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by Catfish Photos by Airon Green, Laurel Sutcliffe, Wendy Epstein, & Catfish Most of the group arrived on Friday Dec. 26th as planned. I was at home dealing with a broken WR450 & borrowing Laurel's KTM 250. Laurel's Photos, Airon's Photos, Wendy's & Catfish's Photos Got to camp about 4:30PM Sunday... WHAT A CROWD!!! Looked like everyone (+30) were back from their rides and about to go into town to the Chinese restaurant for dinner. I said Hi! to everyone I saw and stayed in camp. Needed to get my stuff unloaded & setup before dark.
Earl & Lee Minkler returned in their white Toy4x4 from Red Rock Canyon with a bucket of shiny rocks. Next Hans Koolhoven (with kids Sam & Grace) arrived with rental truck, trailer, & dirtbikes. I wasn't last after all! Hans pulled his old CR250 out of the trailer, did a big wheelie, and looped it over the back. Destroyed the rear fender & mangled the sub-frame. Now THERE'S a dad who knows how to impress his kids!
MONDAY morning was more visiting and a 9AM group photo. Lee walked up with a plate of fresh, hot Monkey Brains! MmmMM! Whoa, we had 36 folks in the picture, with several more pointing cameras at us. I think this was a record! Apparently several were leaving on Monday, including Laurel & Sue. :-( Said goodbyes while wandering around looking to see who wanted to ride where. Phil Kopp & Gary Barnett were going to ride the Jawbone-Dove Springs DS loop today. Hans & several others headed east towards the Fremont Mountains. Joel Buck & Grace were following the group in his Toy rockcrawler (that he drove down from Selma, Oregon). Earl & Lee was going for a ride this morning, but his son Lee (who hadn't ridden with us in 6-7 years either) was going too! A crowd saddled up and headed cross-country for a Nipple Tour(tm)! Its usually a cross-country race from nipple to nipple. We wait for the last to arrive before picking the next. We lost Bruce (on the ATV) by the first nipple. Wendy rode her trick KLX450 back towards camp looking for Bruce. The rest of us headed towards the 2nd nipple. Several of us arrived, but 3 or so were missing. Looking back in the direction we just came, we could see Earl & a couple of others about 1/4 mile back, standing around near their bikes. Hmmm... We rode back to them and discovered that 23yo Lee hit a deep wash just a BIT too fast for the XR100's suspension. Earl described the sight of Lee & the XR100 cartwheeling through the air (separately) about 6-7 ft above the ground. Lee was banged up, but didn't appear to have broken anything. They slowly returned to camp while the rest of us headed towards the next you-know-what. I guess 3 nipples are enough for some folks, as several wanted to head back towards camp as we re-grouped on top of # 3. One forgot to top his fuel tank off and another forgot his lunch. Sheeesh, we'd only been out an hour. I could still see the water-tank hill that we're camped behind. I coerced them into touring 2 more nipples on the way back. Lunch was next. Laurel's KTM 250XCFW needed a few adjustments to fit me better. Lowered the clutch & brake levers. Lowered the brake pedal also. Adjusted the forks' compression dampening down to one click above minimum. The rear shock felted great, but the forks were still a little stiffer than the shock. I REALLY liked the 2-inch lowered setup. A foot actually reaching the ground when you want it to is quite the confidence booster when you riding in technical terrain. Bruce had rode back into camp about an hour after Wendy. He got
lost, Earl & I & a few others took an afternoon ride east to the Party-Naked Bunker The trails to the bunker (flowing esses, up & down gentle hills) are some of my favorites down there. Well, except that rocky one. I'll still ride that one east-to-west, but not west-to-east anymore. That trail encourages speeds much faster than the large half-buried square-edged rocks should be taken. I think EVERYONE has had at least one pinch-flat on that trail. I know mine was followed 3-4 seconds later by a CRASH as I leaned to the right to follow the ridge line. The bunker had a fresh coat of paint, so the big "PARTY NAKED" spray-painted across the top of its wall was gone. :-( However it was SO COOL to be riding with Earl again! He had a BIG SMILE across his face! We rode the singletrack trails back to the edge of "town" and then cross-country back to camp! The 250 was working well and I was getting more comfortable the more I rode it. :-) Fixed a TALL absolute & tonic with a BIG piece of lime. Grilled a rib-eye steak and had a big salad for dinner. Talked to Phil & Gary afterwards, while looking at Gary's rig. WOW! What a truck! They hit a little snow in the mountains above Jawbone. Sounded like a great ride! Someone started a small fire, that I proceeded to make MUCH
