2 Weeks In The High Sierra: Granite, Water And Dirt

Cool photos! Thanks for the link I'm kicking myself in the butt right now for not taking photos of that cool bridge and the huge penstock over the road
It was cool to see them again!

We dropped down off Sherman Pass and headed south on Cannell Meadow Trail...


Still lots of downed trees...



We stopped at Big Meadow and then turned around and headed back...


I really dig the rocks in this area...





Ok, sorry folks, but PhotoBucket is maddeningly slow right now and I don't have the patience to deal with it
This is gonna have to wait til tomorrow. I'll try to finish it up if I can see out of my new contacts...one for close up and one for far away


On a more positive note, we just got a call from our motor guy. The KTM motor looks good and the broken piece of slide was nowhere to be found
The only visible evidence of the piece passing through was a tiny nick on one of the intake valve seats. Cylinder looked good and everything. He lapped it in and we should be good to go

See y'all tomorrow!


BlindImpatientChick

And that is why I gave up on contacts and switched back to glasses.

Great news on the ktm

Thanks, bigjon! The pleasure was all mine

Well, since you asked so nicely...

OK, I got my new trial run contacts in. I'm kinda seeing double right now but I figure that just means it'll take me half the time to post this...right?

These little red stars were everywhere...




We went back up and over Sherman Pass, and came down Sherman Pass Trail on the way back to camp...



Returning to camp after about 45 or so absolutely perfect miles with no dust, we took off to collect and cut firewood. We saw this tree with a cool scar from lightning...



There's something extremely satisfying about cutting your own firewood in the forest...





We were joined that evening by a very nice young man that goes by the name of Michael.Brat on ADV. He was just setting out on a 3-month ride across and around the US on his almost-brand-new XR650L. We've been following his trip here... http://michaelbrat.tumblr.com/
His youth and enthusiasm were welcome additions to our roaring campfire. We shared our food and mechanical knowledge with him that night, and Theresa made a monster breakfast for him the next morning before we all bade him a fond (if not a bit jealous) farewell...




We'd gotten up before everyone else so we went for a walk. Big trees in these parts...





After waving good-bye to the traveler we headed out in a northeast direction towards Monache Meadow and the South Fork of the Kern River. We were greeted by this Frank Thomas roadracing boot screwed to a tree. I'm sure there's an amusing story behind it...





I love this trail...





So does Eric...





I've never seen it so green this late in the season. Lots of flowers, too...







More coming...(surprise, surprise )

Thanks, Norman It was a ton of fun. I was just thinking about this vacation yesterday and I think it was one of my favorites so far. The bike camping and having the freedom to go and do whatever we pleased was really liberating. I think we're going to do a bikes-only trip for 3 weeks next year to celebrate our 20th anniversary, maybe Colorado/Utah/Idaho/Nevada or something. Of course, Eric might need a new bike before then, regardless of what happens with the KTM

We got to the top of Osa Meadow and headed east on Black Rock Trail, one of the most fun trails on the Plateau; good flow, some elevation changes, long without a lot of interruptions, just enough rocks to make things fun, and lots of flowers...



(WoodsChick, faster than a speeding shutter)


Tim gets a flat...a harbinger of things to come...in retrospect we call this Flat #1...



Tim, being the hardcore enduro rider that he is, gets the flat fixed in no time and we're back on the trail...




If you don't like rocks, you ain't gonna like Kennedy Meadows...



We had arranged to meet Theresa at Monache Meadows. She was driving the big truck and bringing lunch, drinks and gas. The only way to get to Monache is on the Monache Jeep Trail. Much like the time we sent Tim and Theresa over Sonora Pass with their truck and 30-some-odd foot trailer, we had kind of forgotten about the gnarly bits. We caught up to her right after The Steps, and I was afraid to look her in the eye. She wasn't having alot of fun, even though she was driving like a champion (as usual) and I thought for sure she was going to be pissed off at us. I wouldn't have blamed her, quite frankly. I took a chance and stopped in front of her to get a photo, then scrambled to get going before she could take advantage of the opportunity to run me over...



The river was sublime...



I think Tim agrees with that sentiment...



Time to go...



Uh...maybe not...



It was Eric's turn to have a flat. This would become known as Flat #2...


He fixed the flat but it wouldn't hold air. Turns out he pinched the tube (something he hasn't done in many years) so he took it out and patched Flat #3. It was holding air and everything was hunkydory. Tim had gone down the trail to catch Theresa and make sure she made it up the Steps and the gnarly bits. I held the bike up as it was a tad precarious on the stack of rocks we had it on. As Eric was sliding the axle into place we hear a pssssss...The patch had failed, prompting Flat #4. This was the last straw (so we thought) for Eric. My patient and kind and mellow husband of 19 years...some say he has the patience of a saint (hence the 19 years)... ripped the axle out and chucked the whole front wheel into the forest like some irate `roid-raging East German discus thrower as he called it a "c*&ksucking asshole!" at the top of his lungs. It was a Gold Medal Olympic toss, too. Now, normally this would be cause for alarm, but the only thing I had on my mind was not letting him see me laughing so hard I was crying. In fact, I've laughed my butt off every time I've thought of it since...I'm laughing pretty good now, as a matter of fact The thought of Eric, of all people, calling an inanimate object an asshole just cracks me up to no end. Now, of course, everything that doesn't operate as it should in our house is immediately called a ...well, you know

