Vegas to Reno, the long way around. If I get the call, I already know my answer.

On the Road

2008-06-24T07:43:00.001-07:00

My brother and I ran the gauntlet from Albuquerque to Seattle, slogging northward with the Jeep and truck and trailer. Our total fuel cost was over $1000. Along the way we had two close encounters with deer on the road, were nearly blown away by 50 mph winds near Boise, and heard lots of complaints about the high cost of fuel.

It's a shock to be back in a place where it is wet, green and cold. I was getting accustomed to the dry, brown and warm of New Mexico. The grass does seem to be greener on the other side, at least in this case.

Gas Price Crescendo

2008-05-31T19:28:00.000-07:00

It's getting expensive to be a mechanized explorer. The price of gas in Death Valley has always been high, but it's still kind of shocking to see it over $5 per gallon. In my lifetime, I can recall when gas was 39 cents, back in the day.

I note this sign is able to display prices up to $9.99 9/10. Will there be another Y2K crisis when gas is goes over $10? I've been reading about older analog gas pumps that cannot handle prices higher than $3.99 a gallon, so the problem is emerging already.

I have found some good web sites that will help facilitate your descent into Mad Max madness: Peak Oil, Life After the Oil Crash, and Clusterfuck Nation. Check them out and consider the future of a world made by hand.

Big Bang

2008-04-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I drove out to the Trinity Site. This is a place on the White Sands Missle Range of New Mexico where the first atomic bomb was tested in 1945 in the run-up to the annihilation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. It is open to the public on the first Saturday of April and October.

There isn't much left to see (obviously) but there were quite a few people inspecting the grounds looking for Trinitite, a mineral substance formed by the liquefication of sand by the nuclear blast.

Thieves Hideout

2008-03-29T13:24:00.000-07:00

On Saturday my regular hiking troupe attempted Ladron Peak in the Sierra Ladrones. We huffed and puffed on the way up but ran out of time and turned back at 8800 feet (the summit is around 9200). I captured the GPS track which is rendered here over Google Earth. This was more of a scramble than hike--there is no defined trail.

Mitch and John's Excellent Adventure

2008-02-16T11:32:00.000-08:00

The grass is not always greener on the other side and what little grass there is here in Albuquerque is brown. I'm learning to love the brown but I do miss the ever green of the great North Wet. Looking back on some of my old adventures I found this story written in 2001 when I was still in full-on moto exploration mode. Enjoy the ride and the read.

My buddy John (KLR650) and I (R1100GS) left my house in North Bend headed towards Snoqualmie Pass. We selected Exit 38 off the I-90 freeway and rode the short section of old highway that still exists along the river. We rejoined I-90 up to the Tinkham road exit where we took the gravel road (FR-55), then the Denny Creek road (FR-58) to the pass. That road is now paved all the way to the pass and is very twisty with switchbacks as you climb up the hill. It is a great road for scraping your footpegs and centerstand.

From the pass we got on the Gold Creek rode at Hyak and followed it onto the gravel road (FR-4832) down to Kachess Lake. Then we went towards the lake, and hung a right onto Via Kachess road, which ultimately turns into another dirt road that skirts the lake shore down towards Easton. We came upon a guy in a brand new Subaru Impreza WRX cage posing as a rally car, I think we scared the snot out of him as we blew past. Why would you take a nice new car like that off-road?

We dropped back onto the pavement in Easton, rode through town and took Cabin Creek road (FR-41) up into the hills. A large brown bear ran across the road in front of us! It was the first time I have ever seen a bear in this area, and it was a big boy. I am glad he was a scared of us as we were of him.

We approached the washed out section on Cabin Creek road and crossed the stream and a makeshift bridge that the snowmobilers have built. It is a white knuckle experience, as the bridge is flexy and it drops you into a rock garden that must be crossed to regain the road. We navigated the obstacles without damage and headed up towards Tacoma Pass on FR-52 were we camped and admired the sun setting over the Cascades.

The next morning we followed the logging roads up to Green Pass and dropped down into the Little Naches Basin. All the gates were open
so we had no problems getting through. We followed the road (FR-19) down to Cliffdell and stopped in at Whistlin' Jacks for breakfast. From
there we took Hwy 410 down to the Oak Creek wildlife area and got on the dirt roads up on Bethel Ridge. If you haven't been in this area
before, check it out, the roads are perfect for GS'ing and there is nobody around. There are great views of Rainier and Adams and the
Goat Rocks.

From there we dropped down onto US-12 and went up over White Pass to Randle, where we got onto FR-21 headed south towards Mt. Adams. They really went crazy with the gravel on these roads, there is way too much pea gravel to feel comfortable on a bike and we had to take it
putt along slowly. We started looking for a camp site with a view of Adams and couldn't find anything suitable, so we took a chance and crossed over the "border" into the Yakama Indian reservation to see what we could find. BAD IDEA! Within 10 minutes the Tribal Police where on us and we got trespassing tickets. When they say no entry without permit, they mean it, and it cost us $100 each for our "permit".

We high-tailed it back into the USA and camped near Horseshoe Lake. We were considering our options for the next day when I noticed that
the Metzeler on my bike was shredded and the steel belts were showing through the tread! No more off-road for me on this trip. The next day I headed straight home and prayed that my tire would stay intact. Rolling into my driveway on the last few threads of rubber, I settled down onto the bike's centerstand and relaxed as the sun set again over the wilds of the Central Cascades. Another moto-mission accomplished!

The Sky is Falling

2007-10-10T10:43:00.000-07:00

I noted a number of aerial incidents in familiar areas that have occurred during the last few days. First, near Rimrock Lake in the Cascades, a small plane with 10 skydivers aboard went down on Sunday night. All aboard died. Then on Monday in Albuquerque during the Balloon Fiesta, a woman fell from the gondola and died when a balloon tangled with power lines. On Tuesday in Albuquerque, four balloons crashed to the ground during high winds resulting in minor injuries.

I'm not much of a safety nazi, but it seems to me that balloons and small planes are modes of transportation to avoid. If nothing else, it puts the risk of motorcycling in perspective. On a motorcycle, I'm in control of the machine and I can mitigate the impact risk by operating defensively. If the machine fails, I am not generally free-falling from the sky to the ground.

Duke City

2007-10-08T12:15:00.000-07:00

Recently I have been exploring in and around Albuquerque, New Mexico. I took the world's longest aerial tram (2.7 miles) to the top of 10,378 foot Sandia Peak and to say the least the view of the surrounding landscape was incredible. My first impression of ABQ is that it is growing fast, maybe too fast for its own good. There are "lots" of tract homes sprawling out from the urban core and the swelling seems ripe for a housing bust. But with 310 days of sunshine per year it is hard to resist, especially as the drizzle settles into Seattle for another dreary winter season.

Owned by the Route Redux

2007-03-02T11:45:00.000-08:00

My piece "Owned by the Route" was published in the March 2007 issue of Blue Ribbon magazine. If you don't already subscribe and you support the political process of keeping public lands open for the public instead of from the public, considering subscribing today. It's only $20 and you can stay up to date on many land use and recreation access issues, particularly oriented towards the Western US (where most public lands exist.)

The link to Blue Ribbon Magazine is http://www.sharetrails.org

On the Home Stretch

2007-01-06T14:06:00.000-08:00

Winter Quarter 2007 at the University of Washington commenced this week. It is my last quarter before I graduate. Like Rodney Dangerfield discovered in the film "Back to School", you cannot always grease the wheels on your way through college although I've found some students find creative ways to work the system to their advantage. I will miss the mechanized routine of commuting to campus and the novelty of performing new identities as a non-traditional student, but am pleased to be finished and ready to explore a new phase of my life, getting back to writing from the subjective heart instead of the rational mind.

My coursework this quarter includes Analytical Cartography, Urban GIS, Problems in Resource Management, and CAD and Visualization. It is a heavy load and there will be no coasting uphill but I expect a solid capstone experience. In preparation for the future by looking at the past I have updated my resume. Let me know of any fantastic job opportunities!

Four Wheeling Goes Corporate

2006-08-26T07:03:00.000-07:00

Folks, it was only a matter of time before corporate sponsorship became attached to historic routes across public lands!

Press Release: BFGoodrich Tires Pays Tribute to Historic Naches Pass

Local Off-Road Group Accepts Grant to Sustain Trail Conservation Efforts

NACHES, Washington – July 5, 2006 – BFGoodrich Tires today celebrated the Historic Naches Pass trail, named as one of the 2006 Outstanding Trails, during the opening ceremony at the club’s annual Trail Jamboree. During the festivities, BFGoodrich Tires presented a grant to the Pacific Northwest Four Wheel Drive Association, which will be used to preserve the scenic trail and continue conservation efforts for one of Washington’s most famous off-road routes.

BFGoodrich Tires, working in conjunction with Tread Lightly!® and United Four Wheel Drive Associations (UFWDA), specifically chose Historic Naches Pass as one of its outstanding trails for its historic value, notable views of Mt. Rainer and the Cascade Mountain range and its strong enthusiast following. Providing riders with fairly-level ground as well as steep grades, this trail can be equally enjoyed by both experienced and novice off-roaders.

“With the vast history of this trail, BFGoodrich Tires does a great honor to those who have passed through here since the 1860s,” said Merrick Graves, president of the Pacific Northwest Four Wheel Drive Association. “By selecting the Historic Naches Pass for its Outstanding Trails program, BFGoodrich Tires will ensure that others who traverse this trail know of the history and how important it is to keep it maintained.”

The Pacific Northwest Four Wheel Drive Association (PNW4WDA) is a non-profit organization whose members are united in one common cause: promoting responsible vehicle oriented outdoor recreation, while preserving the environment for future generations. The group, comprised of four-wheel drive enthusiasts, supporters and land management agencies, is divided into eight regions covering Oregon, Washington and Idaho.

“The historic value and beauty of the Naches Trail is very important to the community and off-roaders in the Pacific Northwest,” said Kaz Holley, brand director for BFGoodrich Tires. “As a key stakeholder in the world of off-roading, BFGoodrich Tires is delighted to team up with groups like the Pacific Northwest Four Wheel Drive Association to ensure that these lands will continue to stay beautiful and safe for future visitors.”

After a careful selection process, five of North America’s “outstanding” off-road trails were nominated for uniqueness, terrain type and enthusiast following. The four other Outstanding Trials aside from Historic Naches Pass are: Black Bear Pass, near Ouray, Colorado, a picturesque trail nestled in the San Juan Mountains; Pyeatt Draw, a scenic and exciting trail situated in Payson, Arizona; Hell’s Revenge, a rugged trail known for its “slick rock” and sandstone terrain in Moab, Utah; last, but not least, Upper Tellico OHV Area, Trail #4, located in the Natahala National Forest, in North Carolina where Tennessee, South Carolina and Georgia meet.

Both Tread Lightly! and UFWDA are non-profit organizations dedicated to responsible and ethical outdoor recreation. BFGoodrich Tires collaborated with these two groups to select the finest North American trails, and will continue to work with these organizations on restoration and education initiatives.

The Economic Geography of Nye County Nevada

2006-08-05T09:40:00.000-07:00

Since I spend much of my recreation dollar traveling off-road in Southern Nevada, I decided to write an economic profile of the place that I gravitate towards. One of the reasons that Nye County is an off-road mecca is that it has a very strange and unconventional geography for a place in the United States. Read on and decide for yourself.

A student of geography examining a choropleth map of the United States enumerated by county cannot help but notice the unusually large hammer-shaped unit that dominates south central Nevada. Nye County is the third largest in the U.S. at 18,155 square miles and it possesses an unusual economic geography that influences not only the local residents and businesses but also impacts the entire country. A landscape of extremes, within its borders lie a national park and wilderness areas, military bombing ranges, radioactive nuclear test sites and the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. Also located in Nye County are active gold mines, busy brothels, high mountain peaks opposing parched dry lake beds, and one of the top 20 fastest growing places in the country. It enjoys a diverse geography but at the same time it is almost entirely dependent on neighboring Clark County and Las Vegas of the “New West” to drive its growth. Also, it is heavily reliant on the federal government which owns and manages 93% of the land in the county.

The economy of Nye County has historically been based upon mineral extraction and agriculture since its inception. Prospectors flocked to the region in the 19th century as mineral rights were claimed, sold and played out, and railroad systems were constructed to transport rich mineral resources to industrial centers. During the World War II, the Atomic Energy Commission established the Nevada Test Site for research and development of nuclear weapons and subsequent executive orders in the 1950’s and 1960’s expanded off-limits areas dramatically, effectively severing the county into northern and southern parcels.

