NV Ride....In Memory Of The Crewmen

[Hodakaguy]

Continued From Above.....

A couple dune buggies crossing a stream.

Sky's are starting to turn nasty and the temperature is dropping rapidly....Hmmm...

We reach Yellow Rock Canyon right as it starts to rain. We all stop at the abandoned shack to put on the cold weather gloves and rain cloths.

Arriving at the shack.

Hey...this will make a great kick stand!

Foundation to a long lost cabin or ?

After leaving Yellow Rock Canyon we started to climb in elevation. The trails were absolutely beautiful....unfortunately the rain was making them take on the consistency of a well greased baking pan! The trail was not only slick but the mud will pack onto your bike so thick it will lock up your chain, front wheel etc.

The bikes are handling like a humming bird with a bowling ball duct taped under one wing!

It was slow going for a while.

Oh yeah...this has to be good for the bikes lol.

Continued Below.....

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Continued From Above....


Mud and more mud....

Hey Trevor....Look at the camera....It's for prosperity LOL.

My rear tire.

Here's a short video of Andy riding a slick section of mud like a pro!


The last of the nasty mud...back on a solid trail!

After this picture the weather turned really cold and our tracks took us right up to 7500' where we were riding in snow! It was starting to get dark and we were all cold and hungry, not having eaten since breakfast in Denio Junction. We look at the tracks and find the fastest way down off the mountain to try to get to Gerlach before Dark, a nice hot shower is sounding pretty good at this point! We are all really glad we took on fuel at Soldier Meadows since are tanks are starting to look pretty low.

We didn't tank any more pictures after the mud section, it was just to cold and we were all concentrating on making it to Gerlach before dark...the prospect of camping in the snow at 7500' wasn't to enticing!

Gerlach! We made it in right before Bruno's restaurant closed and had a great meal. We got some rooms at the Bruno's motel and settled in for the night.

Trever found a hose and decided to get some mud off his bike....I was to tired to care and figured I'd get it off in the am.

Another great days riding!!

End Day 4

Miles on Bike: 2086
Hrs on Bike: 74.9


More to come!

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Day 5 - June 5th.

Miles on Bike: 2086
Hrs on Bike: 74.9


We woke up after a good nights sleep at the original roach motel lol. It was a fresh day and Trever was starting to get over his PTMD (Post Traumatic Mud Disorder!) LOL. The weather had turned cold and nasty, the high country was covered in a fresh blanket of snow! We decided to clean up the bikes a bit and head to Bruno's for breakfast.

Our haven out of the weather for the night....I decided to throw the sleeping bag on the bed instead of using the 1940's sheets lol.

Lots O Mud!

Breakfast at Bruno's.

We warmed up, ate a good breakfast and decided on a game plan. Trevor's shoulder was bothering him and our planned tracks would take us right up into the snow within minutes. Our detour back north earlier placed us in the way of the cold front, we were trapped. We could hit pavement and bomb south until we hit warmer weather but then we would be pinched on time to get back. Or we could ride north and base camp at the Alvord Desert, explore some abandoned mines and soak in the springs. With the weather cold and rotten we changed plans again and decided to head north... Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches.

Trever and Mark would take a separate route, pick up Marks truck and meet us in Denio Junction. The rest of us would double back through Soldier Meadows.

We filled the bikes with fuel and rolled out for adventure.

Alan on the move.

Andy ready to head out.

We decide to cut across the Black Rock Desert and check out another Hot Springs on the way to Soldier Meadows.

A little time for playing on the Playa

Couple posing shots

Rolling out for the springs.

Right as we arrive at the springs the road turns to the gumbo mud that we were riding in yesterday. I manage to get sideways and drop the bike as I roll to a stop....Sorry didn't get any pics lol.

Another quote from a settlers diary.

The springs.

Right after I took this shot I slipped walking down the hill and packed my camera up with mud! Luckily it was the back side of the camera and after some time with some baby wipes everything was fine again.

Continued Below.....

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Continued From Above.....

With the prospect of riding numerous miles in more gumbo mud we turned around and headed back across the Black Rock to the gravel road on the other side.

A ways up the road we came across the license plate art display and stopped for some pictures.

Doing a little repair work on a fallen piece of art.

I decided to leave my own piece of art on the display

Alan pointing at the snow above soldier meadows that came in over night.....bummer, that's where we were heading.

A quick stop at soldier meadows, we were hoping to catch Kathy home but she was still away on business. We chat a bit with the ranch hand and continue north.

There is some great riding in the hills above Soldier Meadows....but with the snow we decide to stay low and continue north to Denio Junciton.

I stopped along the road to take some pictures of the snow...cold!

Getting close.

The Pueblo Mountains above Denio Junction where we placed the Memorial Plaque on the first day....now dusted with snow.

Back at Denio Junction...ready to warm up and get some grub!

A Syncro Vanagon at Denio Junction when we arrive, owned by a nice couple from Oregon.

