Honoring Presidents In The Eastern Sierra

Eric and I had 4 days off for Presidents/Valentines Day so we loaded up the trailer and headed east over the Sierra. I wanted to do some scouting for a ride I had in mind for the following month and this was a good time to do it. We left the Bay Area kind of late and spent the night in the van in Walker.

Woke up to a winter wonderland the next morning...




Of course we had to stop and check out some hot water on the way...





Pulled into our campsite about 11am and this is what we found...



Yes, I think this will do...





After a quick soak we took the bikes out for a spin to an old mining area...



Beautiful views of the White Mountains to the east...



It got a little rocky at the top, then petered out entirely around the bend...



Eric going back down (by the way, take note of that sweet supermoto set-up on his TE!)...



This is how you do it when you're 5'1" and can barely touch the ground...














Lots more on the way...


WoodsChick

The roads out here were way fun and we saw not one other person all day...



Lots of cool mining stuff, too...











Oops...a little too sandy and scritchy for my bald rear tire...






Pfft...whatever



Back to camp in time for wine, soaking and a sunset...



The sun kisses Mount Montgomery good-night...



Hit the hay pretty early, as we had a big plans for the following day.



WoodsChick

The start of the next day's ride was cold and early...


Mmm...polarfleece balaclava...



We headed south towards Death Valley and did a little exploring along the way...

















We hit Jack's in Bishop for fuel for the long day ahead...


Then headed down into Death Valley...




Saline Valley Road went on forever. For. Ever.



Finally! 75 degrees and the layers were coming off...



Ooh! Racetrack! Let's go there!



But first, we need to go up Lippincott Pass...




It was a long rocky climb...




Followed by more rocks on the way...




WoodsChick

Lippincott Pass is kinda rocky...


And steep in spots...





So this just kind of goes on and on up the pass. I continued up while Eric followed. I saw some riders coming down the pass and one of them shouted, "Hey! I know you! You're WoodsChick!" Turns out is was Hooli and another BARFer (my local forum here, Bay Area Riders Forum) It's always crazy being in the middle of nowhere and having someone recognize me! Or, more accurately, recognize my dirty SM610!





Here comes Eric...now can you tell it's steep?



Where we came from...






Topping out on Lippincott Pass...



We hit the Racetrack but inexplicably did not get any photos of the mysterious moving rocks! I fixed that on my next ride...


We were running out of daylight and Eric's headlight wasn't working so we didn't stop for too many more photos...







Lots of these at Crankshaft Crossing...




We were racing the sun and the sun was winning, but that's ok. The sky just kept getting more and more spectacular as time went on and it was absolutely magical out there...









We ate a scrumptious dinner at Astorga's in Bishop, then bombed our way back to camp in the complete blackness with one headlight. 14 hours and 300 miles later, it was nice to soak into the wee hours of the morning under spectacularly starry skies.




WoodsChick

What...is it making you wish you'd been in the California desert last week?

Spectacular! Though I am not sure what the hanging tea pots were all about...

Did Eric do the gentlemanly thing and have your large tank on his bike, so you did not have to haul all that weight around?

What?? I'm the sweetest person I know!
Yeah, he's digging the SM set-up. He bought the wheels and a rotor and then used his Motomaster caliper and master cylinder from his 640. It works better than my stock set-up. He loves the Heidenau K73's, too.

Haahaahaha! Ahh...you crack me up, Dean. No, he was not being gentlemanly at all. That's his tank. He's been on my butt for 15 months now to replace my own IMS 5gal but I can't swallow spending another big wad of cash on a tank that's destined for failure. Again. That's why I'm hauling my own extra gas in the little can strapped to my rack. "Gentlemanly"...that's funny

The teakettles are hanging off the sign that marks the intersection called Teakettle Junction. Nobody really knows the origin, but the turnoff was probably marked with a kettle a long time ago. Folks leave them with messages and whatnot. The USFS gathers them up and other visitiors take them home or they are tossed out, soon to be replaced with more. I saw one that was left by a local guy I know that runs a semi-informal Adventure-riding guide business. It was still there when I was there a few weeks later so I marked it "WoodsChick was here on her 50th birthday adventure!"

Not sure why, but for myself, personally, and this is just my opinion, for some reason I find after market tanks "the wrong approach"... "Return on investment" does not seem worth it - to me.

