Motorcycling the Tat-W, Ray Jardine

A 15-Day Solo Motorcycle Trip along the TAT Through Utah, Nevada, and Oregon.

Day 1

October 9, 2012: Home to Cortez, CO

Our pet Macaw checks out the GPS, as if to make sure I have the right data loaded.

Change engine oil, and replace oil filter
Lube throttle and clutch cables
Checked brake pads and fluid (ok)
Check coolant (ok)

I slabbed to Colorado, in order to begin the TAT where I left off last time.

Morning of departure

Queen Creek Canyon out of Superior, AZ,

Cathedral Rock near the town of Shiprock NM

Friendly folks at a gas stop. I spent a lot of time talking with them (they were my next-door neighbors at the motel in Cortez). They were from MO, and the guy had put 85K on this bike. They were on the fifth day of their trip.

Day's mileage: 449 mi

Day 2

October 10, 2012: Cortez to Green River

Back on the TAT where I left it last time - 18 miles out of Dolores, CO

A good section of road through the high-country makes for a beautiful ride this time of year.

A grove of cottonwoods on the Dolores River.

Breakfast stop in Pleasant View, CO

Rest stop

Approaching the La Sals (South Mt) and the mini-town of the same name (La Sal, Utah).

Climbing into the La Sals

Mt. Peale in the late fall season. At this altitude the Aspen are losing their leaves.

Mt. Mellenthin

The La Sals, central group, and the road around them.

After surmounting Geyser Pass 10,528' the route drops down into the Moab area.

The lower part of the road was closed, so I had to follow nearby Geyser Pass Road to Moab.

In the desert NW of Moab. That's Geyser Pass between the north and central groups of the La Sals.

Its been a fun day of riding; and also a long one.

Heading for Green River for the night.

Day 3

October 11, 2012: Green River to Salina

In the desert west of Green River, getting an early start.

I love the subtle colors of early morning.

Approaching the highway running through the San Rafael Swell

Rather than follow the TAT through Black Dragon wash, I followed the road through Buckhorn Draw. This road is suitable for ordinary cars and would be highly recommended for anyone driving in the area.

Dramatic light signals an impending storm. Better lay low tomorrow.

Into Buckhorn Draw. There's a good campground here, at San Rafael Creek.

These towering cliffs go on for miles.

At the Buckhorn Wash Pictograph Panel

Petroglyphs

Pictographs

Comparing notes with a fellow traveler, he recommended a six-mile side trip to see the "Little Grand Canyon." So that's where I'm headed next.

This photo reminds me of the reason I like to travel. It's called "freedom."

The Wedge Overlook.

Map

Little Grand Canyon

I like these old, battered trees and how they have withstood the elements. "Don't give up," they seem to say. Stand your ground and carve yourself a niche in life.

Approaching the town of Castle Dale, UT (not yet visible). The Manti Mountains (Wasatch Plateau) are next on my day's riding agenda.

Stopped for highway construction en route to Ferron. Note the thick high-cirrus portending a coming storm.

Climbing into the Manti Mountains.

Higher and higher - 50 miles to get over this batch of mountains.

Its cold and windy up here, but finally I have the pass in sight.

Descending the Manti Mountains en route to Mayfield.

I was riding slow, enjoying the awesome view, when a buck suddenly ran across the road in front of me - a few feet away. If I had been going any faster I might have run into him. Nevertheless, it was pretty funny because of all the deer hunters around.

Late lunch stop. How do I manage without a chair? I simply lay down on the soft grass. There's not much danger of ticks this late in the year.

Good dirt road south of Mayfield, en route to Salina where I will spend the night. Look out ma, storm's a coming.

Note on the map below, the short blue line in the middle of the state. That was today. Doesn't seem like much!