The sheer size of the county has been problematic for its political economy. The long distances between towns minimizes the amount of contact between residents and resists building of a sense of community. The county seat is in Tonopah, which was the historical center of mining activity. Then, the tremendous growth of Las Vegas shifted the focus of the population growth into southern Nye County. With Las Vegas just 60 miles away, Pahrump, Nevada, has grown from 7,424 in 1990 to 24,631 in 2000 according to American Factfinder and now is one of the 20 fastest growing micropolitan statistical areas in the U.S. With the county seat in Tonopah being 167 miles away, county government is far from the growth issues faced by most of its residents living in Pahrump.

The population of Nye County has increased 82.7% between 1990 and 2000, however during the same period the workforce has only grown 48.5%. This suggests that the population growth is predominately individuals not participating in the labor force, including children and retired persons. The number of persons age 65 and greater has increased 174.6% and the number of persons living in poverty has increase 145.5% in the same period.

The employment figures by industry show a 33% decline in the number of persons employed in agriculture and natural resource industries. This is most likely due to the increased use of technology in the mining and agriculture, reducing the number of employees required. Most of the service industries in Nye County have experienced over 100% growth, which his strong evidence of a shift from a traditional economy to a services based economy.

The population of Nye County is forecast to continue growing at a steady rate and future economic development is expected to be a mixture of public and private services alongside traditional resource extraction, depending on commodity prices. The economic impact of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository is unclear and dependent on future political decisions. If it becomes operational, the site-related public spending will continue indefinitely into the future. A substantial retirement community is also developing as evidenced by the increasing proportion of the population over the age of 65.

There are multiple risks associated with the future growth of Nye County. These include dependencies on the Las Vegas economy, commodity prices (especially gold), federal control of most of Nye County land, and nuclear waste depository developments. According to the Economic Development Authority for Esmeralda/Nye Counties (EDEN), efforts are underway to diversity the economy into light manufacturing, recreation and tourism. Nevada has a relatively liberal regulatory climate and no personal or corporate income tax, so there are incentives are in place to ameliorate an otherwise hostile climate.

The Al Gore Media Experience

2006-07-09T21:57:00.000-07:00

I finally got out of the house to see An Inconvenient Truth today. It is a great media presentation of complex science and regardless of what you think of Gore as a politician, it is worth seeing. Following is a response paper I wrote for my geosystems class:

1) What are the important new types of information that you learned in watching the film?

The new information that I gained was the mechanics of ice shelf wasting, in particular the example displayed in the film of the disintegration of the Larsen B shelf. The differentiation between sea and land ice characteristics along with the role ponding and moulins play in accelerating the melting process was very interesting. In addition, the information about how the poles are warming faster than the equator was new information to me.

2) What information presented in the film came as the biggest surprise to you?

The biggest surprise to me was the testimony that no peer-reviewed scientific journal article contests human caused global warming. This is not the perception of most of the U.S. public. Such consensus seems unlikely because in scientific research there is always critical debate and alternative modeling presented in attempt to improve the state of knowledge. To claim there is no debate about global warming is more alarming than it is reassuring. If science relied on consensus, then we would not have plate tectonic theory.

If an explicit disinformation media campaign about the global warming debate is being waged by politicians and corporations, it is remarkably effective. Clearly the scientific community needs to do a better job with respect to communication in the arena of non-academic discourse.

3) What information in the film do you consider to be the strongest evidence that global warming is taking place. If you do not believe that global warming is taking place what is your reasoning?

The strongest evidence presented in the film that global warming is taking place is the relationship between CO2 levels in the atmosphere and average global temperature. The information gleaned from Antarctic ice cores appears to be an objective history of global climactic conditions and has the most complete quantitative record dating back 650,000 years. The strongest qualitative evidence for global warming is the obvious retreat of alpine glaciers. I have witnessed the retreat of glaciers in the Canadian Rockies during my lifetime. I believe that first hand evidence gained through actual experience is always the best kind.

4) What information from the film and others sources do you think is the strongest evidence that global warming/climate change is resulting from human activity or that human activity is the major driving force in global warming?

The strongest evidence that global warming is a result of human activity is the relationship between the accelerating increase in CO2 and global temperature and population growth and industrialization occurring in the last 150 years. However a correlation does not necessarily mean cause and effect.

Human activity is not necessarily the only the driving force in climate change. Non-anthropogenic processes play a role as well. It could be possible that some unknown or misunderstood energy input or a change in energy storage capacity of the Earth has resulted in a dynamic non-equilibrium state in the climate system and the sharp increase in temperatures will stabilize in a new equilibrium state. However, by looking around we see that the world has been developing within a socio-economic regime based fundamentally on prodigious use of cheap fossil-fuel energy (and the subsequent release of CO2) so human activity is the best explanation at this time for changes in energy inputs to the climate system resulting in global warming.

5) If you were an advisor to the President, Congress, and/or state and local governments what policy recommendations, if any, would you make and why with regard to climate changes issues?

I do not think policy recommendations are useful at this point in the global warming debate. As Mr. Gore stated, he has been crusading about this issue his entire adult life yet has had made little impact on a dithering national government. Also, the topic of global warming has become so politicized and polarizing that a politician’s best action is no action at all. In my opinion, there are only two possible ways to influence future policy with respect global warming: at the grass roots level through activist and community initiatives to change the transportation, housing and urban planning culture, or as a response to a global climate crisis involving great human suffering. The analogy in everyday life is that someone has to be killed before a crosswalk is installed on a busy street.

That being said, I think the best policy recommendation at this point would be for the government to stop subsidizing components of the economy that perpetuate unsustainable use of fossil fuels and start subsidizing sustainable energy sources and public infrastructure that could lead to a new socioeconomic regime. As the President himself has said, we are a country addicted to oil. The quicker we can develop an effective withdrawal program from that addiction, the less painful the withdrawal will be.

6) What do you think will change if anything for you in your daily life as a result of seeing the film?

After seeing this film, I walked out onto the street and surveyed the landscape. The dominate feature I observed was cars, cars and more cars: parked on the street, in parking lots, driving by on the road, most of them with one occupant. There was even a movie name Cars playing in the theater. Later, a Metro bus drove by me and there was not a single person on board.

That is the basic problem with the public reaction to global warming: the public will go see An Inconvenient Truth, believe its arguments, curse the do-nothing politicians, and maybe make a resolution to do something about it. Then they walk out of the theater, get into their 15 MPG SUV and drive for 20 minutes to a McMansion in the suburbs. While that is a gross generalization, if fossil-fuel transportation and an urban sprawl lifestyle are culturally normative then we are all destined to pay for the hidden costs of lifestyle choices in the future. My personal action plan in response to the global warming issue is to support the development of public transit whenever it is possible, even if it is inconvenient.

The Cabin Fever Cure

2006-02-20T15:02:00.000-08:00

Cuddling a super-sized cup of coffee in my hands, I silently stared as icy flakes coated my motorcycle in a suffocating cocoon. Chased into Ely by pelting flurries, the streets were soft with sticking snow when I pulled into the fast-food refuge for a quick warm-up. Just wait 20 minutes, the squall will pass, and I'll be on my way. But now my eyes had trouble piercing the blizzard's white veil beyond the parking lot's yellow curbs.

I was headed south for a meet-up with my buddy Charley who flew in from Rochester for our annual escapade in the desert. Living in upstate New York, he suffered from a winter seasonal disorder that can only be cured by a two-wheeled furlough tearing up the twisties in a warm climate. Renting a stranger's bike didn't appeal to me, so I charted out two back-to-back 750-mile riding days from Seattle to Sedona, which seemed reasonable while browsing the National Geographic atlas over breakfast at home.

“Big wreck on the pass,” a local declared, shaking me from my trance. He examined his Egg McMuffin as if it were a tarot card, and said: “Nobody's getting through today.” There are only two ways out of Ely, over Murry Summit at 7,317 feet or traversing 7,722-foot Connors Pass. At the moment neither seemed plausible with a chained-up 4x4 rig, much less a motorcycle. During pre-trip planning, I had failed to notice that slogging across the outback of Oregon and Nevada included significant high elevation mileage. Crossing the Blue Mountains the previous day had been chilly and the complimentary copy of USA Today from the Super-8 in Wells painted the Great Basin in purplish azure. Was this my winter getaway? Imprisoned in eastern Nevada waiting for spring thaw?

I scanned the cloudy grayness for clues. If I could jump over the pass into the next valley, I'd be sloping down toward the lower elevations draining into Las Vegas, where the radio reported warm sunshine. To the west, the sky hinted translucence while the eastern horizon remained dark, and before long the storm took a breather. Fortified by caffeine and armored with warm layers of gear, I brushed three inches of snow off the saddle and mounted my steed. Gingerly releasing the clutch to avoid wheel spin, I slithered out of the slushy driveway, impressing my new-found acquaintances back inside McDonalds.

The road signs were plastered by snowplows and poor visibility limited my bearings, so finding the mother road out of town was a lucky guess. I pulled over to check the map and a semi-truck passed me, slapping its tire chains against the road, beckoning like a mechanical pied piper. Merging in behind, I kept two wheels tightly aligned in his tandem ruts and we escaped the city limits. With the bike's hand heaters cranked on high and warmth permeating my gloves, I clenched the handlebars in a cold death-grip, following the anonymous leader.

We crept up the highway making ten miles per hour. Fixated on not falling, I barely glanced at the churning red lights of the highway patrol car parked next to the “Chains Required” sign. Maybe the officer didn't notice me tucked in behind the truck, or perhaps figured that he wouldn't bother recovering my body until spring thaw. Either way, he seemed uninterested in stopping me as we chugged up the grade.

Cresting the summit, the semi pulled away and I idled downhill, breathing again. Below lay a socked-in valley, but the clouds had lifted and I could see the road snaking ahead through the frosted juniper. The snow ran out of gas, so I picked up my speed, eager to put some miles on the tires and get back on schedule. I killed three hours during my indecisive layover in Ely and had 500 miles yet to burn on the day's route to Sedona. Approaching the sprawl of Las Vegas, layers of clothing started peeling off as the temperature climbed and when I blasted over Hoover Dam the morning's ordeal had diminished into one of those “I remember when...” old man stories that kids don't believe.

By early evening I was making easy time as I-40 shot true across the northwestern Arizona desert. The 3,500-foot tilt upwards from Kingman to Flagstaff is unmarked by sharp climbs over majestic mountains, so when a thick black layer snuck over the eastern horizon opposite the setting sun, I assumed that it was merely the mantle of dusk approaching. Friday night traffic droned along at 90 miles per hour when the first flakes slung themselves sideways across my visor. I shook them off in disbelief and considered pulling a turnaround to catch the road south to Phoenix through Wickenburg—hang on, don't panic; less than an hour to go and I'll be joining the gang at the bar drinking margaritas and telling lies.

Braking to a rolling slowdown with white stuff congealing on the shoulder of the freeway, I flicked off an ice bead that formed on my windshield. The GPS teasingly declared that Sedona was only 50 miles as the crow flies—as if a crow would fly in this weather. Finally a full-volume blizzard sat down onto the stop-and-go traffic and I fell in behind another semi savior who guided me into Flagstaff. Resigned to an emergency motel bivouac, my wheels finally lost traction in the last hundred yards and the bike heeled over sideways, executing an elegant broadslide in front of the Best Western.

The next morning, after recovering my bike from its fresh snow quilt, I considered my options. The clouds cleared, but there were miles yet to travel and the roads were icy black. My wife was flying down from Seattle and expected a comfortable greeting at the airport. Now overdue, the non-refundable room at the bed and breakfast in Sedona was costing me $170 per unoccupied day as it waited for my arrival.

Rolling out the throttle southward on I-17, I dropped off the frigid Colorado Plateau and descended to the lowlands 2,500 feet below. Soon the layers started coming off again as the sun started its warming drumbeat and the temperature climbed into the 60's. By the time I cruised through the Red Rocks, convertible tops were down, kids were riding their bicycles against traffic, and nobody noticed the remnants of melting snow disgorging themselves from my bike's inner crevices.

I finally pulled into the crushed gravel driveway of the mission-style inn, slowly dismounted and surveyed the scraped saddlebag from last night's tip-over. Charlie strolled onto the veranda wearing shorts and sunglasses, carrying one of those funny tropical drinks adorned with an umbrella. “Isn't the weather great?” he said. “It’s about time you got here, let's go for a ride.”

Lost and Found - Next Generation GPS Launched

2006-01-28T07:38:00.000-08:00

Call me a curmudgeon, but I've come to count on certain things. When I was unruly in school, the teacher whacked my behind with a paddle. If my motorcycle broke down on the side of the road, someone would stop and help. And if the US government launched a high-tech global positioning system into orbit, I should be able to depend on it to pinpoint my position on the planet.

