Trans-America Trail (TAT) — Day 19

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Gosh it was good to be back in Oregon. Without having any discussion about this subject, both Scott and Madelyn coincidentally had the same thought as they crossed into Oregon from Nevada on US Highway 140. Yes, it’s a little weird, but par for the course.

Before returning to the Lakeview Lodge after dinner the night before, we made our obligatory visit to the grocery to pick up lunch supplies for the next day, so this chore was already done. We knew we’d have a long day riding from Lakeview to Crescent, so a hearty breakfast was in order.

Right next to the grocery, was Jerry’s Restaurant. We knew we were in the right place for breakfast, as the majority of diners were older local clientele that seemingly had been coming for Saturday get-togethers for decades. While we were a little out-of-place in our full riding gear, we were warmly welcomed to a booth for our morning sustenance and our past due roll-chart updating.

The hostess placed us in the booth directly next to a gentlemen that was finishing his meal. He (Brian sp?) asked, “Did we pass you a week ago on the side of the road in Oklahoma?”. Scott responded, “Not a week ago, that was more than two weeks ago…” While in Oklahoma, we had stopped on the side of the road to put on Gore-Tex gloves in the middle of a rainstorm, when a KLR and some other smaller displacement dualsport buzzed past us. This was Brian and his riding buddy. It seems that Brian was also affected by the blending of time and events; which, this blog helps reduce by documenting our trip and keeping things in relatively sequential order.

Brian and his buddy had been leap-frogging us ever since Tennessee. This is when we started to better understand what the Trans-America Trail (TAT) truly represents. Sam Correro is the undisputed “Father of the TAT”. He conceived of navigating a series of roads across the country with the intent of staying off the interstates (by-and-large) and rediscovering the true grit of our country. Then, there are a couple of other characters (i.e. gpsKevin) that have expanded this notion into a coast-to-coast off-road adventure using slightly different routes based on feedback from TAT riders. Consequently, no TAT groups ever ride exactly the same route due to physical conditions of the road, weather, time of year, motorcycle being ridden, experience, time, etc. All of these variables equate to a “TAT” experience for that rider and we all share the spirit of traveling across America using by-ways even though we may not share the exact same route.

Our goal was to reach Crescent, so we needed to get going, as we knew areas north of Silver Lake would be sandy and likely difficult. Leaving Lakeview, we quickly found ourselves back into timber industry lands. The TAT passed right through the middle of an ongoing logging operation and fortunately we were riding through this area on Saturday and not during the weekdays. For those of you that didn’t already know, loggers work Monday through Friday, so additional caution is required when riding in such areas during the classic work week.

Logging operations made the roads messy; although, they weren’t a problem as the conditions were dry. We’d hate to be traveling the same roads if any rain began to fall. The forecast indicated our Oregon riding would be rain free, so we were stoked, as this was the only state since we started almost a month ago where we didn’t encounter any rain.

The tall trees meant temperatures were in the 60s and low 70s, even though the skies were totally clear and the summer sunlight was a welcome change to some of our previous grey days. Temperatures would climb as the day progressed, but we didn’t care as we were almost home.

Our riding in Oregon wouldn’t have been complete without a little bit of drama. Sand creates drama. Madelyn couldn’t figure out how Scott made it through the same section, but it was a “When in doubt, throttle out” technique that prevented him from going down or getting stuck.

Once again, thanks go to Kendrick. Just imagine these words… “Mom, just move out-of-the-way, I got it!” Kendrick was our lifting savior throughout the trip. He definitely earned his way along!

The TAT road network changed quickly from forest-covered, gravel logging roads to more open sky cinder-gravel roads, some of which were previous railroad rights-of-way – straight as can be and largely fast roads.

We were making good time, until Madelyn mentions that her F800GS (now affectionately known as “Charlie”) had a check engine light on, the bike was idling low (<900 RPM), and it was dying periodically. Hmmmm. What could it be? Any guesses? Not that Scott is anything close to be a mechanic, but his quick diagnosis was that it was air filter related. 4,000 miles of following in either Scott’s dust or the combination of both Scott and Kendrick’s dust eventually would take its toll.

Fortunately, we were only about fifteen miles from Silver Lake, so our plan was to get to the Feed Barn Cafe, grab a cool drink, and see if we could get Charlie behaving properly.

We arrived at the Feed Barn Cafe and guess who was there? Brian and his riding buddy. But wait, they didn’t pass us and we had stopped at the USFS Dairy Creek Campground in the Fremont National Forest to visit with a group of women BMW GS riders from the BMW Riders of Oregon Club for more than an hour. Brian and Scott shared notes and this reinforced how different each of our TAT routes end up being.