Day's mileage: 157 mi

Day 4

October 12, 2012: Salina layover

Into ones life some rain must fall. This storm completely soaked the state of Utah and turned the dirt roads into mud. And it covered the mountains with snow. Such was the price of riding so late in the season. If I wanted to continue with my journey, which I most definitely did, I knew that I would have to ride the paved highways out of Utah and into Nevada where the ground was receiving much less of a soaking.

Day 5

October 13, 2012: Salina to Great Basin NP

Riding the highway out of Utah. Somewhere up there is my forfeited route. I hated to miss it, but I will ride it some other time.

160 miles later I bought groceries at the Border Inn gas station.

heading into the mountains of the Great Basin National Park.

In Great Basin NP, the road climbs to 10,000' to take a look at Wheeler Peak (13,063') PS: These are not storm clouds.

In Lower Lehman Creek Campground.

I'm not carrying a Net-Tent on this trip because this late in the season the bugs are very few.

The ground was littered with delicious nuts from the pinion pines. Was I the first person who knew what they were? I collected a bag of them to take home to Jenny and Melly.

Pinion pines

Day's mileage: 173 mi

Day 6

October 14, 2012: Great Basin NP to Eureka

Early morning I stopped at the Sliver Jack Inn (now Kerouac's) in Baker, NV, in order to pick up a couple of liters of water. The owner was very nice, and had a KLR parked outside. But he surprised me by not knowing anything about the TAT. In fact, he had never heard of the TAT. "T - A - T," he repeated. "Yes, the Trans-America-Trail," I affirmed. Kind of strange, in regards to the number of TAT riders who have stayed here.

Baker NV Click on "trail segment"
select "terrain"
then zoom out

Out into the Big Empty. I'm looking forward to this.

Initially I didn't know whether the ground was still soaked from the recent big storm, and muddy; or whether the bulk of the storm had reached eastern Nevada. So I was very cautious, because I sure didn't want to get the bike stuck in the mud so far from help. And indeed I found the dirt roads somewhat muddy for the first few hours, but nothing I couldn't easily handle. So I had made the right decision about getting out of Utah. And as the morning wore on, the Nevada desert dried out under the warm sun. After the first few hours, there was no mud anywhere. So I was all set.

Pinion Pine

Pinion cones

Pinion nuts

I was surprised to find so much limestone in Nevada. There were karst areas everywhere - a spelunker's dream.

This canyon had no drainage. It must not rain much here.

This canyon empties out into the small town of Lund, where I stopped for gas.

A splash of color in the Fremont cottonwoods

Some remains of the old mining town of Hamilton. I had intended to camp near here, but mistakenly had run out of food. So I carried on to the town of Eureka.

Day 7

October 15, 2012: Eureka to Kelly Creek Ranch.

Riding north on an important mining road - important judging by the depth of the gravel bed. And judging by the ominous sky, the next storm system is headed this way (but to my good fortune, it soon fizzled out).

At a lone ranch, out in the middle of nowhere, I had to stop and open this gate, which was nothing but a rope tied across the road.

This warning sign is common throughout Nevada, and I'm sure its for good reason. Stay out of the canyons during a storm. If nothing else, the roads turn slippery with gooey mud. Incidentally, I've seen photos of this particular sign on several TAT ride reports.

The route leads through another private ranch.

Another good road leading to a mining operation.

Looking back the other way.

Most TAT ride-reports I have read - and I have read just about all of them, to date - say the riders don't care for Nevada. It is too big, too spread out, and the services are too few and far-between. They say that Nevada overwhelms ones senses with a feeling of isolation. And help is a long ways away, in case of a problem with the bike. I have read only one TAT R.R. where the writer felt at ease with Nevada's great openness - and I'm with him on that. I love the great expanses. They are like fresh air to the soul in an otherwise over-developed world. Granted, I might not like to live out here, because of the sameness. But I am enjoying this ride for all its worth, which is a great deal.

Nevada's great openness.

Then came the sand - deep and powdery.

With the super-sandy pass behind me, I'm rolling easy again.

Looking ahead from the same spot.