Sitting stock-still, I peer at the Garmin receiver mounted securely on my motorcycle’s handlebars. Earlier in the day, I had carefully painted a route in Mapsource and downloaded the waypoints—it's exactly 36.8 miles to my destination, and each turn was calculated for optimal efficiency. But now my indicated position dances a tiny minuet around the base map while the elevation reading fluctuates from 507 to 583 feet. An accumulation of cookie crumb pixels on the LCD screen suggests that I'm wandering around the neighborhood, but I haven't even left my driveway. It can’t be me: it’s the GPS that isn’t being all that it can be.

The system was developed by the military in the 1970s and of the 24 satellites in the heavens, 16 are past their original design life, destined to become space junk. And since 9/11 changed the world, the government selectively denies GPS signals during military action, so you never know when a smart-bomb attack in Afghanistan is preventing you from locking into the quartet of satellites required to calculate your 3-D location. Like the Internet, it’s a government chartered technology that migrated into consumer space, so a gentle customer experience wasn't included in the design goals.

But that's about to change. With the launch of a fresh sputnik from the Baikonur cosmodrome in central Russia, the European Union kicked off a new space race, introducing a consumer-oriented and civilian-managed satellite navigation system named Galileo. Predicted to be operational by 2010, the constellation of 30 dual-band satellites will chirp an XM radio-like offering delivering multiple tiers of guaranteed service. The basic lifeline signal promises accuracy down to three meters, five times better than the current system. Upgrade to the gold package and it will reveal your location to within a meter, even down to 10 centimeters with a special antenna under stellar conditions.

Why in the world does anyone need global positioning to within four inches? For adventure motorcyclists, navigating with GPS conjures a self-image aligned with riders of the Dakar Rally, the world's premier off-road race, where lives are bet on successfully traversing unmarked pistes across the Sahara Desert. Also, geocaching junkies demand universally correct coordinates when they're searching the countryside for rusty ammo boxes filled with pink-haired Kewpie doll treasure. In either case, success or failure is differentiated by a few feet, so accuracy counts.

But for most users, precision is relative. Joe Hannah, a doctoral candidate in the Geography Department at the University of Washington, makes it clear: “If you're in the woods, it doesn't mean much—you see where the trail goes. But if you are laying out a railroad, accuracy has a different meaning—it's better when the tracks are aligned.”

Just like cell phone service, you'll endure expensive upgrades of your existing equipment because our current receivers are incompatible with Galileo’s signal. The major manufacturers of consumer GPS hardware, Garmin and Magellan, are unwilling to comment on their future product plans but surely will introduce dual-mode units in the next few years.

Though initially stuck on start, the feds won't be left behind in the new space race either. Out of the gate, the government denounced the upstart system as heresy, similar to papal condemnation of Italian astronomer Galileo's sun-centered teachings of 1616. But both Church and government have since recanted, and rerouted their course towards enlightenment and competition. David Sampson of the Department of Commerce recently announced announced the next-generation of satellites, soon to be deployed, will be able to punch their signals through buildings. He even laid down some trash-talk about the European’s head-start by proclaiming that the U.S. government is “proudly committed to providing GPS for free to the world.”

Despite the geopolitical rhetoric, I successfully managed to navigate my way out of the driveway, the long way around. The route indicator directs me slightly southeast, but I don't completely trust its silent counsel. Maybe it’s better if I just stay home. A next generation GPS receiver probably means a new mounting system, updated power interface, and upgraded mapping software. That's a lot to ask of Santa, but accessorizing our toys is embedded in the American culture. If we didn't have obsolescence in our marketplace of ideas through technology, we wouldn't have the world's richest economy—and like Santa, that's something I depend on.

Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly Knack-Knack

2006-01-14T12:29:00.000-08:00

It's a clash of titans: A rare blue butterfly versus motorized recreation. But which is David and which is Goliath? Butterfly rights are supported by the green pinko zealots, and recreation rights are supported by the off-road right-wing philistines.

Sand Mountain Recreation Area, a large dune complex in northern Nevada, is the primitive battle stage. It has been a popular ORV open-use area for many years, and home to the butterfly for thousands. Caught in the middle is the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management, the bureacracies who manage the area. Whatever the outcome of this resource conflict, you can count on a significant spend of shekels by all parties involved to research, plan, litigate, defend, and ultimately ensure the loser is the American taxpayer.

It's Raining, It's Pouring

2006-01-10T17:49:00.000-08:00

In 1953, the grim record was set: Thirty-three consecutive days of rainfall in the Emerald City. Today, on January 10th 2005, the city has received twenty-two soakers in a row, and the ten-day forecast is grey and grim, while super-saturated slopes threaten to slime the roads. Is it time to start measuring timbers in cubits, and line up the clean and unclean animals two-by-two?

Seattle's rain-soaked reputation is one of saturation and perception, rather than inundation and deluge. In fact, it receives just 36” of rainfall annually, less than New York or Atlanta. But the wetness arrives in the form of constant drizzle, dispensed from low-flying clouds that hover incessantly, cocooning the city in a funk that lasts from November to April. It isn't the volume of rain that makes it dreary here, it's the persistence.

Still, Seattle does not present a solid case as the leader in consecutive days of precipitation: In Washington State, the honor belongs to Centralia, where it rained for 55 days straight in late 1996 into early 1997. Globally, Hawaii, and the monsoon areas of India receive even more.

But thirty-three days of rain seems like a lot, and it's not that far off the biblical porportions of forty days and nights. Rivers are approaching flood stage, my lawn squinches underfoot like a wet sponge, and the worms are frolicing everywhere, mating with hermaphroditic frenzy. Is it the end of times, or just great skiing in the mountains? Stay tuned...

Owned By The Route - Adventure In The Oregon Outback

2005-12-24T09:21:00.000-08:00

“Something's wrong!” Tom yelled as he pulled up next to me, “you need to fix the waypoints, everybody’s lost.”

“I don't own the route,” I returned. “If you want to fix it, go ahead.”

Five of us were scattered across a square mile of Malheur National Forest, not so much lost as disconnected from each other. During the third day of our off-road adventure on the Oregon Back Country Discovery Route, we were frustratingly off-course again. The first two days had been without drama despite encountering mountain roads blocked by snow and our tires being victimized by sharp-edged rocks. During the months spent planning for this trip, I laboriously reviewed every single waypoint charted on the map, how could they now be wrong? John was going right when he should be going left. Jay and Wayde followed John. Tom was doing his own thing, I was bringing up the rear—and nobody was on the right track.

Developed by the Oregon Off-Highway Vehicle Association, the OBCDR is an unpaved byway consisting of more than 750 miles of adventure travel suitable for 4x4s and dual-sport motorcycles. Crossing seven National Forests and constructed from a diverse network of public roads, it bisects the isolated Oregon Outback from California to Washington, encompassing steep scarp faults in the south, high desert in the middle, and forested mountain ranges in the north. For the adventure traveler, it is an easily accessible, but still remote and wild backcountry route, a place where the antelope roam and the wild horses play.

Two years prior, John and I traveled this route on dual-sport motorcycles from north to south, starting from the foot of the Blue Mountains near Walla Walla, Washington. Two-thirds of the way through the journey, we quit after enduring a particularly brutal rocky section that depleted our stamina and enthusiasm. This time, finishing the OBCDR entirely from end-to-end, south-to-north, would fulfill my personal goal and ensure coverage of previously missed sections. Running with 4x4s instead of motorcycles, we forsake the nimbleness and speed of our bikes for the superior carrying capacity and creature comforts of John's V-8 powered “Orange Crate” FJ40 Land Cruiser and my plain-Jane “Black Dog” Jeep TJ.

Our entourage included three motorcycle riders: Jay, on a Suzuki DRZ400 with a super-sized gas tank; Tom, riding a rare and pristine Honda NX650; and Wayde, on his ancient but trusty Yamaha XT500. With GPS units firmly fastened to the vehicles with high-tech rubber isolation mounts protecting the delicate electronics from vibration, I flashed them with over 1,000 waypoints, critical to navigating the unsigned primitive roads. We carried paper maps too, in case the high-tech systems failed. John and I had CB radios for chatting back-and-forth, while the others carried FRS radios just in case. With our diverse conglomeration of vehicles, operators and equipment, along with over 80 years of combined off-road travel experience, we were ready for anything, and confidently expected to conquer everything.

Day 1: Lakeview to Winter Ridge

Hunter's Hot Springs Resort in the rural town of Lakeview, Oregon served as our southern staging point. Exhausted by the long slog from Seattle, we looked forward to a steaming soak and a good rest, because we would be sleeping on Therm-A-Rest pads for the next week. Along with the numerous “hot pots” on the property, the resort features “Old Perpetual” spurting 60 feet high from a duck pond. A man-made geyser created by well drilling, and supplying hot water to the resort since 1923, it is tamed by a steel standpipe with no pretense of naturalness. When the geyser gurgled skyward every 90 seconds, it sounded like the flushing of an industrial-sized toilet; still, we managed to sleep soundly.

Rising before dawn, we sorted out our gear, bought trail beverages, and fueled our caravan. The bikers persuaded John and me to carry their heavy gear in the 4x4s, which transformed their motorcycles from wallowing pigs to prancing steeds. Heading south on Highway 395 to hunt down the first waypoint, we briefly stopped at the “Welcome to California” border sign, and staged a “before” picture. Then, bidding goodbye to the asphalt, we began climbing a gravel road that squiggled back and forth towards the summit of the Warner Mountains. Initially, we could not resist making it a competition, broadsliding through the switchbacks, but eventually we sorted out our relative positions, each according to his desire for speed versus his capacity to eat the leading vehicle's dust. The GPS pointed the way and pixels scrolled by on the LCD screen, marking our progress. We were underway at last.

Thirty minutes later, we encountered our first big challenge. Despite being a warm day in early July, a four-foot thick snowbank lay across the road, fenced in by trees, with no obvious bypass offered. Just two weeks prior, we knew of another party that traveled this route and had been forced to turn back because of the lingering winter snowpack blocking the roads. We were not going to let that happen to us on our first day out! Being 4x4 enabled and still fresh from the invincible feeling of the “before” picture, I plowed into the icy berm and immediately got stuck. Spinning four locked-in all-terrain tires in four-wheel drive did not help. Jay rode up to me and said, “You need bigger tires, man.” Seeing no chance of Les Schwab arriving anytime soon, I thanked Jay for his advice, pulled out the winch cable, and dragged myself free. The Orange Crate followed in my tracks, easily crossing over the drift on its Buckshot Mudders. On the radio, I made sure John knew that I was the good sport who packed down the snow for him to cross, while the bikers followed us through the slush. We were on our way again.

Cresting the pass, we broke out into Dismal Swamp, a spectacular wet contrast to the dry pine forest we just passed through. Anything but dismal, the wild grass grew through the roadbed like a two-track wagon path slicing through fuzzy green carpet. In the distance, Mount Bidwell harbored remnants of melting ice, slowly feeding the creeks and springs in the meadow. We madly pointed cameras at the scene, searching for the best vantage point to capture elusive perfection.

“That was my favorite section,” John said later. “After that, I could have gone home.”

Day Two: Winter Ridge to Doe Spring

Eagerly breaking down our tents the next morning, we anticipated a most-difficult double-black-diamond rating on the day’s route, crossing the region known as The Great Sandy Desert. Horror stories circulated on the Internet about a group of off-road riders who crossed this section of the OBCDR under the intense baking sun of August. Despite suffering from heat exhaustion and disorientation, they made it through alive, but we took their plight as a serious warning to avoid the heat of the day, and encouraged an early start.

With their bikes moving into the lead, the fast boys showed the way, blazing a path over the riprap. In a 4x4 rig, finding a speedy line through the rocks is challenging, especially when the road is corralled by sagebrush—it seems like you end up going over all the sharp rocks, not around them. With two-wheel narrowness, the motorcycle riders could choose from multiple lines around obstacles, so they quickly disappeared over the horizon. Later in the day, I spied Tom off in the distance, on the far side of a dry lakebed waving at me emphatically, signaling what looked like “come this way.” Naturally, I got on the gas and bee-lined right towards him. Drawing closer, his waving became more urgent and panicked. As my wheels sank rapidly into the sucking muck, I discovered just how wet a dry lakebed could be. Slamming on the brakes, causing me to sink even deeper, I gingerly backed up towards higher ground, and proceeded more cautiously, staying close to the firmer shoreline.

Racing the sun across the rocky sagebrush steppe, we eventually emerged onto Highway 20 and droned into the hamlet of Riley to refuel. Congratulating ourselves on conquering the desert, we celebrated with a cold but refreshing shower in the fish-cleaning station at Chickahominy Reservoir. From here northward, we would be returning to the forested mountain ranges that would engulf us for another 400 miles to Walla Walla. Poring over the maps for a place to camp, we spied a place called Doe Spring which sounded inviting, but upon arrival, we discovered that no deer survived off this bone-dry seep, a stark reminder of the parched desert just a few miles away.