Obviously to others it is the right approach...

For us it is essential. We do big days. Stock tank gives me a tad over 120 miles. The IMS allows me to go 200 miles. That is a huge difference, what with the kinds of rides we do and the places we like to ride. 300-mile days are not unusual. Range is everything. Sure, I could carry a Rotopax or a gas can, but when we're camping I'm already packed to the limit and don't have room to carry extra fuel. The large tank carries it nice and low, too. I just do not want to spend my money on a tank that I know is sure to fail during its lifetime with me. I also don't want to spend my life's savings on a Safari tank, either. I must say, it's been a treat riding the 610 with the tiny stock tank. It makes a big difference in rideability, especially when ripping on pavement. But, still, the large tank is a tool that I need to complete the rides I like to do. It's a quandary...

Yeah, he wants to do something about the light, for sure. It wasn't working at all on this trip, it wasn't the bulb...I don't know what the problem was. He really likes that big round 8" light that BajaDesigns sells. I like the simplicity of the X2.

We awoke with the sun the next morning and took a chilly walk around the "town." We wanted the temps to rise before heading east into Nevada. This rustic 1870's farm house is for rent ($300/nt for up to 6 people) and it has its own hot springs tub in back. Totally cool Victorian furnishings, too...



The original Benton Hot Springs Inn...

The jailhouse...

Looking through the window to the jail cell doors. I'm sure those lovely windows provided quite adequate ventilation in the heat of the high desert summer...

This used to be the church, but now a highway engineer lives there. Note the hot springs creek that runs in front...

High up on the hill behind the springs lies a fantastic graveyard...






Love the skull and crossbones...

Hmm...temps seem to be above freezing now. Time to suit up and head east!
WoodsChick

We pushed the bikes up the hill and out to the road, as we had done the day before. Nobody wants to hear a pair of barking Huskys at 7 in the morning, especially when on a relaxing holiday in one of the most peaceful places on the planet. More on this later. We headed east and rounded the northern tip of the White Mountains, giving us a great view of the highest mountain in Nevada...Boundary Peak, and Montgomery Peak which is in California...



Our destination on this day was...surprise!...another hot springs...



It was cold and windy and barren out there but the water was perfectly hot...



After a tasty lunch of 3-day old cold pizza we headed west into the White Mountains just to see how far we could go...





Not very far, as it turns out...



Look, Ma! No sidestand!



Knobbies would have made short work of that snow. My front was willing but my bald rear K73 was going no further...



We backtracked out, making a few side trips here and there just to see what was out there...



This camp will be splendid in warmer temps...









After goofing around in some old mining areas we made tracks for the valley floor, coming upon this lovely home...





Beautiful views out these tiny little windows...



An hour or so later we were back at camp, basking in the luxurious sunshine...


Spent the rest of the day soaking, drinking, eating and stargazing. Magnificent place for stargazing!

The next morning we soaked, loaded up, soaked again, and reluctantly said good-bye to one of my most favorite campsites ever. It wasn't a sad parting, however, because I knew we'd be back in a few weeks. Someone I know would be turning 50 and this was as good a place as any to celebrate the occasion

I stopped by the office on the way out to talk to Jimmy about arrangements, and to thank him for having such a wonderful place for us. He thanked us for walking the bikes out, said it was much appreciated. He (much like us) likes the place for the peace and quiet and solitude it affords, and he doesn't want to hear a bunch of noise in his home across the road. RV's are welcome but his take on generators ...and I quote verbatim...was "Turn `em on, do what you gotta do, then turn the damned things off, fer crissakes." We didn't run ours once the entire time we were there. I only mention this in case some of you are thinking about heading out there with your own bikes...and how could you not?? Be respectful, be quiet, and be cool to Jimmy, as he would have no problem whatsoever throwing anyone out on their ass should they make a nuisance of themselves. I like Jimmy

As always, thanks for coming along. Birthday ride report coming soon!




WoodsChick

You're quite welcome
Maybe you and Jon should pick up a couple of 610's and head to Death Valley next winter? There's a lifetime of exploring to be done out there!

Thanks, ray_ray. There's just so much out here, in our very own backyards. We're fortunate to have so much public land available to us. I feel like it's a crime to not check it all out while it's still open for our use. I will be going back to Death Valley in the future, for sure.