Scott had correctly diagnosed Charlie. He disassembled enough of Charlie to inspect and clean the air filter. Butterlies, moths, grass, and volumes of dust had been trapped by the air filter. It had done its job magnificently, but needed a little assistance to permit completion of the trip. Scott tapped enough dust and dirt from the filter, such that the engine returned to correct RPMs and was back to normal shortly thereafter. Time to button up the bike and get moving again.

North of Silver Lake, our version of the TAT goes through the Christmas Valley / Fort Rock / Hole-in-the-Ground area. Several years ago we rode this entire area and knew what lay ahead… sand, sand, and more sand. Not that we don’t like challenges, but we’re also not inclined to do the same thing twice. We altered our route so that we could enjoy the Oregon TAT and get ourselves safely to Crescent before sundown.

Oregon is far enough north that we enjoy longer summer daylight hours compared to other areas of the TAT. That being said, Oregon also has tall trees and mountains that can cut the summer light pretty quickly. By the time we reached Crescent, the light was above the western horizon, but not for long.

Saturday night, before Labor Day, also means lodging options are a minimum. Thankfully, the Big Pines RV Park had one tent spot left. This is a great camping option for TAT riders, as it’s relatively near where the trail crosses US Highway 97, they have hot showers, and very nice laundry facilities.

We made quick order of putting up our awesome MSR Hubba Hubba NX tents, Big Agnes down sleeping bags, and Exped sleeping pads from Next Adventure. Within ten minutes, tents were up, sleeping pads inflated, and sleeping bags were ready to receive our tired bodies.

We’re only two days away from the end of the TAT at Port Orford. No big deal.

Trans-America Trail (TAT) — Day 11

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Wednesday was a work day, so we were back to the TAT first thing Thursday morning. Salida’s altitude meant the night-time temperatures were cool. By the time we left Salida, the temperature was in the mid 50s, so it was cool enough to warrant the use of heated grips.

The TAT heads west to Ponca Springs, then south before the route starts gaining altitude to our first pass of the day, Marshall Pass. This portion of the TAT uses fairly well-groomed United States Forest Service (USFS) and private roads up through the central Colorado mountains.

Up and down we rode through a variety of forested sections and alpine pastures. The terrain never looks the same. On most of the TAT, we have been almost entirely alone on the circuitous route that steers clear of common travel paths; that would not be the case on this day of riding. From before lunch and throughout most of the day, we would pass probably over a hundred smaller displacement dualsport motorcycles. Some were street legal, while others were nothing of the sort. Apparently, there was a two-day ride event that attracted a good crowd of dualsport enthusiasts and was the primary reason for the increased presence of traffic. These smaller bikes, made navigation of the increasingly more difficult terrain a lot more manageable.

The Colorado summer has been cooler and wetter than “normal”, whatever that is, and this riding day would expose us to some of that moisture. The road types vary with clean gravel, to layers of dirt and gravel, dirt, and everything in between. And because of the wet summer, we were routinely riding over roads that had been recently regraded. In some instances, we were riding on roads that in the process of being regraded.

Aside from some logging operations, the most frequent other form of occupation (other than tourism based activities) is ranching. While riding, another opportunity to engage a local became possible. As we were riding down from a lower pass, we came across this fellow driving a side-by-side. Well, his name was Curt and his working buddies were Lea (seen in the back of the side-by-side) and puppy Tippy (short for “Typical”) in the floor of the passenger side of the side-by-side (not visible). Curt has lived here his entire life and seems to quite enjoy his life as a high mountain Colorado rancher.

We stopped at a day use part along the shores of Lake San Cristobal for quick picnic lunch prior tackling our next pass, Cinnamon Pass. The skies had been overcast throughout the day, with no rain, yet… In addition to the KTMs we had been seeing, we also started seeing heaps and heaps of Jeeps. We soon found out why.

The road up to Cinnamon Pass started out as most of the other non-paved roads – mixed grades, mixed surfaces, narrow in spots, and breathtaking views were frequent. The increased as we road west. One tricky spot after another presented itself and things got more interesting as the rain started to fall. The TAT got steeper and switchbacks challenged us as we road to the pass. At one point, the conditions were such that we had to rely on teamwork to get our 700+ pound BMWs over the slick rocks and muddy roads; meanwhile, we were doing this and having to share portions of the road with the four-wheeled vehicles that were both descending and ascending Cinnamon Pass.

Hours later we reached the pass, all 12,600 feet AMSL! We made it with only one tip-over and through expending lots of energy.

