We found ourselves a good spot on the eastern slope of the rock, one that would be semi-sheltered from the wind, but also one that would provide us with some much-needed early-morning warmth from the rising sun. Max and I set up our tents while Mark and Eric rode back down to the lake to filter some water. The 1/8" of decomposed granite on top of solid granite slab would make for a nice comfy night's sleep... Max found a pretty good spot, too... Eric and Mark returning with 4 full Camelbak bladders... Mark's home for the night... Time to wander over to the west-facing slope to enjoy the sunset at a pre-existing fire ring... Happy faces all around... This First Quarter moon (in Saggitarius just in case you're keeping track) shone so brightly on the white granite, it looked more like the full moon does when in the city... Dinner was kielbasa sausages on Grace Baking rustic baguettes with red wine... We talked around the campfire long into the the night, all agreeing emphatically that this camp spot was the best one that any of us had ever experienced, on or off the bikes. We all felt really fortunate to be here, and I know that, for me anyway, I was reluctant to walk away from the fire and get into my tent because I just didn't want the evening to end. Tasty food, plentiful wine, excellent company, stellar views and a roaring campfire will do that to a girl. But, alas, end it did...and I slept like a baby One more day of riding on the way
43 degrees inside the tent, 38 outside...anxiously awaiting the sunrise... Nice kitchen table, eh? The sun is shining on selected domes, but we're still waiting... What took you so long? Ahh...that's more like it! A nice spot for coffee and pastries... The 4 of us soaking up some rays... Reluctant to leave, I take a nice long look at my new all-time favorite campspot... We pack up and head down off the rock.
Heading off the rock towards the Gateway... Sometimes I feel kinda bad for my SM... Max is riding like a champion... We stop atop the dam... and take in the view... We rode in out of the west and watered our horses... We headed up the hill to base camp and finished the ride at a really slow pace due to another flat tire for Mark. Sometimes it just happens. We pulled into camp and the place was deserted once again. The 30 or so Jeeps and rigs were gone, and they left nothing behind but tire tracks and firewood. Eric and I went for a long walk the next morning through their main camp and it was super-clean Max and Mark loaded up and began the long trek home. Eric and I spent the rest of the day playing in the creek as the clouds built up around us... The winds picked up and the air got heavy... Mother Nature put on her dancing shoes and gave us a show... We were bummed at first to not be in the vast and lonely desert, but for a trip that got planned at the last minute it turned out really cool! We thoroughly enjoyed having Mark and Max along, and it was fun to share this wild and wonderful part of the majestic Sierra with them. I hope we can make it back down there again before the snow flies. Thanks for coming along!
Max took video of me crossing the San Joaquin River. The action itself isn't all that, but it's funny to hear Max say something about wouldn't it be great if I crashed, and Eric agreeing, saying "That'd be awesome!" Click to play
really is beutiful scenery you guys got out there. i never get sick of yalls journeys....just wish i was closer to that terrain lol
just wondering if you guys ever take any travel rods with you and do any fishing out there? also how do you keep the food cold when you venture out to the different camps? do you jsut run back to the main camp and grab the stuff for that night? i didnt see any coolers on the bikes. sorry if i already asked about the fishin on one of your previous posts but thats usually the first thing that comes to mind when i see a body of water lol
Thanks, Walt! I will graciously accept it from you Fly `n ride, dude...fly `n ride. We've got a garageful of motorcycles and 4 of them are Huskys...so far
No, we don't take any travel rods with us, but Eric thinks about it all the time. He doesn't know a lot about fishing, but we know that we both like fresh fish. A friend of his has been doing that very thing and he was talking to him about it at work the other day. Might make a good birthday gift As far as keeping food cold, I usually freeze everything ahead of time and fill up my Camelbak bladder with ice before we go. I put the stuff that needs to be cold in my backpack next to the ice-filled bladder and they keep each other cold. I have a regular Camelbak backpack (not a motorcycle-centric backpack) that has a huge insulated compartment where the bladder goes and it can hold a lot of stuff. On our last night there I had 2 huge kielbasa sausages, cheese, salami and chocolate bars in there and I had room to spare. We usually eat really good the first night and then it's freeze-dried backpacker food the rest of the nights but some of that stuff is really good! We'll also take twice as much meat as we can eat at night, but we'll cook it and eat it for breakfast or lunch the next day. I bring fresh oranges or grapefruits as they travel well and don't need refrigeration. I gotta have my juice in the morning I have some of that spongy drawer liner stuff that folks use in RV cabinets to keep stuff from sliding around. I wrap it around plums or nectarines and throw them in my saddlebags. As long as I keep the bike on two wheels my fruit stays nice and fresh. Sometimes I'll throw a bag of frozen boil-in-a-bag creamed spinach in the backpack and it's always good, even though it always thaws out before I eat it. For bread I use rustic baguettes. They tend to be heartier than your average french bread baguette and they hold up to travel really well cut up and in a zip-loc. Vacuum packs of tuna that don't need to be drained pair really well with mayonaise packets purloined from the fast-food place we ate at on the way to wherever we're riding Corn tortillas travel really well, too.
thank you for the invite! if life was only that easy lol and thanks for sharing the camping info aswell.
With Tami and Eric, life (and fly n' rides) really CAN be that easy. It's not nearly as difficult as you might think. Shop for tickets, you'd be amazed at how cheaply you can fly into Oakland. Save and plan a little. It's well worth it to see the country from a dirt bike, and the company can't be beat. Not to be pushy, I'm just sayin'... Tim H Happy fly n' ride veteran
Very cool report! I've always been sooooo jelous of folks who get to ride in the mountains. Any time my wife and I go on an out of state vacation we gravitate to the mountains. Great read!
Bikes luv pullin' up hills and the downhills are great for saving gas and resting ... Plus braking hard into a uphill corner will make ya feel like RV2 ...
Aww, man...that's all? I wanna be the goddess of...well, everything! Thanks, Jason! Yeah, the mountains are cool, and I think the Sierra is a pretty special place. We love the desert, too, though. I guess we just kind of like it all Hmm...maybe I'm doing it wrong, since I never feel like RV2 while off-roading my SM610
That photo is the only one I got of all 4 of us Seriously, over 400 photos and that was the only one! I carried my tripod on every mile of that ride, too, with the thought of getting a cool photo of all of us but it never happened. Thanks, ghte and pingwin. See note aboves about "Fly n' Ride"