bigger. A
TUESDAY morning was frozen again, but it was warming up nicely as the sun appeared above our hill. Just as I finished breakfast, Lee arrived with another batch of Monkey Brains. Earl had said he was going to make 'em every day in the desert! Today I was going to "lead" a long technical ride into the El Paso Mountains. Phil said he was going to take the day off (after 3 days of riding) and offered his DRZ400S for the day. Since I have been considering one of these as a future Baja bike, I said YES! I'm only mid-pack speed wise, so I tend to lead from the rear when the fast guys are around. Hans broke one side of his CR250 sub-frame trying to straighten it. Then he & Earl did the punch-as-a-dowel on the inside & a 2-combo-wrench & hose-clamps splint on the outside. Good as new. Much heavier. Hans found a 1x6 from the firewood pile & used baling wire to attach his new rear fender. Eight of us headed towards the Rand Mountains and took R43 over the top and down into the next valley to the north. 20 miles later we were at the base of the El Paso's. Wendy said she was already too tired to ride up a long wash. Said she was going straight back to camp the way we came. And didn't need an escort. We discussed whether she should go alone, but she insisted. Off she went, and 7 headed into the El Paso's at Goler Gulch. Hans was leading on the CR250 and I was bringing up the rear. Hans was to stop at every major intersection and wait for me. Then I'd tell 'em which way to go. This worked fairly well. Usually. They only had to come back to me ONCE! The wash was moist, which is usually good for improving sand. But this wash seemed to get softer with moisture. It was a struggle for everyone. They stopped twice at crossing trails hoping to climb out of the wash. I told them we're headed to Sheep Springs, straight up this wash. I promised the wash wouldn't go on forever. We started to wonder. Near the top, I came up to Joe on the KX500 and he said he lost his gas cap. Sure enough it was missing and his jacket looked a little wet. He said he was going back to the last place we stopped in the wash to look for it. We waited at the top of the wash for Joe to return. He did, but with no gas cap. Said he was going to take the wash back out & ride straight back to camp. Airon gave him a ziplock baggy and a zip-ty to close the tank. We waved goodbye to Joe as he rode back to camp.
6 continued to the lunch break at Sheep Springs. Hans' 1x6 rear fender didn't survive the wash, but the sub-frame was doing just fine! There are petroglyphs on many dark rocks on the "Wilderness" ridge above Sheep Springs. Next we climbed the eastern ridge and started linking together several ridge-top singletrack trails to the southeast. They were Heaven! The views spectacular! Our favorite singletrack (we call "Top of the El Paso's") has seen MUCH more traffic. The nipple at the top of the 1st ridge was REALLY erect. Quite the trials obstacle now. The steep rocky climb up the last ridge was tore up and covered in loose shale-like rocks. It used to have 2-3 loose spots. Now the whole climb is loose.
Gary was stopped about 2/3s the way up when Joe Volpe & I arrived at the bottom. The other 3 had cleared the top. Gary started his XR650R and tried to continue. He fish-tailed a little ways, stepped sideways, and over the 650 went. On some rocks. He picked it up, and gave us a big thumbs DOWN and a frown. Uh-OH! Joe told me to go for it, so up I went. It wasn't pretty, but I cleared the top my 1st try on the DRZ. I yelled to the others to follow me back down to help.
