The Chick And The Dame Ride Kennedy Meadows

DirtDame and I have been wanting to get together for a ride for a long time, and we finally made it happen over the Independence Day holiday. We met at Kennedy Meadows down in the southern end of the Sierra range. It is a high elevation plateau sandwiched between the North and South Forks of the Kern River. Our camp was at about 7300' and it just went up from there. The area has the largest concentration of alpine meadows in the entire Sierra range, and the banner snow year produced fantastic conditions for us. I think it's safe to say we both had a great time and we hope to do it again next year. This is our story and we'll both be contributing to this thread

Our campsite...


The meadow down below had a fantastic creek for playing in after riding...


Husky goodness x2...



I got there a day ahead of DirtDame and rode with my friends Dan and Glen...








My WR144 made short work of this trail...




Dan got some video footage of me coming down off of Sherman Pass Trail so maybe I'll post that up when he gets it to me. We put in a good 40 miles and I felt good on the bike, if a bit whipped at the end of the day. The elevation always gets to me, but I figured I'd feel better by the time DirtDame arrived the next day...and I did!


The Dame and I headed out early the next day, intent on a loop that would take us north to Monache Meadows. Beach Ridge Trail would take us north...





And Albanita Trail would take us east (sorry it's blurry, but she was going too fast for my camera!)...


DirtDame looks good in red, doesn't she?


We switched bikes for awhile and I rode her KDX220. She's got that thing set up really nicely and I felt like I could have ridden it all day! Super plush suspension, with a cushy seat to match, and a motor that is willing to please no matter what one wants to do with it. I'll let her give her thoughts on the WR


Lots more to come...




WoodsChick

Very cool Looks like a great area.

Thx Gals, Great stuff.

Just waiting for DD to chime in maybe with some more pics.

OMG !!! I just did an entire post with a bunch of text and pictures and it just disappeared ! I gotta go do some shopping....then I'll come back and try to repost it.

hit your back button and see if it is still there.

Arrghh!! I hate it when that happens! I've gotten in the habit of copying everything before hitting "submit" because this kind of stuff used to happen to me all the time. I'm looking forward to your input, Mimi, so I hope your shopping trip is short and sweet




WoodsChick

Ok, a few more photos while we wait for the Dame of Dirt to redo her previous post


We played in the water...



We played in the rocks...



We played in the sand...



I know my trials tires is sticky but c'mon!


The views in this area just never stop. Every time we turned around we were greeted with stunning beauty...












WoodsChick

Okay....let's try this over again. But now I'm too ornery to write very much clever text, so it'll be mostly pictures.

I posted the 3rd Annual Troy Meadows Experience so that the dates would be handy for Woodschick to be able to go. We had been discussing going riding together for a while. I had it posted on my local forum, since that is where I usually post it and that is where the usual suspects come from. With only three days left to go, I couldn't seem to get a definite response (or any response, for that matter) over there, so I canceled the ride on that end. It looked like some events might have conspired to stop Woodschick from going too, but at the 11th hour she was able to make it, and the ride was on.

On the trip up, I stopped at an interesting antique store. I was able to go at my own pace, because this was the first year that I was actually driving my own vehicle up there.


Speaking of antiques, how long ago was gasoline that price?


Up on the plateau, you gotta pass by the giant ice cream cone by the fence.


I am an official camping wussy, and by virtue of that, I hate tents. However, there were no giant sized toy haulers going up this year, and sometimes a person just has to make sacrifices in order to enjoy other aspects of an adventure. And I don't mind making sacrifices as long as I'm allowed to complain about them.


After arriving and setting up camp, I hauled Riley The KDX (not to be confused with Bentley The KDX) off of the back of the Jeep and went for a little solo shakedown ride up Jackass Creek trail. Later on Tami, Eric and I had a nice pasta supper and enjoyed the evening campfire with our new friends, the mosquitoes.


Night time was a pretty cold time up there, so I was happy to see the sun in the morning.


And so was this little guy.


Camp in the morning.


After the temps rose a bit and we had breakfast, it was time to hit the trails. Tami leads the way up Beach Ridge trail.


Water crossing at the beginning of Albanita trail.


Somewhere in the first half of the day, we switched bikes for a few miles. Though the bike's ergonomics were not set up for my height and riding style (wussy style), I was able to tell a lot about the WR anyway. First off, it was the most stable feeling platform I have been on for straightaways. Second, it was the tightest turning full sized bike that I have ever ridden on switchback type corners. The motor was quite impressive too, though not quite tweaked to get maximum performance at 7500-9000 ft. elevation. I still liked how much get up and go it had. The suspension mods felt very similar to the Bob Bell valving I had done to my TE450 back in January. The ride was very firm, but with an underlying plushness. I switched back, before I ended up liking it too much!

Woodsie, outstanding in her field.


Here, I show Tami the "I was here" technique of picture taking.


We ended up out in a meadow with a boggy crossing.




Testing the 803 on a muddy spot.


Strange flowers looked like a somewhat wilted tropical salad dumped in the middle of nowhere.


Not sure what trail this is. I think it was Blackrock.