We arrived just after Trever and Mark arrived...Perfect timing! We all grabbed a bite to eat then will load up the bikes and move the trucks up to the Alvord.

Yummmm!!!

Ok....which one is out of place for the NV desert? lol.

And a few shots from Trever and Mark's journey north to Denio Junction.

Continued Below....

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

These are some cool rock formations!

Would make a great shelter in a pinch!

Back to Denio Junction. We loaded up the bikes and rolled to the Alvord Desert. We had planned on riding up to the mines above the desert and I was going to show the guys the old miners orchard that resides up there as well....But. When we arrived at the Alvord Hot Springs we find this...

The entrance road that leads to the mines, orchard etc is blocked and fenced off! This is also the spot where a lot of people camp that stop to soak in the springs. Hmmm......

The dirt access road the connects the lake bed to the springs is also blocked off. To get to the lake bed you now have to drive a mile or so down the gravel road then drop onto the playa from there....no more riding up from the playa for a quick soak.....this sucks!

Later at Fields Station we learn the scoop. The Alvord Hot Springs is on private property and they let the public use the springs...but the owner is wanting the BLM to take over liability of the springs as well as install a bathroom at the site. I guess he hasn't got it yet so he closed off the road and the entrance to the hills....the hills are BLM but the entrance is on his property. If he doesn't get the bathroom etc then he might shut down the springs all together. That would be a real shame...such a cool place to visit and enjoy a soak. I hope it all works out in the end.

Well we can't ride up here where we were planning either....we decide to take a nice soak then roll for home, we will return again to complete our original 1700 mile loop!

There are two pools at the Alvord Springs. It looked like someone had just finished cleaning out the "outside" pool and the hot water pipe was still open to it when we arrived...it was WAY to hot to soak in. The inside pool was warm but not hot...to cold for me to want to get in since it was really cold and windy outside. Something had to be done to cool down the outside pool!

Where there's a will there's a way! Inside each pool are several washing machine drums turned upside down for seats, in a pinch they can become buckets to scoop cool water to the hot side! Oh yeah....Nice hot soak here we come!

The piping that brings the hot water down to the pools from the source.

Panorama of the springs, Amazing scenery!

While I waited for the hot pool to cool a little I checked out the inside of the changing room, here's a shot of a memorial left for Carl. Carl lived down the road from the Alvord Springs and did a lot of maint and upkeep at the springs. He knew the area very well and was very friendly....rest in piece Carl!

Trever is first in the hot side. It was still HOT but you could get used to it and get in eventually. The heat felt great!

Mark instantly turned into a lobster! lol.

After the soak we left the Alvord, headed to Fields for fuel and rolled towards home. At Fields a young Ukrainian women named Elena was getting fuel and was asking how to get to British Columbia, she was on the way up from Vegas to visit friends. Not wanting to get lost she joined our caravan towards WA and was now part of the RR....Smile for the camera

Every time we stopped she would stop with us. She followed us till John Day and we convinced her to stop and get a hotel for the night while we continued on, she had been on the road a long time and looked pretty drowsy.

We arrived home around 2am. Another trip in the books.

Can't wait to return to NV again....I love that area!!!!!

End Trip.

Miles on bike: 2225
Hrs on bike: 78.0


I'll post up some of my other ride reports soon. :friday:

Hodakaguy

 

[fisher205]

Good Report and Great ride. I really need to get down to Nevada and explore. I think it gets less attention(except LV and Reno) than all the other states.

 

[GR8ADV]

Well done on every front. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Rumpig]

Nice read and lovely pics aswell, cheers for posting that up.
A fantastic idea and nice work by you guys to erect that memorial plaque at the crash site also

 

[ttora4runner]

Nice report and photos.

 

[SDDiver5]

Awesome report. So is the whole trip something a 4x4 truck can do? From most of your pictures it looks like the majority of the trails are easily accessible for 4x.

 

[bwebb702]

Very cool to put the plaque there. Looks like a great trip!

 

[Guri]

Looks really fun ride and better plaque to honor the people in the airplane.
Well done!
Thanks for sharing.

 

[Hodakaguy]

Awesome report. So is the whole trip something a 4x4 truck can do? From most of your pictures it looks like the majority of the trails are easily accessible for 4x.

Thanks guys, it was a great trip for sure.

A lot of this trip could be explored by 4x4, I'd say the good majority of it. There are a few sections that only a bike is going to be able to do but there are work arounds via 4x4. Ideally if you could carry a bike with you on the 4x4 you could base camp and ride out to explore the canyons etc....I'm thinking about doing the very same thing in the future. Ton's of very cool country to explore down that way!

Hodakaguy

 

[shortbus4x4]

Good job on the memorial. Thanks for doing that. Looks like an epic ride, thanks for sharing. Might get down that way next spring and check out the memorial.

 

[SmoothLC]

Way to go. What a great trip and kudos for the memorial.

I was up in that area a couple years ago on the way to Bend and wanted to explore some of that area. Thanks for showcasing some of the places.