As we walked back down the hill to Gary, Joe was coming up on his XR650R. Joe almost got to Gary, stalled and fell over. It would NOT start. It wore he & I both out. He rode back down and finally bumped it over at the bottom.
On his 2nd climb he went sideways STRAIGHT AT ME, grabbed the brakes, and fell over again. On his 3rd try he cleared the top! Back to Gary. Not only was the clutch cover in pieces, but 2 clutch bolts had broken on impact also. We were considering getting Joe out of the mountains, pull his clutch cover, return & install on Gary's, and get him out of the mountains, etc... The damaged clutch killed that idea.
We had 2 tow straps & six guys. There were two hills to get Gary's 650 up if we continued forward, and four and a wash if we tried to go back the way we came.
The straps were tied on and we pulled/pushed the 650 to the top of the hill. We tied a loop with one strap across the back of Joe's 650 and then tied the 2nd strap to it. At Gary's end it was wrapped around the handlebars between the mounts twice and then under Gary's left hand at the grip. Joe towed Gary to the next steep hill. We pulled/pushed it up that one too. Man, was I glad there were still 6 of us! We finally reached the top of a long straight road (EP21) that went north to Ridgecrest. Opposite direction of camp. Joe & I agreed on his return route so I knew I could find them later. Hans & I went a "more direct" way back to get my truck & ramps to come rescue Gary's 650. It seemed to take FOREVER to get back to camp the way Hans wanted to go. I followed. Wendy & KX500Joe had made it back ok. Scrambled to get the truck un-hooked from the trailer. Loaded the ramps and Wendy wanted to go too. We drove 200 yards at sundown to meet a red dirtbike towing a red dirtbike into camp. YEAH!!! Joe towed Gary over 50 miles all the way back to camp! They were both pretty COLD running down the highway at sunset. Matt and Airon arrived shortly afterwards. Dinner, libations, and the today's many adventures were enjoyed by the fire. :-) The DRZ400S did pretty good today. My only complaint was the lack of snap in the throttle response (CV carb). To loft the front tire over whoops & things required RPM, seriously pre-loading the suspension, and then yank the bars as you twist to WFO.
WEDNESDAY saw several more folks head home. Wendy & Bruce hadn't been to the bunker or Randsburg yet, and it was new years eve. We better go today before the BIGGER crowds get here. Since Bruce was using his GPS, he felt more comfortable about trying to follow us to various places.
We took the fun trails to the bunker and discovered a large group camped there on the south side. Next we headed north along the power-line road to the edge of Randsburg. We idled into town past the empty CHP car. Discovered the general store (w the soda fountain) was the only place in town open, and it was packed. We ate our snacks in front of the CLOSED "White House."
Took several fun ridge trails south of town back to a large wooden mine structure. Then it was cross country about 6 miles to the Camp B Hills. All arrived except Bruce on the ATV. We waited 20 minutes. Wendy & others figured he missed it somehow and was headed straight to camp. They headed to camp (another 6-7 miles) to see if he would be there. A couple of us waited a bit longer and we never saw Bruce. We then headed to camp. Everyone was in camp except Bruce. We waited & talked. Then a couple of us grabbed bikes with headlights and mounted up. Then Bruce rode in. He said the GPS took him to an area that was posted no trespassing and he said he had a hard time trying to get around that area. He did finally get to Camp B hills, but long after we had left looking for him. Even the short, easy rides can be an adventure! California City is a cool place to be for New Year's Eve. There were usually fireworks every night of the week, but there had been very little this year. Every one must be saving the stuff 'til midnight. Wendy had Christmas Mojitos ingredients, and I had some Absolute. Mmmmmm... those were GOOD!