Despite the mixed reports we received from other riders, the descent was still some of the toughest riding we’ve ever done; however, it didn’t compare to the ascent. Downhill we rode, losing thousands of feet in elevation in a very short distance to Animas Forks. In this part of Colorado, there are lots of abandoned and still operational mines. Animas Forks is an abandoned mining town and a decision-making point for TAT riders. Either continue up to California Pass and over the mountains towards Telluride or continue down towards Silverton.

Given the time of day (late afternoon), our energy level, and rainshowers, our better judgement was to head to Silverton for dinner and to find a place to rest our heads. Silverton is another historic mining town that survives today on tourism (Jeeping in the summer months) and snowsports (snowboarding in the winter). Even though we arrived before 6:00pm, none of the local lodging establishments had any vacant rooms.

Until now, Scott had made advance reservations for every other night. As the TAT gets into the more mountainous states, the difficulty level increases. As such, it would be more difficult to predict our pace and possible location, so we decided to address our lodging needs day-by-day moving forward. Given that no rooms were available, we would camp for the first time on the trip!

On the edge of Silverton is an establishment with tent camping spots called Red Mountain Motel, Cabins, RV Park, & Jeep Rentals. We didn’t have any options, so we gave it a go. Their proximity to restaurants in Silverton would also give us the flexibility to walk to town for dinner and breakfast. The fellow working the counter was friendly and got us squared away with a camping site in short order.

This gave us the first opportunity to use the camping gear we got at Next Adventure. Bryan Knudsen and his crew at Next Adventure in Portland, Oregon hooked us up with kick ass camping gear. Several months ago, Ryan Slagel, spent the morning with us selecting compact, lightweight, and technical gear. The gear is outstanding (we’ll have another blog post about this gear later)!

With our campsite set, we needed dinner and it was getting late, so we walked up the main drag in Silverton and decide to grab dinner at Thee Pitts Again. Based on the workout from climbing and descending Cinnamon Pass, we celebrated with breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches and deep fried pickles! What a treat.

Conquering Cinnamon Pass and getting ourselves down the mountain safely allowed us to mark another day off our TAT trip with smiles on our faces.

Progress

The last couple of days have been productive in knocking out homework associated with route planning. First round of routes for the Trans-America Trail where it starts in Tennessee and passes through Mississippi (not only is that a fun name to say, its also a fun name to type) have been input into Garmin Basecamp software.

It’s easy to be productive when you have something to that’s enjoyable, exciting, or puts you closer to achieving a goal. It also takes the essence of “will” and a little self motivation doesn’t hurt. Plus, these productive days are rather important in getting everything done on schedule or ahead of schedule. This is the sort of trip that deserves focused attention and throwing things together at the last minute is practically a guaranteed recipe for a less than ideal experience. An off-the-cuff trip is okay as a spontaneous weekend escape, but not acceptable for a month-long trip when there are two other companions along for the ride.

As I indicated above, this is the “first round” of route planning, as I’ve only input waypoints for the turn-by-turn directions available on the rollcharts. Not quite certain if the author (Sam Correro) intentially made errors in the rollchart data (i.e. like some authors, software engineers, and artists) in order to identify copyright violations or they’re just honest mistakes. Either way, the “errors” were obvious enough that the corrections were no big deal.

Next, I’ll need to experiment with grouping those waypoints into routes. The waypoints are great references, but doesn’t permit the GPS user as much fluidity while using during the ride, at least compared to a structured route. Ultimately, we’ll have lots of redundancy among the three of us. There will be three GPSs (not including smart phones), paper maps, rollcharts, and a traditional compass.

It’s all about preparation

For me, there’s something challenging and fun about preparing for a big event. In this case, the event is our cross country motorcycle trip next summer. The planning includes everything from picking the right gear, assigning job responsibilities to all parties, training, research, mapping, experimenting, shake-outs, and the logistics to ensure the trip goes as well as possible.

Each element is important in its own right and doesn’t supersede any other. Admittedly, picking the right gear is one of my favorite activities, as it entails a series of tasks including shopping and gathering opinions from fellow motorcycle riders, business partners, industry reviews, etc.

Some decisions are easy, while others are rather difficult; for example, picking the right brand of motorcycles was a slam dunk – BMW. We’re pretty BMW biased, but if you put together all of the elements from our position, the decision would be the same.

While picking the motorcycle brand was easy, picking the smaller stuff has become a little more tricky. A perfect example is, which stove is best? Lots of great products on the market and thankfully the guys at Next Adventure in Portland are a great local and practical resource. That being stated, I haven’t finalized our purchase at this time. So, with a great microbrew in hand, I get to spend a dark, fall Pacific Northwest night reviewing my options and considering what makes the most sense.