Day 3: Doe Spring to Logan Valley

Comforted by forested mountains, and glad to be out of the desert, we expected an easier time the next morning, with roads not so rocky and terrain not as forbidding. Tearing down camp by 9 a.m., I jokingly noted that as each day progressed, we seemed to be departing thirty minutes later than the day before. Although I did not fully appreciate it at the time, the desert section had taken away our freshness. The dawn-to-dusk driving had exhausted our bodies, the Outback Steakhouse started sounding real good, and the rigs looked beat, not bling, like in the “before” picture from so long ago. In my experiences in off-road adventure, day three is often a turning point where the anticipation and excitement wears off, and the effects of group dynamics become more evident. Meaningless little mistakes start adding up into unpaid invoices, waiting to be paid by carelessness.

Guided by the tyrannical pointer on the screen, we made few navigational mistakes, and generally relied on the silent counsel of the GPS. Because of the wide spacing maintained between each vehicle to avoid the dust, we used the "leapfrog" technique to avoid losing contact with each other. At a turn or junction, the first person stopped and waited until the second approached. The second person acknowledged the first with a thumbs-up, and then continued on. Then, the second waited for third and repeated the cycle through the last person in line. But as the trip progressed further, we became more confident, or arrogant, in our navigational abilities, so it was not long on the day before we became separated in the thick forest, less than a mile apart, but unable to make contact visually, or on the radio, whose range was limited by the contours of the land.

I called out, “Orange Crate, are you on road 595?”

John replied, “Black Dog, I turned left at the 'T'.”

“There were no turns!” I said. “Where are Wayde and Jay?”

“I thought they were with you!”

Eventually we re-discovered each other, but more by accident than by design. Losing our way meant we killed some time getting back on track, rather than more unpleasant and potentially life-threatening consequences, but it created undesirable drama and heightened tensions in the group. Sitting around the campfire that night, I started hearing crazy talk about how many days remained on the trip—not a good sign!

Day 4: Logan Valley to Granite

The next morning found us full of anxiety about fording the Malheur River. Over sixty feet wide, there is usually an encampment of hecklers near the ford, waiting for intrepid travelers to demonstrate their prowess, or incompetence, at crossing the water. Fortunately, we found the flow this year to be lower than normal, which erased our worst-case fears of fishing drowned machines out of the deep. Flopping like a spawning salmon in the gravel pools, Jay took the opportunity to go for a swim, but Tom's revelation quickly shattered our relief.

“I'm done,” Tom said.

“What?” I replied, “You aren't going to cross over?”

“No, I mean, I'm done, I'm going home.”

Clearly Tom was no longer having any fun. After only four days on the road we were tired, but Tom was now on his eleventh; he had been camping and riding off-road for more than a week before he joined us at the start back in Lakeview. Examining the maps, we found the shortest way to get Tom safely back to the highway, and said our goodbyes. Without knowing how much further the rest of us could go before hitting the wall, we agreed that a taste of civilization might be reinvigorating. Heading into the mountain village of Granite, we found chow at a rustic establishment appropriately named “The Outback”, but it featured elk burgers, not steak. Although home cooking revived our spirits and resolve to continue, the capitulation to creature comforts was another foreboding sign.

The next morning the adventure ended quickly. Electrical problems overcame The Black Dog, and the engine started cutting out, losing power. Limping out onto the main gravel road, I raised the hood, looking in vain for some obvious problem to fix, while at the same time cursed modern fuel-injection engine technology. We hopelessly pulled at the wiring harness, and poked around the undercarriage. After talking over the options with Wayde and Jay, they decided to press onward, while the heroic old-school FJ40 demonstrated its mechanical superiority over the dead TJ, pulling it into town at the end of a tow strap.

John and I searched for an “expert” mechanic for the next two days, but when it became obvious that experts appeared as rarely as cell phone service in this part of Oregon, we towed the crippled Jeep home with the unstoppable Land Cruiser. Several days later, decompressing from the trip and drowning my sorrows with a few beers, I compared the cookie-crumb GPS tracks against our planned route. Analyzing the map, trying to determine why we made wrong turns, I looked for the places where poor planning added up to a second failed attempt to run the OBCDR end-to-end. Finally, I concluded that I truly did not own the route. In reality, the route owned me.

Armchair Dakar

2005-12-21T11:29:00.000-08:00

The world's ultimate off-road rally, The Dakar, starts on December 31st from Lisbon. Facilitating the ultimate fantasy of armchair adventurers, competitors will carry satellite beacons tracking their progress across the sands of Africa, their position displayed in real-time at http://www.dakar.com/.

Television coverage in the USA will be carried on OLN. American bikers in the race include:

Charlie Rauseo, Jonah Street, and Mike Krynok of Team Rally Pan America
Chris Blais and Andy Grider of Team KTM USA
Kevin Heath and James Embro
Scott Whitney and Duane McDowell of Hog Wild Racing

After last years debacle, lo-lighted by the deaths of Fabrizio Meoni and Jose Manuel Perez, expectations are high that event management will closely monitor the progress and safety of all competitors. Die-hard fans will also benefit from improved communication technology, resulting in detailed race coverage. In the past, gleaning information about riders outside of the top five was impossible. Now, we can track their whereabouts on-line, day or night. It's a little Orwellian, but for sporting purposes, addicting.

The Third Triumvirate

2005-12-19T07:53:00.000-08:00

In its annual exercise of journalistic self-indulgence, Time magazine fawns over The Gates and Bono as "Persons of the Year" in this week's issue. Combined, the trio controls or influences over $69 billion, either through endowments or debt forgiveness. This sum is greater than 167 of the 232 national GDPs ranked by the CIA World Factbook, and far exceeds the $12 billion spent on foreign aid by the US last year.

We live in amazing times when a geeky college dropout from Seattle and a rebel Irish front man can wield global political and economic clout. Pursuing personal dreams led to their apex, while many others with the means made decisions about their dreams that led down different paths. For example, Paul Allen's philanthropy has exceeded $800 million, but the public cannot avoid experiencing his indulgences on a daily basis (EMP, Seattle Seahawks, failed software companies, SpaceShipOne.) And in the pop world, look no further than Michael Jackson to see the dark side of how personal choices lead to public nightmares.

Long live the new triumvirate! And, in case you have forgotten:

The First Triumvirate: Gaius Julius Caesar, Marcus Licinius Crassus, and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus.

The Second Triumviate: Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus ("Octavian", later "Caesar Augustus"), Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Mark Antony.

Flick Of The Wrist

2005-12-17T19:59:00.000-08:00

Motorcyclists develop strong emotional attachments to their machines, developed from ritualistic polishing and waxing, or through the experience of mental transcendence gained while riding. Some owners christen their bike with pet names, establish special parking spots, or even forsake their families, spiritually and financially, in order to further their two-wheeled obsessions. With strong passion arising from relationships with iron, security, or the lack of it, is of great concern. Large sums are invested in Kryptonite cable locks and electronic alarm systems to prevent theft of loved ones.

However, most American bikers would take issue with the punishment dealt by a Nigerian Islamic court to 19 year old Lawal Usman for the crime of stealing a motorcycle from his village. In the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition of "eye for eye" (Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, Deuteronomy 19:21, Matthew 5:38), Usman is sentenced to have his right hand amputated, a common fate for those convicted of stealing in countries ruled by Islamic sharia law. You may recall back in 2003 the same enlightened Nigerian court system sentenced Amina Lawal to be stoned to death for adultery, a fate she escaped on appeal, thanks to pressure from the international community and Amnesty International.

While some would demand the death sentence for anyone caught stealing their pride and joy, amputation of the right hand, for a biker, is a fate far worse than death. Life without a throttle hand is not worth living to the seriously committed motorcyclist, even in Nigeria. Hopefully, the international community will rally against such medieval punishment practices again, the system will come to its senses, and the sentence will be reversed.

Trike Riders Sporting Chrome German Helmets

2005-12-14T10:40:00.000-08:00

The variety of subcultures in the arena of motorcycling is exceeded only by the number of Southeast Asian birds culled during an outbreak of avian flu. While cruisers, sportbikes, and standards are the usual white bread representatives of the genre, examination of the crumbs reveals a few tasty morsels of the two-wheeled underground:

Naked Bikes - Celebration of nudity has long been associated with naturists, but bikes also benefit from revealing their innards. Frequently born again from the hulks of crashed sport bikes, naked bikes have no fairing or windscreen, and blatantly display their powerplant with in-your-face attitude. Riding a naked bike pits the rider against the elements, and is exalted by its proponents as the purist form of motorcycle riding.
Rat Bikes - Developed immediately following the first motorcycle accident, rat bikes free their riders from stylistic norms imposed by the mainstream, supporting a who-gives-a-damn forum for self expression. Torn seats, bailing wire repairs, and a Frankenstein assembly of replacement parts are the usual characterstics of rat bikes.
Trikes - Imagine starting with a perfectly good $25,000 touring bike, cutting it in half, and transplanting a car-like rear axle and trunk onto the frame. If you can form that picture in your mind, you might be a trike rider. Big, heavy and with unusual handling characteristics, trikes are perfect for the rider who wants the open-air experience, without having to deal with the dynamic issues of riding, like balance.
Sidecars - Not a trike, but a motorcycle grafted to a side car, it is a subculture unto itself. Also called a sidehack, it cuts across other subcultures, as any bike can be modified to accept one. The engineering required to safely attached a sidecar is the appeal to some owners, while others to the weatherproof passenger cockpit.

Motorcycling subcultures constantly blend and divide, much like gene-shifting viruses in chicken blood. New variants are formed as quickly as others die off. No doubt someone out there is creating a Naked Rat bike with a sidecar. The only limit to this curious form of social Darwinism is the enthusiast's capacity for creativity, and the means to fund their experiments.

Peak Oil Piques Interest

2005-12-08T16:41:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, the Congressional committee on Energy and Commerce learned during a hearing entitled Understanding Peak Oil Theory that the world's supply of fossil fuel is, in fact, limited. Of course, everyone but Congress already knows this fact, and careers have been based on the concept of Peak Oil, starting with geophysicist M. King Hubbert in the 195os.

Not surprisingly, special interests in D.C. are already circling over the petro-death spiral, positioning themselves to cash in on whatever dimly-lit energy policy the government develops, since the “fix” will invariably involve spending huge amounts of money. From the ethanol lobby to the technology lobby to the drill ANWR lobby, there is a marketplace of ideas being pitched, from ubiquitous E-85 ethanol stations to hybrid long-haul trucks to oil-shale development, and future careers are being made, or broken, based on winning government funding grants.

Which brings us to the perennial loser, the American Public, a hit-and-run victim at the intersection of supply and demand. We pay a premium price for our self-serve lifestyle, not only in gas prices at the pump, but also in public debt financing for subsidized energy programs that earnestly develop unprofitable alternative energy like wind turbines and coal gasification. But, at least that's better than a future shivering in the dark.

My Wish List

2005-12-06T22:49:00.000-08:00

Asleep under a blanket of snow, my off-road adventure routes are hibernating, accessible only in my dreams. The high passes will melt out by mid-July, but are snowed in by late October. Journeys will come alive after the awakening of spring, so I have been spending the short winter days tracing electronic trails across virtual maps.

What ground should I cover next year? There is no shortage of places close to home, Rimrock Lake, Table Mountain, Van Epps Pass, and more. Further afield, classic 4x4 routes beckon, the Old Spanish Trail, the Rubicon, Moab, the list of unconquered trails goes on and on.

Facing a long planning season, followed by a short window of execution, it seems like reflection on missed off-road opportunities can last a lifetime. Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen said: “Adventure is just bad planning.” Preferring to think that adventure is in the preparation, I am discovering happiness can lie in the pursuit of the journey, not just in its realization.

Festivus Holiday Giving Jesse Christmas Tree

2005-12-03T21:29:00.000-08:00

While legions of lawyers under Jerry Falwell's spell lashed out at the "happy" holiday season, today my blended family took advantage of one of the last great deals offered by our God-willing government, a $10 permit to cut down a Christmas tree from the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Armed with a steel shovel and a sharp saw, we loaded ourselves into the Jeep, and drove east into mountains freshly packed with snow from a recent storm. Unfortunately, we found that the urban proximity of our local forest resulted in a Seattle-sized traffic jam at the tree-cutting nexus, caused by a SUV that had slipped off the slope of the road, deep in the ditch.

Since the byway was blocked, we joined the dozen people standing at the site watching many failed attempts by various good samaritans to pull the vehicle back onto the road. It was amazing to see just how badly it goes when the helpful general public attempts to emulate an experienced tow-truck driver's recovery effort. After a half hour of viewing this mismanaged entertainment, we decided to leave the show, so we turned around and made our way back home to our local Fred Meyers, where a groomed Noble fir from Molalla, Oregon, was had for $24.95 plus tax.