The route goes through another isolated ranch. That makes three today - one every 70 miles or so. The neighbors are long ways off.

The next pass is visible ahead. Note the motorcycle tracks made when the road was wet.

I climbed the pass to see what was on the other side. This is what I saw. More of the same.

This water crossing was six inches deep, dammed perhaps by local kids. It was a nice spot to take a lunch break.

From the creek you can see a radar dome. Such radar sites help flight controllers maintain the safety of airline passengers flying across the country.

Approaching the outskirts of Battle Mountain, NV, where I will stop for gas and also food for the night's dinner.

North of town, the route-road led again through private property. The gate was open but the signs said "No trespassing. Access by permission only." I knew that other TAT riders had gone through without problems. So I proceeded ahead.

The road had been recently bladed. Very recently in fact. Soon I passed the guy driving the grader going the other way.

This was the last semblance of a road for many a mile. From here the route led out into the open prairies.

It felt rather like driving on the moon.

Looking back from the same spot.

Single track

And then the route came to this fence-line with no gate. Time to wing it - by following the fence to the left, and then back to the north-west.

Reaching a gate, and from there the route gets even worse, leading into the sand, silt and sagebrush.

Powdery and deep sand. One might be able to see faint motorcycle tracks leading through the sagebrush. I usually followed them.

Fortunately the sagebrush was not this high very often, but at times like these I was glad to have left my wide pannier boxes at home.

Reaching the abandoned Kelly Creek Ranch late in the day, I was glad to find the creek dry. The slopes of the creek-bed are much steeper than they appear in this photo.

Its been a good day of riding. Possibly my best day of motorcycling adventure-touring ever.

Day 8

October 16, 2012: Kelly Creek Ranch to Big Springs Reservoir

I slept well during the night, despite the drone of machinery at the nearby mine. Come first light, I packed my gear and loaded the bike, then set off - with one intention in mind: to find and follow the best road leading to the town of Paradise Valley and Hinkey Pass. I had had enough riding in silt for one trip, and knew there was more ahead on the TAT. Riding out of the ranch, I found that the best road led past the mine site, so I followed that and kept on going. I was in luck.

Inside Kelly Creek cabin: I had seen photos of these signatures on various ride reports, so it felt odd to be looking at them in person.

Mustangs

Mine site and its strange chemical lake.

I stopped at the junction of Kelly Creek and Sheldon roads - near the Chimney reservoirs, when a field manager of some sort pulled up in his pickup. I asked the nice gentleman about the history of Kelly Creek Ranch, and he told me something about the property.

He said that the powers-that-be were looking for someone to manage the ranch, but couldn't find anyone. The ranch has a well, but there is a spring - somewhere to the north - that flows year around. About then someone else pulled up in a water truck. This person got out and asked where I was from. "Arizona," I affirmed, then asked him where he was from. "Right here," he said, "I work here." Then he went on to say how both of them had seen many people coming through on all manner of motorcycles, riding a route that he called the "Trans America Road." I asked them both how many per year. They thought about that for a while, then the boss said "conservatively, 250... Conservatively." And I also gleaned that few of them stick to the official route (these guys didn't know about that), because they had seen them all over the place, for example in Winnemucca.

Approaching the small town of Paradise Valley in imminent rain.

Climbing to to Hinkey Pass.

Wind storm headed for Paradise Valley.

Amazing hole in the rock at Hinkey Pass.

Conspiracy theorists unite!

Hole in the rock visible in shadow on Google Maps. The road junction marks Hinkey Pass (7,850')

I rode half-an-hour in the rain, then came the wind and dust storms.

Rider in the storm.

Calm at Fort McDermitt

Now in Oregon and having come through the worst dust storm I've ever been in. And living in Arizona I've been in lots of them. This one went on for 10 miles, and at times I could barely see the road. Cars had slammed into each other, and there were wrecker trucks pulling them off the highway.

I had read that someone at Denio Junction doesn't like motorcyclists. Boy, was that right! This was not a happy place.