Just know that it was a trail where I met some bozo rippin' it up from the other direction on a cliffside corner. He never slowed down, even after I slammed on my brakes and dropped the bike on the uphill side of the trail to avoid a collision.

What is this woman doing down there off the trail?


You can't see them in the picture, but this spot on Little Horse trail was just swarmed with lady bugs.


The days ride ended at 51 miles, with my wimpy wrists giving out and my wimpy gas tank hitting reserve right at the entrance to the campsite.

And it was a good 51 miles! We hit every trail I wanted to ride and we got to see Monache Meadows, too



WoodsChick

Yep, I'd never taken a photo of myself with my own camera (I know, I'm a dork...) but the Dame had some good pointers and I actually was able to get both of us in this shot!


The Dame is also outstanding in her field


More meadow merriment...










The Dame getting dirty...


The Dame getting clean...



We stopped at the South Fork of the Kern River for lunch and a splash or two...









WoodsChick

There are lots of big rocks close by, but they're all closed off via wilderness. This is DomeLand Wilderness as seen from the Bald Mt. Lookout Road...




WoodsChick

Hey, Tim! Yep, the swampy crossing is indeed on the way to Monache Meadow. You guys were so close when you got here...


We were just talking about that ride the other night by the campfire. It's a bummer you didn't make it before dark but it sure makes for a good story

The amount of water was incredible. Flowers, butterflies, lady bugs, critters of all sizes everywhere...the forest is incredibly alive right now. There is a virtual river flowing out behind the Troy Meadows Campground right now!

EDIT: Oh yeah, Dan dropped his bike in the swampy meadow crossing the day before I got there and watered out big-time...

WoodsChick

Next day:
I never drink hot tea as a rule, however I never turned down a nice hot cup every single morning at camp. After the morning chocolate cheerios and another cup of tea, we set sail for another dirt voyage. But not before Eric was so kind as to top off Riley's gas tank. I had somehow thought that the KDX got better gas mileage than it actually did (probably got it confused with Bailey The KLX), as was demonstrated to me on the day before, so it ended up that I had not brung enough extra fuel for two days of riding.

We wanted to do a slightly shorter ride this day so that the three of us could go to the South Fork of the Kern later in the afternoon. So this morning my personal guide started us off with a view from a mountaintop.






Out on Mahogany trail....or was it Rattlesnake? We did so many different trails that I couldn't keep track of them all!


Bonita Meadows.


Reading the map and plotting the route.


Greetings from us. Scenery is here, wish you were beautiful!


Somewhere on Boone, right after I fell down while walking down to take the shot.








Sadly, this shot didn't come out well due to the lighting (or lack of it). It doesn't really show Tami very well or how devilish the rock pile actually was.


Goofy colorful plants....


Way out on Trout Creek trail at Corral Meadow.




Nice shot, Woodsie.


Heading back on Mahogany.


We had a very nice ride which went almost 40 miles, and we were back in time to go down to the Kern in the Jeepy.

Tami and Eric soaked a bit, while I gave them a lesson in the local creek critter biology. Then I got sort of restless and set off to find some trout.

Evening time near the Kern.


I followed the river downstream till I came across a perfect and deep stretch. The trout were breaking on evening bugs, making me wish that I had brought my fly gear with me. But all I had was spinning stuff, so I would have to make do with that. First I tried to offer the trout a firetiger Roostertail with a ball of Yum Troutkrilla stuck on the treble hook. A small tree across the way decided to take the bait for itself. Then I tied on the smallest size Kastmaster in chrome and dayglow red. I saw a fish rise to it as it skipped across the surface. I tried fishing it from upstream to the tailwater, but it was awkward to do. so I fished across the tailwater and up. What the heck, I got bit. Twice the rod loaded up and a nice trout spiraled up into time and space over the river's surface and twice the trout shook the treble while cartwheeling out of the water. Nonetheless, it was very exciting!

Trout are RIGHT HERE!


I could have stayed on and even headed downstream further, but it was getting late, the sun was about to set and Tami and Eric were waiting for me at the Jeep. So I headed back. The trout will be there for me next year.

So it was the best time I have had so far up at Troy Meadows. I am confident that the 4th Annual Troy Meadows Experience will be even better, especially if Tami and Eric have anything to do with it.

Thanks, Woodsie....for being a great guide and riding companion and all round good gal (and having patience while waiting for your slowpoke friend to amble along up to you). It was nice to meet Eric too. Thanks to him, for helping to prep my bike for riding on the second day.

After splashing around at the river we headed up the Monache Jeep Trail to Blackrock Mt Trail...


The trees are big here right on the outskirts of the Giant Sequoia National Monument...







After dropping down off the Blackrock Mt Trail we hit the Little Horse Trail that runs along Little Horse Meadow...






Looks like someone knocked the cairn over...


Back up through the rocks of Beach Ridge Trail and back to camp...


We arrived to see Eric scoping out the critter in the meadow next to camp...





We finished the day with 51 miles under our belts, and we had a great time!




WoodsChick

The pleasure was all mine, DirtDame Eric and I both had a great time and will hopefully make it down for some more fun and adventure next year!

I still have some photos of our second day out there but they might have to wait til later as I have a BBQ to go to




WoodsChick