While disappointed did not score a kill on a wild tree this year, we still enjoyed getting out in the woods, and even managed to execute on a voluntary samaritan act of our own, pulling a careless young man with a new 4x4 out of a snowbank. Back home contemplating our farm-raised trophy, Justin observed, "a tree out the woods is good--but they usually have gaps." His comment, along with the self-serving thinking of the Falwell Pharisees reminded me of this quote by jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes: "Knowledge and timber shouldn't be much used till they are seasoned."

Mack Kamna 1966-2005

2005-12-02T09:55:00.000-08:00

I met Mack Kamna in Buffalo Bill's parking lot at a Jimmy Lewis off-road training class in November of 2003, and we instantly bonded because we both piloted KTM 640 Adventures.

Mack's enthusiasm for riding was impressive, his passion for bikes surpassing my own obsession. He discussed in great detail the complexities of installing a steering damper on the KTM, and the nuances between a TKC80 and a MT21 knobby. I also remember how conflicted he was about leaving the Northwest for Texas, but he was also optimistic that one day he would return, and ride the Cascades once again.

He taught me that if there is something you've always wanted to do, or something you've always wanted to see, try to make it happen. Life is here, today, and there is not a better time to seize the opportunity than right now. Godspeed, Mack, and when you are riding your bike in heaven, keep going just a little further, around the next bend, because you never know what you will find.

For readers looking for more information about Mack Kamna's story, see this thread started by Mack that discusses his battle with cancer, and this tribute thread that started after he died. Both threads on located on the Adventure Rider forum, to which Mack was a frequent contributor.

Update: A memorial web site has been created at http://www.mackkamna.com/

Related posts on ADVRider are:
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=240958
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=99867

Everybody's Got a Plan

2005-12-01T07:39:00.000-08:00

The reactionary release to the restless American public of the National Strategy for Victory in Iraq was the poke that awoke me to the failure of federal hyperbole. Reading through the verbose tome, I was struck by its similarities to the closer-to-home Northwest Forest Plan, the strategic guide to management of National Forests in Washington, Oregon and California. Both documents gaze through an idyllic lens at what should "be", minimizing or failing entirely to consider potential strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats.

The basic problem with government strategic plans are two-fold. First, they spend a great deal of time focusing on what the current situation on the ground is--and usually they get it wrong, because they are biased by political agendas that keep eyes closed to differing opinions and perspectives. Secondly, they paint pollyannaish pictures of the future, again with a partisan warp, with no realistic expectation of of execution, not to mention funding.

With respect to Victory in Iraq, the plan states that long-term success is realized when "Iraq is peaceful, united, stable, and secure, well integrated into the international community, and a full partner in the global war on terrorism." Is that how the government views our current "partners" like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia? Iraq as a state has always been a fabrication, first constructed by Western powers, then beaten into submission by a sadistic Sadaam.

The Northwest Forest Plan was implemented in 1994 by the Clinton administration, in part to support the holy grail of environmentalists: saving the northern spotted owl. Now, over a decade later, the population of owls continues to decline precipitously, at a rate of 7.1% in Washington State, according to the USDA Forest Service, with no end in sight. Just like President Bush's myopic management of the Iraq war, the public is urged to "stay the course", not adjust the course, and failure in execution will not be acknowledged until the ship runs aground.

If our government's best efforts cannot save a bird from extinction, how can we ever expect victory in Iraq?

Elitist Indoor Plumbing

2005-11-30T07:37:00.000-08:00

During a recent writers workshop, while critiquing a piece on adventure travel, I received two revelations about human nature, one high-minded, the other more basic.

In the first case, the binary classism of porter versus "portee" revealed itself through potty facilities. Apparently, rich Westerners who flock to Tanzania on safari enjoy "camping" from the safety of big tents with indoor toilets. For example, check out go2africa.com, which states "Sayari Camp has eight luxury tents equipped with fully en-suite bathroom facilities." The workshop instructor, who spent five years as an East Africa bush guide, confirmed the existence of privy tents for the elite, who also can enjoy high tea on the veranda overlooking the Serengeti, according to the web site. Feeling a bit lower-class, I resisted the urge to describe my weekend camping "en-suite" experience, where I went to sleep in the mud, woke up in the snow, and conducted my business in the woods.

The second case, a hypothesis which I have long posited, is that all conversations eventually lead to potty-talk. You may summarily reject the notion at first, but my experience shows that free-willed adults in any social setting, particularly one where alcohol is involved, will always circle around, then ultimately dive into turgid discourse about defecation, urination, or some sort of body fluid exchange. Afer all, it's the lowest common denominator of humankind, and if someone has not already seized it, I am sure there is grant money available to study the phenomenon.

However, even though bathroom humor embeds itself in American culture, we are losing our native instincts about evacuating outdoors. Don't let this happen to you! Instead, pick up a copy of Kathleen Meyer's excellent treatise "How to Shit in the Woods", available from Ten Speed Press, and enlighten yourself. All the diversity training in the world won't break down class barriers until us elites can respectfully squat side-by-side with the porters. Then, maybe we will have a shot at solving more dangerous problems of humankind, like poverty, disease, and hunger, perpetuated by the power relationships our have/have-not world. If nothing else, at least we will avoid peeing on our trousers!

Weekend Wheeling in Tillamook

2005-11-29T08:49:00.000-08:00

"You better come look at this," I called out. Perched atop a steep chute called "Mini-Rubicon", we contemplated a carnage-free route through the boulders. "Spot me," John said without hesitation, as he climbed back into the Cruiser. With greasy clay squinching underneath my boots, I climbed up to a vantage point, and indicated where he should place his tires. Gingerly crawling forward, the FJ40 pitched lower, squeezing past an outcropping of pointed granite, and arrived safely at the bottom of the hill.

Now it was my turn. "I don't think I should ride with you," said my nervous Dad, who was riding shotgun. "But it will be the ride of a lifetime," I replied nonchalantly, feigning ignorance of his concern. Desiring his moral support, I had expected to bypass this extreme section, but John's successful navigation set the standard high, so now there was no retreat. Peering out the windshield of my Jeep, focusing my eyes on my spotter, I never looked down at the ground, only at the finger indicating the direction to turn my steering wheel. Sliding down the chute, my initial anxiety lost hold of me as the TJ crawled lower without much calamity.

Safely at the bottom, we chatted with two stranded drivers, one with a broken Birfield, the other with a snapped stub axle yoke, savaged by their failed attempt at climbing the Mini-Rubicon. Perhaps only sixty feet long, the gnarly passage was the highlight of our wheeling weekend in the Tillamook State Forest. This OHV area, created from old skid roads and firebreaks, was not particularly challenging or interesting, but its relative proximity to Portland makes it popular. Appearing to cater to big trucks with big tires, the trails were well-groomed, but not well-engineered for short wheelbase rigs, and disappointingly, most of the difficult sections were closed for the winter season. As a destination for extreme wheeling adventure, I'd pass on these Mini-Me trails, and head down to the real Rubicon or Moab for some authentic off-road evilness. Yeah, baby, yeah!

More information on Tillamook State Forest can be found at http://www.oregon.gov/ODF/TSF/tsf.shtml

From Two Wheels to Four

2005-10-25T15:52:00.000-07:00

As John's motorcycle approached the hidden washout, a turning point in our off-road adventure travel experiences was bearing down on us. Moments earlier, holding fast to a wide-open throttle and traveling sixty miles per hour over gravel washboard, I barely cleared a deep chasm cut in the trail by a distant flash flood. The impact of this unanticipated leap bottomed out my bike's suspension and compressed my spine into the rigid sub-frame, but somehow I managed to stay upright. Immediately I turned around to warn John about the coming danger, but I knew it was probably too late to avert disaster.

Fifteen years earlier I first met John through our spouses, who were co-workers. They had determined it would be a great idea to go camping together, so we brought our motorcycles along to guarantee a fun time. “It all came together on that camping trip,” John says when discussing how he got into off-road motorcycling, “I was riding my old Honda with street tires; I didn't know about knobbies. When I rode your dirt bike, it was a real eye opener. So, I decided I needed a dirt bike too.” Of course nobody really “needs” a dirt bike; at least not until you leap from the crest of a sand dune or try to surmount an impossibly vertical hill climb with the wrong equipment. Then “need” becomes more obvious. John continues, “I didn't have a clue what to buy. In fact I bought the first bike I looked at, mostly because it was nearby and the price was right. It had enough power to lift the front wheel off the ground, but I didn't notice the fender was hanging from a wire.”

The McGyvered bike quickly propelled John into the off-road world. “I took it out to an old gun range to see what it would do,” he continues, “it was a very fateful time. I didn't know the area very well so I rode up to a guy wearing a green riding suit unloading a brand new Kawasaki and asked 'where do you go riding?' He said 'follow me.' So we hit this trail which went down, down, down into a wet slimy hole. Then he goes up over this wet slimy hill. I went up it about thirty feet, fell down and he was gone. So I'm thinking I'm going to have to hike out, leave my bike here and I'm never going to see it again. Well, about ten minutes later Mr. Green Suit comes back, takes his helmet off says 'Hi, I am Ed, I just wanted to see what you could do with that thing.'”

John, Ed and I rode dirt bikes together for many years after those initial encounters and formed a common thread of adventure experiences. We explored mountain ridges, lowland forests and the high desert on our bikes. We camped with our families, ran poker runs in the rain, introduced our kids to dirt bikes, and never failed to have at least one epic ride per season that we talked about for years afterward. Other riding buddies came and went, but our trio always survived.

When John careened into the desert washout and flew like Superman through the sagebrush, I was not overly concerned about how bad his injuries were going to be, nor how to deal with the challenge of a medical evacuation out in the wasteland. Those problems I could handle. Rather, what frightened me most about his spectacular get-off was the prospect of an identity crisis, as I knew this was probably going to be John's last ride.

“I wasn't really done after I fractured my pelvis in Nevada, somehow I was up and walking less than a week later” he says. It was not until a year later, when his son crashed in the woods, that John had the epiphany I was expecting. He says, “At the hospital the technician let me look at the X-rays and even to a layperson it was obvious the bone was badly broken. I knew it was over then. There were too many people getting hurt.” So John quit riding and sold his bikes. It really was over. Ed and I rode together a few times after that, but the equilibrium we enjoyed when the three of us rode together was lost forever.

Soon John started brainstorming about how to stay involved in adventure travel and the off-road scene without more medical misfortunes. He says, “I started looking at Jeeps and definitely liked the convertible aspect and the security of four wheels. My problem is that I get real impatient, when I want something I want it now.” John impulsively bid on an old Toyota Land Cruiser listed on E-bay and says, “I didn’t know what I wanted or know anything about Land Cruisers, but the pictures looked good, so I bought it. The seller said it was nicely detailed but to this day I don't know what that meant.”

Once delivery of the less-than-detailed Cruiser was secured, John took me out on trail runs and occasionally let me have the wheel. It was fun to wrestle the heavy machine through the mud and rocks, but I did not see myself replacing two wheels with four. What I loved about riding bikes, the finesse of harnessing speed, balance and traction, was not there for me when driving a 4x4 rig. But I was happy that John found a way to keep his off-road adventure travel experiences going. He says, “I had no idea the Land Cruiser was going to satisfy my need for speed; that was a totally unexpected benefit. Compared to bikes, it is inherently safer, but I know eventually I am going to put it on its side. However, I envision it being a slow motion event. Also, camping is more luxurious now. I can carry more gear and a cooler. Plus, when I get up in the morning, I'm not sore from the previous day's riding.”

So now we are back at it again, planning our next off-road adventure. I soon bought a Jeep on E-bay myself on impulse (I still have my bikes), rationalizing the purchase with impractical notions of engaging the whole family in off-road adventures. Plus, I can appreciate the benefits of being able to carry more gear and enjoy “luxury” camping. As we pore over the route maps, envisioning passages across the desert, I reflect on that fateful day when John when crashed. Maybe we should start slowing down – just a little bit. But speed's siren call is hard to resist. Or as John puts it in more practical terms, “I have a serious problem staying off the throttle. I can't just plunk along.”

Cascade Gravel Travel 3

2005-10-03T14:24:00.000-07:00

Many routes crossing the mountain ranges in Washington State had humble beginnings as native trails, wagon roads and stagecoach lines. In the fall of 1853, the Longmire party of settlers blazed an early wagon route across the mountains via Naches Pass near Mt. Rainier. In the 1860's the trail over Snoqualmie Pass became a little more civilized with the development of a wagon road by Arthur Denny and other Seattle pioneers. Near the turn of century the legislature authorized one of of the first state highways which followed portions of the Cascade Wagon Road from Marblemount to Stehekin in the North Cascades.