We had several drinkers & tall tales by the fire, but it was only Wendy & I who were still there at midnight. HolyDogPoopBatman! We had 4 camps to the west and three to the SE that did continuous BIG-ASS fireworks for 15 minutes. It was a HOOT! Earl & Lee stuck their heads out of the trailer for a few seconds to see what we were hollering about. Went to bed about 12:30. A lone, noisy night-rider rode by camp about 4:30am. WTF?!?
THURSDAY - New Year's morning was bright and the neighborhood filled with kids on dirtbikes & ATVs. I had not been able to get my Verizon phone to work in camp, and needed some more ice. Wendy & I went into town for a few supplies. We got Earl & Lee out for a short afternoon ride to Aerial Acres. This is a weird little "slum" area at the south edge of Cal. City. It has many very-creative dwellings there. Some had 2-3 RVs and/or trailers joined together with home-made "halls" & connectors. Earl had said on many previous trips that he was going to buy the WHOLE place! I took Wendy's KLX450 out for a short ride after we all returned. WOW! What a motor! The mid-range feels like an XR650R! Twist only 1/4 throttle and its standing STRAIGHT UP! Earl, Lee, Wendy, Bruce, & I had a nice evening by the fire. I hadn't been to the Fremonts or the Moto-Memorial yet this trip, and Wendy had never been to either. We had a plan for Friday. Earl & Lee were heading home on Friday, while Bruce, Wendy, & I were going to head home on Saturday.
FRIDAY - Wendy & I said out good-byes to Earl & Lee, and headed east. Bruce and Ossa (the man-eating German Shepherd) stayed to guard camp. I was a little concerned as to whether the KTM's 2.1 gal tank was going to get me to the Memorial and back. Wendy had a larger tank and plenty of fuel though. We rode north of the Fremonts and south of the Cuddeback Dry Lake Bed. It was not dry, so we didn't get near it. Next were several singletracks and sand washes into the hills to the east. The singletracks were pretty whooped out. We both stopped to rest. The KTM was impressing me with its incredible manners in the sand
washes. Once I realized I could trust the front tire
like-no-dirtbike-I-have-ever-
We arrived at the Motorcycle Memorial a little after noon and initially could not see *any* of it. The crowd surrounding it was HUGE! 40-50 folks were there, with 10-20 more coming & going almost continuously. After eating lunch, the crowd thinned enough for us to get near and take a couple of photos.
The original Memorial was the lone old Husky, with its wheels buried in concrete in the sand. 2 years ago there were several new smaller memorials/plaques in a circle around the Husky.
Now there are 3 rows of various new memorials and plaques circling the Husky. It was a sight!
I got Wendy to sit on the Husky for a photo. It had some new fenders and a new-looking fuel tank. Looking GOOD! We started back to the Fremonts on a different set of trails to avoid the whooped-out ones. We found a fun wash out of the hills to the last ridge. Then this sweet-looking singletrack climbed the ridge and headed north. We were THERE! The top-of-the-ridge trail was a blast! It wound around & around, and up & down! :-)
The ridge dropped to the valley and we turned for the north side of the Fremont Mountains. We rode several ridges and stopped for a break at the Monarch-Rand Mine at the foot of the Fremont Peak.
We watched a group of kids on dirtbikes trying to come up the wash to the mine. Two were having a hard time at a coupe of technical spots, but the last 2 motored around and up. They were both young teen-age girls. The others finally made it and appeared to be younger sisters of these two. Wendy & I both thought that was SO COOL! These young girls were on a great adventure in the desert too! We said good-bye to the girls and headed west for camp. The roads back were fast and fun. We detoured to a couple of nipples on the way back to liven-up the route. :-) Had a quiet evening in camp and started packing things up for the return trip home. SATURDAY - Bruce, Wendy, and Ossa (the man-eating German Shepherd) pulled out of camp about 20 minutes before I did. The drive home was OK and I got in before dark. It was a GREAT trip to the Mojave! Everyone was so stoked about coming again that we already picked the weekend, March 13-16. Catfish ... |