After gathering up the wheel and locating the far-flung spacers, Eric fixed Flat #4 while I, joyfully yet quietly, told Tim what had just happened. We were finally on our way after what seemed like an eternity. Eric in front, Tim following close behind, me bringing up the rear, we were on a mission to get back before dark. We'd wasted a lot of time with the flats and we had a long way to go.
Unfortunately, we only made it 1 mile before Flat #5 occurred. Eric's final patch job had failed. He barely slowed down, determined to get back to camp before dark, whether he had a flat or not. He was riding angry, you might say. A few miles down the trail Tim pulls over and waves me by. I stop to ask if everything is OK. Yep, nothing wrong here! Nothing to see folks, move along, it's just Flat #6 on the front of Tim's GasGas I was finally able to stay on Eric's rear fender for the first time since I taught him how to ride in the dirt over 22 years ago...woo-hoo!!...and I had a great time bombing almost non-stop on the way back. It's always fun riding back to camp with a sense of urgency, it just adds to the fun...









We made it back before dark, and Theresa (being the A#1 Best MotoMom and MotoWife ever) treated us to a scrumptious dinner by the campfire. We'd had a great day despite the flats, and sitting by the campfire eating dinner with good friends was the perfect end to a pretty darned good day of riding.

2-up bike camping at Monache is on the menu for the next day!

Those are very small Giant Sequoias, Sequioadendron Giganteum, largest trees in the world by volume. The largest known living organism on earth is a Giant Sequoia found in the same forest just northwest of where we were camped. California happens to have the tallest trees in the world as well, the Coast Redwood, Sequoia Sempervirens, at 379 feet tall. The oldest living trees on earth are also found here in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. The oldest one there is about 4,000 years old. Another fun fact: Caliornia has the lowest elevation in the continental US, 282' below sea level, and the highest, Mt. Whitney at 14,494'. They are less than 100 miles apart as the crow flies

I love this photo I took of Dirtdame last year down in the Sequia NF. The trees are impressive, but pretty small compared to the mature ones...

You've met Eric; can you imagine him cussing and throwing a whole front wheel out of frustration? I can't, but now that I've seen it with my own eyes I guess anything's possible. I guess I better be nice to him from now on

We saw Tim and Theresa off as they headed for the coast, with a long tearful good-bye to Sandy the Wonderdog. Sandy is getting on in the years and isn't doing well and I was acutely aware that I might not ever see her again. We've known her for 10 years and she's as much a part of that family as their kids are...


We hopped on the fully loaded 610 and headed towards Monache Meadow for the night...



We seemed to be overheating (what is this...Mechanical Gremlin #4?) even though it wasn't very hot. Yeah, we were going kinda slow on the Monache Jeep Trail but I've never lost coolant on the 610 before, and I've ridden it a lot slower in gnarlier terrain. We just let it cool down as often as possible...



The ride was grueling but it was all worth it once we made it here...

Monache Mountain can be seen in the background. It looks almost like a perfect bull's eye on a topo map, it's unlike any other mountain in the area.


We threw our stuff down and headed down to the water...



These guys were everywhere...




We managed to while away the day playing in the river and sitting on top of this big ol' pile of rocks where we took in the stunning beauty and solitude that surrounded us. We also managed to drain the bota bag up there. In the background is Olancha Peak at 12,123'. If it looks familiar you might have seen it on the label of Crystal Springs bottled water...



We returned to our campsite and saw the 610 taking a dirtnap. This was the culprit...could this be called Mechanical Gremlin #5?

The 610 spent the rest of the trip leaning against trees. Good thing this happened in the forest and not on one of our desert rides.


We set up camp and then went for a walk to catch the sunset...








This campfire was the perfect ending to one of the best days we've ever had down at Kennedy Meadows...

Sure! You wanna be my agent?

I forced myself to get out of our sleeping bag early the next morning as I wanted to catch the sunrise...




It was freezing. No, really...it was freezing...32 degrees! I quickly scampered back into the tent and caught the sunrise from underneath the cozy warmth of a fluffy down bag...


We decided to book outta there early so that the temps would be nice and cool for the 610. We knew something was wrong when we started spitting coolant when it was still cold out. We stopped at this creek to replenish the water just in case...


I counted 10 different kinds of flowers in this little rock garden...


We stopped at the Black Rock Ranger Station to replace the creek water with potable water. Here I am being a human sidestand...


We dropped off all our camping gear at the van, reheated the dinner Theresa had made us 2 nights prior, grabbed our suits and towels, then headed out to goof around in the forest. I know it seems funny, but I was really enjoying seeing the forest from the pillion spot of the 610. It always brings me back to when Eric and I were first dating and he took me up to Mendocino for my birthday. I fell asleep on the back It was really enjoyable. Makes me want to get a Triumph Tiger 800XC or something for some 2-up camping. Just what we need...another motorcycle C'mon, Husky! Get going on my new 900 twin! Anyway, we just checked out all kinds of camping spots (scouting for the future) and little roads and stuff...




We stopped in at the Kennedy Meadows Store, aka the Times Square of the Pacific Crest Trail, and had lunch. We didn't have beers, though, so couldn't add to this piece of art on the deck...


We spent the afternoon swimming in the Kern River and soaking up the sun. As usuall, we didn't want to stop when we got back to camp so we kept going, bypassing it for just a few more miles. We ran across this hillside covered with flowers...






We spent the evening playing with the telescope and planning the next day's trailride...