Today, some of these old wagon roads are still available for the adventure rider to discover. The Naches Pass wagon trail has evolved into a popular 4x4 and off-road motorcycle route managed by the US Forest Service. The Snoqualmie Pass wagon road is accessible from the Denny Creek road near Interstate 90 and was described in the August issue of SoundRIDER! The Cascade Wagon Road, now ensconsed in the North Cascades National Park, can be re-discovered on the west side by following Cascade Road out of Marblemount and on the east side via the upper Stehekin Valley Road. Unfortunately there are no roads to Stehekin.

In this continuing series of articles, I will illuminate some back road byways and off-pavement diversions hidden in the forests of the Cascade Mountains. You will discover there are alternatives to droning along with the SUV clones on the superslab. These sections can be used in two different ways: first, you can use them as a quick diversion to spend a few miles off the highway or to bypass a traffic jam, then rejoin the highway for the rest of your trip, or second, you can put the described sections together into a true adventure Gelandestrasse tour and just use the highway to connect sections together as needed.

The US-97 Corridor - Between Wenatchee and Yakima:

Colockum Road

With its modern roots going back to the 1880's, Colockum Road between Wenatchee and Ellensburg was part of a larger system of routes in the Northwest linking California with British Columbia. It was an important cattle drive route connecting with the Caribou trail which came north from The Dalles, Oregon. In earlier times, the Colockum area was used by Native Americans as a rendezvous point and an Indian race track is still visible. Today much of the land is managed by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as a wildlife area. The road traverses Colockum Pass at 5373 feet.

Directions:

Northbound: From downtown Ellensburg, go east on University Way which continues as 10th Avenue and then continues as the Old Vantage Highway. Turn left onto Number 81 Road, then right onto Brick Mill Road, then left onto Colockum Road. Continue to Colockum Pass and Wenatchee.

Southbound: From downtown Wenatchee, go south on Wenatchee Avenue which continues as Malaga Road and then continues as Colockum Road. Continue past the large aluminum plant and Rock Island Dam along the Columbia River. At a fork in the road just before crossing under high tension powerlines, bear to the right. There is an information kiosk here. Continue up to Colockum Pass and Ellensburg.

Road Type: Pavement, dirt, gravel, broken rock, rip-rap. This route is very rough in some sections and rather hard on tires so bring your flat fix kit and air pump. As you bounce across the summit imagine stagecoaches clattering across these rocks!

Old Blewett Pass

This wagon road was developed during the Swauk gold rush of the 1870s. It was the main road between the mining camps at Swauk creek and Peshastin creek. Named after the Blewett Mining company, there was once a lodge on top of the pass. Now the 4061 foot summit is only marked by a small sign.

Later this route was improved to become part of the Sunset Highway, US-10. Because of the serious switchbacks and sharp curves the highway was relocated to Swauk Pass in the 1950s . The name Swauk never took hold with the public and the new highway was still called Blewett Pass. Eventually the Department of Transportion officially renamed Swauk Pass as Blewett Pass and the old road was called "Old Blewett Pass." The old highway is now managed as a single lane US Forest Service road. The pavement is rapidly deteroriating but some of the old lane markings are still present and it is a good example of road engineering from the 1920's.

Directions:

Northbound: On US-97 about three miles north of Mineral Springs turn left turn onto Old Blewett Pass Highway. Follow the pavement and continue over Old Blewett Pass to rejoin US-97.

Southbound: From the US-97 and US-2 junction, go 12.5 miles south, take a right turn onto Old Blewett Pass Highway. This is an easy turn to miss, it is just before a eastward bend in the main highway and about 2 miles south of the old townsite of Blewett. Follow the pavement and continue over Old Blewett Pass to rejoin US-97.

Road Type: Broken asphalt pavement with rocks and gravel on the road.

Durr Road

Jacob Durr constructed the Durr Wagon Road from Ellensburg to Selah crossing Umptanum Ridge and Creek. Completed in 1888 it was proclaimed to be the "shortest route to the Kittitas Valley." This rutted route traverses the LT Murray Wildlife area and there are plenty of opportunities for viewing big game, birds and rattlesnakes. Legend has it that Jacob Durr drowned in the Columbia River under mysterious circumstances. Perhaps a disgruntled stagecoach passenger did not like this road so much!

Directions:

Northbound: From Selah, go north on N. Wenas Ave., which continues as Wenas Rd. Turn right onto Sheep Company Road and then continue on Old Durr Road. Continue north to Umptanum Ridge and Ellensburg.

Southbound: From Ellensburg, go south on Main Street which continues as South Canyon Road. Turn right on Umptanum Road Continue on Umptanum Road as it curves south. Once you enter the canyon and start climbing the hills, watch for the Old Durr Road turnoff on your left. Continue south on Durr Road to Umptanum Ridge and Selah.

Road Type: Dirt, gravel, and loose rock, one small creek crossing. The grades over Umptanum Ridge and the deep ruts are challenging.

Useful resources for this area:

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Washington Department of Natural Resources
Kittitas County Road Atlas/GIS
Wenatchee National Forest

Until next time, get out there and get your adventure bike dirty!

Find more adventures at: Gravel Travel 1 and Gravel Travel 2

DISCLAIMER: Routes described herein traverse public roads and may be primitive single lane roads with minimal or no warning signs. You will experience varying road surfaces ranging from broken asphalt to groomed gravel to rough dirt. Road and weather conditions can change at any time without notice, so check with the appropriate travel authorities for current conditions. You are responsible for your own safety.

Adventure Motorcycle Riders Avoid Killer Rockslide

2005-09-13T17:02:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, September 11th, the westbound lanes of Interstate 90 were closed by a deadly rockslide that fell onto the road a few miles west of Snoqualmie Pass. Three people in one vehicle were crushed under tons of tumbling granite. This unstable area along the freeway is know as Slope 604 to the Washington Department of Transportation. Reports indicate that 300 cubic yards of rock slide about 70 feet to the pavement.

The ensuing traffic jam shut down westbound progress on I-90 for over twelve hours. Adventure motorycle riders participating in the annual Touratech-USA GPS Ride found their route home blocked. Fortunately many of those adventure motorcycle riders were aware of the alternate routes to I-90 highlighted in my articles Gravel Travel 1 and Gravel Travel 2, easily bypassing the blockage using forest roads.

A subsequent slide occurred in the same area on Monday, September 12th. According to WSDOT, a boulder rolled onto the shoulder of the freeway. Luckily, no injuries occurred during this event. A major construction project is now underway to shore up the sliding area of Slope 604. This will have an impact traffic because the two right lanes will be closed, so be sure you keep your Gravel Travel alternate routes in mind when traveling in this area.

Motorcycle Usage to Increase?

2005-09-04T12:15:00.000-07:00

Recently, the price of gasoline has replaced the weather as the great social gathering ice breaker subject. One way to manage your use of expensive fossil fuel is to ride your motorcycle to work instead of driving. Motorcycles by their lightweight nature enjoy better gas mileage than four wheeled vehicles, although they usually are not purchased with their MPG in mind. No official EPA testing is done on motorcycles as is done with cars, so it is difficult to make objective comparisons between the two.

The downside of motorcycles are not only the obvious, like safety and weather, but also hidden maintenance. Tires do not last long on a motorcycle, certainly no more than 10,000 miles in the best of cases. Motorcycles can be maintenance intensive, requiring exotic procedures such as valve adjustments and carburetor synchronization that few automobiles require.

Examining the federal General Service Administration's reimbursement guidelines for use of personal owned vehicles gives some measure of the potential savings in operating costs. For 2005, the official expense reimbursement rate for POV's is $0.405 for automobiles and $0.305 for motorcycles. Using this benchmark, motorcycles presumably are 25% cheaper to operate than automobiles, all other things being equal.

Another data point are the statistics gathered by the Ride Your Motorcle To Work organization. Their 2005 fact sheet states the following regarding fuel consumption of motorcycles as compared to other vehicles:

Motorcycles 191 million gallons (50.1 avg mpg x 1,800 miles per year per motorcycle)
Passenger Cars 74,590 million gallons (22.3 avg mpg x 13,000 miles per year per car)
Light Truck/SUV 56,302 million gallons (17.7 avg mpg x 13,000 miles per year per Lt Trk / SUV)

Other stated benefits of riding your motorcycle to work include reduced congestion, higher density parking, and potentially reduced emissions. Motorcycle engines are much smaller than car engines.

Then there is just plain old anecdotal evidence that motorcycles are a viable transportation alternative in these days of $3 per gallon gasoline. At the North Bend Library I saw an old Motobecane moped parked in the bike rack that had a note from the owner posted on it saying "this vehicle gets 200 MPG, what's your excuse?" Okay, maybe I'm not yet ready to ride a moped route on my next trip to Alaska, but I am surely going to be riding my motorcycle more frequently than ever before, and that can't be a bad thing!

Article Published

2005-08-09T12:25:00.000-07:00

Today I had my first commercial article published in SoundRIDER! magazine which is an online motorcycle magazine oriented towards Puget Sound area motorcyclists. It describes itself as: "A comprehensive look at motorcycling in the Puget Sound with monthly features about rides, events, dealers, safety, clubs and new machines. On-line classifieds, events listings and live weather reports make this the only stop a Northwest motorcyclists needs to plan their next ride."

My article is called "Gravel Travel" and it is the first in a series in which I will illuminate some back road byways and off-pavement diversions hidden in the forests of the Cascade Mountains. Please check out my article today at www.soundrider.com and check back next month for the rest of the series. I am also posting the series on my blog, so you can read the draft of Gravel Travel 2 here before it gets published at SoundRIDER! It is the start of a good thing for me and has been a long time coming, so I am very excited about this event.

Cascade Gravel Travel 2

2005-08-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

The quote “Go west, young man”, wrongly attributed to Horace Greeley, implies romantic adventure and exciting opportunity lie in the direction of the setting sun. Perhaps true in the eras of Manifest Destiny and westward expansion, when wagon trails were the superhighways and choosing the correct route was the difference between life and death. Today however, going west is all wrong for the adventure rider based out of the Puget Sound region. East of the Cascade crest, young rider and dear reader, is where the adventure really begins. The further east you go, the more the population density decreases and the more forest road network increases. These are the roads to seek where taking the correct route is usually not the direct one.

As adventure riders, we are not satisfied with the safe and sane green dot scenic highway routes adorning our official Washington State transportation system map. We expect more from our riding experience than knowing that the next Denny’s or Super 8 Motel is just around the corner. We want a route somewhat less “civilized.” Fortunately, a casual inspection of any good back-road atlas hints at the possibilities left behind by our timber legacy: countless miles of forest road constructed to extract natural resources. With resource extraction now a relatively minor interest, the forest and back roads have become a new recreational paradise for the adventure rider. They beckon to those of us who have the desire and skill to occasionally leave the pavement behind and take the long way around.

In this series of articles, I will illuminate some back road byways and off-pavement diversions hidden in the forests of the Cascade Mountains. You will discover there are alternatives to droning along with the SUV clones on the superslab. These sections can be used in two different ways: first, you can use them as a quick diversion to spend a few miles off the highway or to bypass a traffic jam, then rejoin the highway for the rest of your trip, or second, you can put the described sections together into a true adventure Gelandestrasse tour and just use the highway to connect sections together as needed.

The I-90 Corridor - between Snoqualmie Pass and Cle Elum

Rocky Run Road: Forest Service road 4832, also known as Rocky Run, runs above I-90 on Kachess Ridge on the east side of Keechulus Lake. It extends from Hyak to the Kachess Lake road. This route is a welcome relief from one of the poorer sections of I-90 pavement that is due to be reconstructed in the next few years. Therefore, you may find this section very useful to bypass the roadwork project and its inevitable brutal backups and orange barrels. This is also a great route for fall foilage viewing and has some magnificient vistas of Keechulus lake.

Directions: Eastbound take exit 54 off I-90, turn left at the stop sign, go under the freeway, then turn right at the first opportunity. Continue onto single lane pavement, then a groomed gravel road to Kachess Lake road where you can either turn right and rejoin I-90 at exit 62, or turn left and continue on the Via Kachess route described below. Westbound take exit 62 off I-90, turn right then take the a left at the first opportunity onto Forest Service road 4832. Rejoin I-90 on Exit 54 at Hyak or continue to SR-906 to the Central Snoqualime Summit area.

Road Type: Single lane pavement and groomed gravel. The gravel road has some sections of severe washboard. There are private homes near the Kachess Lake road so keep watch for local traffic.

Via Kachess: Forest Service road 4828 begins at the end of Via Kachess Road and parallels Kachess Lake in a southeasterly direction, taking you all the way to Sparks Road in Easton. This is a secondary dirt road with creek crossings and is not well maintained. It presents a challenge for the more hardcore adventure rider. There are several spurs off road 4828 that you can explore as well.