At Big Springs Reservoir I experimented with this set-up. It didn't work too well, but I slept good anyway and my quilt kept me warm and dry.

Day's mileage: 224 mi (Not on the TAT)

Day 9

October 17, 2012: Big Springs Reservoir to LaPine.

Morning frost.

Morning's fog a' breaking. Just after dawn, I was awakened by a string of wild horses who came running through my camp with a great clattering of hoofs. I had the feeling they were making their daily route, and my camp caught them by surprise, and I happened to be in their way. I've never seen these animals so close. It was a grand show.

This singe-lane road was paved and it snaked through the mountains for 95 miles. Along the way I saw only two other vehicles. It was wonderful riding.

I don't remember the last time I had to stop mid-day to dry my gear. With a properly pitched tarp, the gear doesn't get wet. But last night the tarp was anything but properly pitched. My tarp got soaking wet, and parts were still frozen. My quilt had stayed dry, but as long as I was at it, I spread it out anyway.

In the evening I ended up in LaPine, and spent three hours touring the area, revisiting old familiar areas. Jenny and I lived here for 15 years.

Swinging by a garage that we built, now under different ownership.

This road is three miles long, and leads to Pringle Butte, the only mountain in the area. We walked this road thousands of times while training for our various thru-hikes. It was fun to ride it on the moto today.

Mt. Bachelor and South Sister from the top of Pringle Butte.

Cones from a Sugar Pine, each 10" in length.

When the climate changes, even slightly, the species at the very edges of their ecoregion suffer the most.

It was good to see that these old Sugar Pines have left plenty of replacements.

Day 10

October 18, 2012: La Pine to Boliver trailhead

Early morning frost on the road.

The route crosses Windigo Pass and the PCT.

During our 1987 PCT thru-hike, we swam in this pretty, spring-fed pond. The trail has since been re-routed, so now most PCT hikers never see it.

Diamond Lake. Many years ago we founded an organization for long-distance hikers, and held our third annual gathering here at this beautiful resort.

Now on the west side of the Cascades mountain range, the biome and its flora are completely different. Gone are the Ponderosa and Lodgpole pines, and the ubiquitous buckbrush. Now we have Vine Maples, Western Red Cedar and Douglas fir - to name but a few. The sudden change makes for interesting riding - especially on such a fine day.

Fish Creek

Lunch stop in a campground by the Umpqua river

Western Red Cedar

Here in the late Fall, the Umpqua river is just a vestige of its roaring, tumultuous self during Spring and early summer.

Same with Lower Umpqua Falls.

This pretty plant is to be avoided.

Fish ladder for the Chinook Salmon.

En route to the coast.

My campsite at the Mt. Boliver trailhead (Photo taken in the dark). Mt. Boliver is one of the highest points in the Coast Range.

Day's mileage: 190 mi

Day 11

October 19, 2012: Boliver trailhead to Grizzly Creek

After riding in the dark for three hours, I arrived at Port Orford. These super-twisty roads are safest in the dark because you can see the headlights of any oncoming traffic long before you see the vehicles themselves. And they can see yours. So you don't surprise anyone. It gives everyone time to slow down and pull over.

Familiar street sign in the city of Port Orford

Paul and Babe

Elk Prairie

Redwood

Common Wood Sorrel

Vine Maple

Visitor's path

Elk

Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park

Changing the engine oil without making a mess. Not a drop of spilled oil.

How do I handle noisy neighbors? Let them have their fun, and move away from them.

In the black of night a masked bandit woke me up and stole my sandwich and crackers. It was pretty funny! I love these wild animals, and thought: If they are bold enough to come right up to me, then they can have the food. This guy was pretty rotund, looking like a regular camp robber, and didn't appear to be suffering any health effects of a junk food diet. If on a thru-hike where I needed the food, I would not have simply laid the food right by my head (in a popular campground).

Day's mileage: 266 mi