Directions: Eastbound follow Kachess Lake road (exit 62 off I-90) towards Kachess Lake. Turn right onto Via Kachess Road, which is a paved county road. Follow it to the end, and you will find the beginning of Forest Service road 4828. Continue on it all the way to Sparks Road in Easton where you can rejoin I-90. Westbound take Exit 70 at Easton off I-90, turn right and then left onto West Sparks road. Continue until the pavement ends where you will pick up the start of Forest Service road 4828. Follow it to pavement at Via Kachess Road, turn left onto Kachess Lake road, and rejoin I-90 at exit 62, or continue to Hyak on Forest Service road 4832 as described above.

Road Type: Kachess Lake road and Via Kachess road are paved county roads. Via Kachess road has many private lakefront homes, so use caution as there is much pedestrian traffic. Forest Service road 4828 is a secondary dirt road and can be rough and muddy after winter snow melt. There are two small creek crossings to contend with.

Cabin Creek Road to Easton via 4823: Forest road 4823 runs parallel to I-90 and the Yakima River for several miles and provides an alternative to the Via Kachess route described above. At the eastern terminus of 4823, there is a dirt route to Easton via a minor spur road.

Directions: Eastbound take exit 63 off I-90, turn right at the stop sign and continue on Forest Service road 4823 almost to its end at the Yakima River (some maps show the road crossing the river, but it doesn’t.) At four miles, turn left onto spur road 114. Go under the power lines and bear right at the junction. Stay on the main road which will run into West Sparks Road. Turn right, and rejoin I-90 at exit 72 in Easton. Westbound take exit 72 off I-90 in Easton, turn right off the exit then immediately left at the “T” onto West Sparks Road. At x.y miles, just before the pavement ends, turn left onto a unsigned road and go under the freeway. At the “Y” bear right and continue following the forest road. At the junction, bear left. Go under the power lines. The road will end at a “T” with forest road 4823. Turn right onto forest road and rejoin I-90 at exit 63 (Cabin Creek).

Road Type: Rough dirt road with rocks and groomed gravel.

West Nelson Siding Road/West Side Road: While not off-pavement, these county roads provide a useful and scenic alternative to the never ending congestion on I-90. By utilizing this section you can bypass the freeway entirely from West Nelson Siding (exit 74) all the way to Cle Elum . You will pass through historic railroad sites of Nelson Siding and South Cle Elum. Well worth making a stop at is the old railroad power plant for the electrified but now defunct Milwaukee Road rail facilities in South Cle Elum. It is being restored and eventually will be a railroad museum.

Directions: Eastbound take exit 74 off I-90, turn right at the stop sign and continue on West Nelson Siding Road. Turn right onto Westside road and continue to South Cle Elum and Cle Elum. Rejoin to I-90 in Cle Elum. Westbound from downtown Cle Elum on Main Street, turn left onto S. Cle Elum Way which goes under the freeway and crosses the Yakima River to become 4th Street. Turn right on Madison Street then left on 6th Street and continue onto West Side Road. Turn left on West Nelson Siding road, rejoining I-90 at exit 74.

Road Type: Standard two lane pavement county road.

Useful resources for this area:

Wenatchee National Forest
Kittitas County GIS (detailed maps)
Easton Gas RV Turtle Town - Easton, I-90 exit 72.
Milwaukee Road’s South Cle Elum Restoration Project

I hope this article illustrates some easy ways to get a taste what is out there for the adventure rider will to take the long way around. In future articles I will cover the areas:

SR-410 Corridor - Enumclaw to Naches
US-97 Corridor - Cashmere to Yakima
US-2 Corridor - Sultan to Cashmere

Until next time, get out there and get your adventure bike dirty.

Find more adventures at: Gravel Travel 1

DISCLAIMER: Routes described herein traverse public roads and may be primitive single lane roads with minimal or no warning signs. You will experience varying road surfaces ranging from broken asphalt to groomed gravel to rough dirt. Road and weather conditions can change at any time without notice, so check with the appropriate travel authorities for current conditions. You are responsible for your own safety.

Soaking it all in at Goldmyer Hot Springs

2005-08-04T15:39:00.001-07:00

Goldmyer Hot Springs is a soaker seeker's paradise hidden in the Cascade Mountains just 25 miles northeast of North Bend, Washington. Practically in my back yard, it is my privilege and obligation to visit the hot springs often. One of the most beautiful natural settings that I have ever come across in my travels, the hot springs complex is nestled into a rock outcropping along a roaring tumbling Burnboot Creek in the upper Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Valley. Noted for its wilderness and primitive character, Goldmyer is well positioned to preserve this aura, as it is right next door to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area.

This week Jina and I devoted a day to refresh ourselves and our spirit by making the trek to the springs. Part of the allure of Goldmyer is the difficulty in getting there. You must drive approximately 20 miles of unpaved forest road with surface conditions ranging from gravel to broken rock to mud slurry. The road starts out simple enough with groomed gravel, easily passable by your standard passenger vehicle. But, it just gets worse and worse, until the final few miles which require a high clearance 4x4 vehicle. That journey merely brings you to a point where you can park on the opposing side of the river from the springs, as there is no bridge to take you across. After all that pounding on you and your vehicle, you aren't there yet! From this "trailhead" you ford on foot across the icy Snoqualmie River that ranges in depth from knee deep to waist deep to impassable depending on the season and snowmelt. Fortunately, in August the water was fairly tame, but freezing cold nonetheless. Once you are across the river it is about a quarter mile hike to the caretaker's cabin where you register, sign your life away, absolve everyone of liability and responsibility, listen to the spiel about "the rules", then hike another half mile to the springs themselves. By the time you arrive at the steaming hot pots you are more than ready to jump in, clothing optional.

The main hot springs complex consist of three major pools: the lower pool is the coolest and large enough for six people, the middle pool a bit warmer with room for two, and the source pool is cut back twenty feet into solid rock creating a cave-like environment steaming full of 110 degree water. Sitting at the very back of the cave pool you experience both hot spring waters and a sauna like atmosphere, the sulfurous hot water heating the trapped air and surrounding rocks. We call this pool the lobster pot for obvious reasons. There is also a small cooling pool for the true polar bears or those who just like to shock the systems.

Such a soaking paradise is of course not without complications, bureaucracy, and well-meaning people wanting to "fix" things. The US Forest Serice, who manages the roads in the area, has a plan in the works to change the access to Goldmyer. When implemented, the plan will make the springs less accessible by vehicles and more appropriate for hikers and equestrians. Sometime in late 2006, a gate will be installed on the road near Dingford Falls, five miles short of the river ford, resulting in a five mile hike or horseback ride from the gate to the springs. Users will not be allowed to bring vehicles past the gate. Also, a footbridge will be installed at the current river crossing. There are all kinds of literate intelligent people who can tell you why this is a good thing, but for me it feels like governmental micro-managment and socialistic do-gooderism, so I am not embracing this change. If you think like me and would rather have a rough off-pavement river-fording adventure trek experience than hike up a groomed trail with a nice pleasant footbridge to get to a very special piece of nature's paradise, make a reservation today by calling (206) 789-5631 ($12 per person) and get up to Goldmyer Hot Springs. You will soak your worldly worries away!

Trail Bike Riding on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest

2005-07-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

From North Bend it is 114 miles to Randle via Hwy 18 to Auburn, 167 to Puyallup, 161 and 7 to Morton, then US-12 to Randle. Early Sunday morning there was no traffic, so it was a real thrill to carve through the canyons in my F-250. Leaving my house at 6:45 am, I reached Randle around 9 am and met up with everyone at the cafe, which has a name but I can never remember it, so I refer to it as the Randle Café.

We had a good full breakfast during which we covered topics like diesel motorcycles, mountain bikes, and whether or not Dan was obsessed with building a hangar in his backyard. Then we headed up FR-23 towards the Blue Lake ORV Trailhead. After suiting up and hitting the trail, our group headed off in different directions, not by design. I headed east up to Blue Lake, while Terry and Uli headed south on the Valley Trail - that first intersection always seems to do us in, as the signage is very confusing - it points left to Blue Lake, and right to Blue Lake trail - and both are technically correct.

After a little backtracking and re-grouping we all found each other again and proceeded up to Blue Lake and then the Bishop Ridge trail (272, 271), headed south towards Cat Creek. Trail conditions were good, a little dusty but with spacing we managed alright, except for one brief encounter with an ATV that was hogging the trail.

As we started the descent down towards Cat Creek, I had a get-off when I was watching the scenery instead of the trail and my front tire washed out. I impacted the ground with my head and shoulders and was a bit shaken up, but Terry helped me pick up the pieces and got me back on the trail again. Note to self: when riding single track, if you want to sight-see, it is OK to stop.

We headed up trail 118 to Hamilton Butte to see what was tantalizingly marked on the map as a "viewpoint." The trail was a great climb and went up and up and up, and just when you thought it couldn't go up any more, we hit the last few hundred yards of switchbacks that really challenged us to get to the top. It was worth the climb because at the top of the butte we enjoyed at a 360 degree panoramic view of Mt. Rainier, Adams, St. Helens, and the Goat Rocks. It was fantastic!

The bugs soon chased us off the peak, so we headed back north, got on the 276 trail, then dropped into one valley then back up to the top of the ridge and we headed north on the Bishop Ridge trail (272) again. We passed by the rocky slide area where mountain goats were spotted on last year's October GP epic ride, but none were seen today, but we did spot signs of human droppings, someone had left a tarp behind. Elk tracks were plentiful on the trail, but no actual sightings of the great beasts.

Another seven miles brought us back down to FR-23. Originally we though we might take a loop up to Tongue Mtn., but by now it was 4 pm and we were getting tired so we decided we'd had enough, so in short order we blasted back to the trucks on the Valley Trail (270) and did one little section of pavement at the end so we could say we were officially "dual-sporting."

It was a great ride and we just touched the surface of the trails at the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. It is amazing there are so few riders on these trails - other than the errant ATV, we only came across two other groups of riders. There is plenty more trail out there that we never seem to cover, so let's try to get another ride in before the season ends!

Life Lessons: Follow your dreams

2005-07-24T09:33:00.000-07:00

My friend Bruce Galbraith died on July 11th, 2005. The legacy he left included his Life Lessons which he wrote himself. I remember that Bruce would often refer to them to see how he was doing. Jina and I attend his memorial in Yakima on July 22nd and the lessons were printed in the program. I now share them with you here:

When you drive a forest road or hike a mountain trail, keep going a little further, around just one more bend. You never know what you might find.
Family comes first. Time spent with family and friends is the greatest investment.
Be a good steward of the blessings God has given you. Live beneath your means.
Work to live, don't live to work. Find what you love to do and do it with all of your heart.
The world is full of obligations, expectations, and opinions. Listen to God's direction. Do what you know is right. Be a person of integrity.
Be grateful for the little things. Don't take anything for granted.
Is there something you've always wanted to do? Someplace you've always wanted to see? Make it happen. There is no better time than now.

I can deeply connect with each of these life lessons and want to adopt them for myself as a small way of memorializing and maintaining Bruce's legacy. Check in with me once in a while to see how I am doing with following my dreams...

Six Pass Blast-Adventure Edition

2005-07-21T08:58:00.000-07:00

Pre-running the upcoming Sound Rider dual sport event sparked the though I should create a Six Pass Blast-Adventure Edition. The 3 Pass Blast sponsored by Sound Rider is a poker run type event for street bikes that crosses Snoqualmie, Stevens, and Blewett passes. The rider tries to travel the route in an ideal time recorded through gas station receipts at specific locations.

For the more extreme rider a variation would be a Six Pass Blast that would traverse several Cascade passes accessible only by gravel roads. Oriented towards the dual sport adventure rider the route would encompass traveling over some or all of the following: Stampede, Meadow, Green, Tacoma, Pyramid and Haller passes. All of these are accessible from either the I-90 or SR-410 corridors, the challenge will be to create a route to link them together in a reasonable and interesting way. I guess it is time to fire up the mapping software and work it out. Stay tuned for the results!

Cascade Gravel Travel 1

2005-07-20T09:31:00.000-07:00

Any adventure rider that has ridden the 3 Pass Blast or wandered their way to Winthrop has experienced the awesome broken beauty of the Cascade Mountains. However, after a few trips through the mountains, the perceptive adventure rider quickly arrives at the conclusion that civil engineers who designed paved highways over the Cascade Range took the easiest possible routes by following deep river valleys through the foothills and only climbing over the crest at the last possible moment with the least possible grade.

As adventure riders, we expect more from our riding experience in the Cascades than just crossing passes as smoothly and efficiently as possible. We want a route somewhat less "civilized." Fortunately, a casual inspection of any good back-road atlas hints at the possibilities left behind by our timber legacy: countless miles of forest road constructed to extract natural resources. With resource extraction now a relatively minor interest, the forest and back roads have become a new recreational paradise for the adventure rider. They beckon to those of us who have the desire and skill to occasionally leave the pavement behind and take the long way around.

In this series of articles, I will illuminate some back road byways and off-pavement diversions hidden in the forests of the Cascade Mountains. You will discover there are alternatives to droning along with the SUV clones on the superslab. These sections can be used in two different ways: first, you can use them as a quick diversion to spend a few miles off the highway or to bypass a traffic jam, then rejoin the highway for the rest of your trip, or second, you can put the described sections together into a true adventure Gelandestrasse tour and just use the highway to connect sections together as needed.

DISCLAIMER: Routes described herein traverse public roads and may be primitive single lane roads with minimal or no warning signs. You will experience varying road surfaces ranging from broken asphalt to groomed gravel to rough dirt. Road and weather conditions can change at any time without notice, so check with the appropriate travel authorities for current conditions. You are responsible for your own safety.

The I-90 Corridor - between North Bend and Snoqualmie Pass

Old Sunset Highway: There is a two mile section of the old Sunset Highway, US-10, that still exists and was bypassed by Interstate 90 in 1976. It passes by Olallie State Park where you will find an open picnic area alongside the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River. The old cement sections of highway pavement are very obvious here. You will also find the Twin Falls trailhead, where a one mile stroll brings you upon 100' falls amid old growth forest. The romping and roaring of rushing waters rivals that of the nearby freeway.

Directions: Eastbound take Exit 38 off I-90, and turn right at the stop sign. Westbound, take Exit 38 off I-90 and turn left at the stop sign. Either direction, you will rejoin I-90 to continue on your journey.

Road Type: Pavement, rough in places, watch out for gravel on the road.

Tinkham Road: Forest road 55 parallels I-90 on the south side of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River for a bit over 5 miles between Exit 42 and Exit 47. This road is named for railroad surveyor Abiel Tinkham who worked this area. It is a fairly straight and fast route for a gravel road. There are two very civilized and concreted creek crossings that permit you to get your tires wet, particularly during early summer snow-melt season. You will pass by Tinkham campground which has access to the river and primitive camping.

Directions: Eastbound take Exit 42 off I-90, turn right at the stop sign, follow the mainline road for 5.5 miles, then turn left onto the pavement to rejoin I-90 at Exit 47 (or continue to Denny Creek Road described below.) Westbound take Exit 47 off I-90, turn left at the stop sign and cross the freeway, turn right at the "T" onto Tinkham road, then rejoin I-90 at Exit 42. If you need fresh water or restrooms, stop at the Asahel Curtis day use area.

Road Type: Gravel forest road with pervasive potholes and two minor seasonal creek crossings.

Denny Creek Road: Forest road 58 is best known for its twisty section reminiscient of the Italian Alps. From just above the Denny Creek campground to just below Snoqualmie pass the road features more than 25 turns, with four 180 degree hairpins. It is a "must" for any self-respecting knee-dragging floorboard-scraping motorcycle rider. Keep your speed down through here though as there is significant pedestrian traffic near the campground and trailheads. You can also stop and view the remnants of the old Snoqualmie Pass wagon trail near Franklin Falls and ponder the stout nature of the souls who traveled this grade with horse drawn wagons in the 1860's. Gelandestrasse indeed!

Directions: Eastbound take Exit 47 off I-90, turn left at the stop sign, go across freeway, at the "T" turn right, go about 1/4 mile, then turn left onto Denny Creek road. Continue to the top of Snoqualmie Pass where you can rejoin I-90. Westbound take Exit 53 off I-90, turn left at the stop sign, then right at the stop sign onto SR-906. Follow it towards Alpental road, crossing under the freeway. Continue straight downhill onto Forest road 58 (do not turn right towards Alpental.)

Road Type: Paved single lane forest road, watch for gravel in the corners and rocks on the upper section. There also will be sand on the road where it passes under the freeway. Very busy on the weekends, watch for pedestrians near the campground and trailheads.

Useful resources for this area:

Washington State Parks - Ollalie State Park & Twin Falls
Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
Summit Deli & Chevron Gas - Snoqualmie Pass, SR-906

The Oregon Backcountry Discovery Route

2005-07-20T08:55:00.000-07:00

The Oregon Backcountry Discovery Route is an adventure journey through the forested mountain ranges and sagebrush flats of Eastern Oregon. Created by the Oregon Off-Highway Vehicle Association it traverses public roads and lands and is intended for high clearance 4x4 vehicles or dual-sport off-road oriented motorcycles. The OBDR is over 750 miles and at a minimum you should expect to take at least five days to explore the primary route. Detailed map books are available for purchase from the OOHVA and electronic GPS routes can be purchased on CD from TrekNOW. I highly recommend getting both.

While on the OBDR you will be far from the services and products you take for granted each day. Cellular phone service cannot be relied upon and forget about Internet access. Food services are limited. Just obtaining gasoline enroute is a major concern. You need to be truly independent, prepared and self-reliant to undertake this journey. In some locations on the route, if you breakdown or get hurt, you may as well be on the moon! Click here to read more about my experience on the OBDR.

TOP 10 TIPS FOR RIDING THE OBDR IN 2005

#10: Bring sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses, and tinted goggles or a tinted visor. Much of the time you will be above 4000 feet and the sun is intense during the summer days, especially in the desert sections and above the treeline. Bring a pair of clear goggles or a clear visor because tinted ones don’t work so well at night.

#9: You will be sore from riding all day and your behind will be angry with you. Bring ibuprofen, desitin, anti-monkey butt powder, gel pad seats, silk underwear, adult diapers, inflatable donuts, whiskey, preparation-H or whatever works for you and your pain.

"I have never been lost, but will admit to having been confused for a few weeks" - Daniel Boone

#8: Use the "leapfrog" technique to avoid getting lost and separated while en route. At a turn or junction, the first rider should stop and wait until the second rider approaches. When and only when the second rider acknowledges the first rider (with a thumbs up or some other positive signal) then and only then the first rider should continue en route. The second rider then waits for third rider and repeats the process, etc, through the last rider. As you are traveling, if you see a minor side road branching off to the left or right, but no one is waiting there for you, assume that you continue on the straightest most obvious route possible. Riders should only wait for following riders at turns where you are changing roads, major junctions, dangerous spots (a washout) or places where the correct route is not obvious. If you truly get lost, don't ride around looking for the rest of the party, you'll just waste gas and energy and you won't find anything because you are lost! Instead, just retrace your GPS track back to the point or turn where you last acknowledged someone and wait there. Stay in the shade, drink some water, trying calling on the radio if you have one. Relax. Your group will come back and find you.

"It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves" - Sir Edmund Hillary

#7: Can't we just all get along? After a few days out on the OBDR the fever might hit you when you least expect it. Tempers will flare. Personalities will clash. Equipment will break. Little mistakes will add up to big ones. You will be tired, hot, smelly, and the Outback steakhouse will start to sound real good. You might start to miss your home life and even work too! Traveling the OBDR should not be an ordeal. If it becomes one, you need to stop and take a personal assessment of your own situation, go meditate on top of a mountain, take a soak or go for a swim, talk it over with yourself or the group. Make the time to call home and see what's going on. Then use your best judgement to make good smart decisions and act on them. The beauty of the OBDR route is that you are always a day's ride from home, and yes, you can come back next year.

"Knowledge and timber shouldn't be much used till they are seasoned." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

#6: If the shit hits the fan, you don't want to be guessing about emergency contact info. Here is what you need to know, because 911 will not work in many locations on the OBDR.. And unless your cell phone still has old-school analog built in (i.e. older Verizon or Sprint phones), don't count on having wireless service as much of rural eastern Oregon is still analog. In your wallet keep your insurance cards, pre-paid calling card, emergency contact info, and any other special information like allergies, blood type or medications.

Hospitals:
Lake District Hospital, Lakeview, 541-947-2114
Harney District Hospital, Burns, 541-573-7281
Blue Mountain Hospital, John Day, 541-575-1311
St. Elizabeth Hospital, Baker City, 541-523-6461
Grande Ronde Hospital, La Grande, 541-963-8421
St. Anthony Hospital, Pendleton, 541-276-5121

Sheriff Offices:
Lake County 541-947-6027
Harney County 541-573-6156
Crook County 541-447-6398
Baker County 541-523-6515
Grant County 541-575-1131
Union County 541-963-1017
Umatilla County 541-966-3650

#5 Liquids are your friend. When the opportunities present themselves, fill your vehicle's tank with gas and your body's tank with water. It is 100-150 miles between gas stops and you don't want to miss one. Most campgrounds have a well and pump so fill your personal hydration system and stay hydrated at all times - especially if you are friendly with the liquid known as beer, which causes you to lose liquid as fast as you consume it!

"It may be said with a degree of assurance that not everything that meets the eye is as it appears." - Rod Serling

#4 Remember that GPS routes, maps, and signs were created by humans, so they do contain errors Take navigation data with a grain of salt and use your best judgment. Rely on multiple sources to confirm your location when things don't make sense or when your life depends on choosing the right road. If a road doesn't look like it has been traveled in years and there are trees growing in the road bed, then it is probably not the way to go. If a road is gated closed or posted no trespassing, then it definitely is not the way to go, all the roads on the OBDR are on public lands and open. If you have traveled forest roads you know that they typically follow the lay of the land and not the most direct route. The roads were built for logging, mining, or fire control access, not for recreation, so if you can think like a timber company it may help you make sense of the road system. Road numbers on the map may not always agree with road numbers on the ground, things change, roads do get renumbered. One trick I like to use is look at the GPS track of where you have been, and compare it to the paper map....it should be pretty easy to recognize the shape of your track on your map, particularly if you are on a main road. In addition, the base maps in your GPS are pretty specific about showing the location of water sources like creeks and springs, so I often use the water landmarks to figure out where I am in the woods.

#3 Here is a basic primer on the USFS road numbering system: A two digit numbered road i.e. "19" is always a main arterial road in a national forest. All other roads feed off the main two digit numbered roads. Sometimes two digit mainline roads are suffixed with a "00" so you might see forest road 19 signed or marked on the maps as "1900".

A four digit numbered road that starts with the first two digits of a main arterial road, i.e. "1902" is a secondary road branching off the main road "19". It will be a usually be a significant road and may dead end or may rejoin a main arterial road.

A three digit numbered road is usually a spur road hat just dead-ends, i.e. "341". Generally its only reason for existence is that it was cut in for logging or mining access and it will usually end abruptly at a landing or it may join two four digit roads together. The three digit roads usually are of the lowest standard and tend to be relatively short. Sometimes you will see the signs that mark a three digit road will have the number of the four digit road it branches from in small print , e.g. "341/1902". This means that it is the 341 spur off the 1902 road, which is a branch off the 19 or 1900 road.

So you see there is a method to the madness, you just need to know learn how to interpret the signs and maps. Now when you get to BLM land, there is an entirely different numbering system for you to figure out!

"Adventure is just bad planning" - Roald Amundsen

#2: Get organized. The amount of time you will spend unpacking and re-packing each day is incredible, so the more efficient you can be the more time can be spent on the OBDR. Develop a routine for setting up and breaking down your camp and for unpacking and re-packing, then improve on it as each day goes by. One system is to pack by "room". Pack your bedroom stuff together, your bathroom stuff together, your kitchen stuff together and so on. Another system you can use is to pack by order of use. Experiment and see what works best for you and your gear.

#1: When you arrive in Walla Walla and have run out of routes and waypoints, there is one final waypoint located at 46.06495N 118.335065W, named the Mill Creek Brewpub in downtown Walla Walla. . I recommend the Penitentiary Porter. Congratulations, you've made it! However, you aren't done with the OBDR just yet. The original Oregon Backcountry Discovery Route is one of five discovery routes the Oregon Off-Highway Vehicle Association is creating maps for. Other routes include the Cascade Crest, Central Oregon, and the Coast Range. Find out more about them at www.oohva.org and start planning for next year!

"I determined never to stop until I had come to the end and achieved my purpose." - David Livingstone

Facts & Figures about the OBDR

Southern Staging Point: Lakeview, Oregon

Northern Staging Point: Walla Walla, Washington

Distance of the OBDR: At least 750 miles, more with side trips.

Distance from Lakeview to Walla Walla as a crow flies: 283 miles

Gas Stops Enroute: Lakeview, Paisley, Christmas Valley, Riley, Seneca, Unity, Sumpter, Granite, Ukiah, La Grande, Tollgate, Walla Walla

Miles Between Gas Stops: On average, every 100-150 miles.

National Forests Traversed: 6 (Modoc, Fremont, Ochoco, Malheur, Wallowa-Whitman, Umatilla)

Number of Major River Crossings: 2 (Malheur Ford and Crane Crossing)

Best Time to Go: First week of July. Sooner and the snow has not all melted out. Later and it is too hot in the desert sections.