The Lost Coast will have to wait- when life gives you lemons.... - Page 2

redog1 · 10-03-2012, 02:38 PM

I've got a lot up close to Montague. Love it up there.

AdventurePoser · 10-03-2012, 04:50 PM

Those are some great roads up there. The weirdness scale in Humboldt county is high. No pun intended! Am enjoying your ride tale.

Cheers

mikegc · 10-03-2012, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdventurePoser

Those are some great roads up there. The weirdness scale in Humboldt county is high. No pun intended! Am enjoying your ride tale.

Cheers

No kidding on the weirdness scale! I was there about six weeks ago and haven't seen more dreads, tie-died tee shirts and people hitch-hiking with dogs since Jerry Garcia died.

Mike

Hobbes950 · 10-03-2012, 09:38 PM

We had a neighbor at the campground who was on a bicycle. We chatted a bit the next morning and found that he was on a trip to South America. He had started with is sons, but the had quit a couple days previous so he was continuing on his own. He planned to be in Sacramento it four days. I can't imagine spending so much time on the road alone on a bike. He said that this wasn't the first trip like that he had been on. Pretty amazing. We gave him our number and told him if he ended up in Nevada City and needed a place to stay to give us a call.
This was going to be our last day on the road. We decided to take some time to check out the Lava Beds and then scoot on home. There were several caves available for exploring, we decided on two to check out and headed out. It was still a bit early, 9:00, and we had our first cave to ourselves. There were metal stairs leading down to the lava tube and it continued on for quite a ways. It came to the surface in several spots, and split and rejoined again and again.

It was nice to be able to wander and explore on our own, and for once the Kevlar pants and hard boots were good clothes to wear walking along the jagged, hardened lava.

After a ways, we had seen enough. It was pretty cool, but it was all the same. The next time the tunnel surfaced, we exited. Not where were we? The cave seemed to head mostly north, but how could we really tell? We saw a road nearby, and the road we had been on was a loop. It seemed like our bike must be parked in the opposite direction from that road, it must be the other side of the loop. We took off in the assumed correct direction though the sagebrush and lava rocks. We didn't get far before doubt set in. It would not be a good thing to go traipsing off and get lost. We didn't look for landmarks before we descended. Thinking that we should err on the side of caution we headed back to the road. It turned out that our first gut feelings had been correct and we had been heading the right way after all, but was weird how disorienting the landscape was. Part of the history of the Lava Beds is the Modoc War, where Captain Jack of the Modoc tribe and over 150 Modoc people hid from the Army in the beds for most of six months. It was easy to see how knowledge of this land would be a huge advantage.
Returning to the bikes we figured one cave was enough. It was interesting, but a bit dull after a while. Riding out to see Captain Jacks Stronghold, an area where they had set up standpoint of defense, we stopped to check out "Black Crater" It didn't seem so much a crater, as a bumpy hill.

It turns out the crater is a Spatter Cone, where thick blobs of lava are thrown out of a vent and they form a cone where they land.

Arriving at Captain Jack's Stronghold we noticed these plants.

From a distance I did a double take. No one in JoMomma could tell me what it was. Go figure!
The stronghold was pretty amazing. We could see why they held out as well as they did. There were caves and alleyways in the rock. Several places were barricaded against enemy fire. It would have been easy to shoot then move undetected to another spot and shoot again. Two warriors could easily seem like ten, and with ten to one odds, they needed every advantage they could get. That place was offensive suicide. What eventually brought them down was water and cohesion, or rather the lack of both. The Army managed to cut off the Modoc from Tule Lake, their only source of water, and although Captain Jack wanted a peaceful end to the conflict, several of his warriors were impatient and thought violence was the way to get results.
I tried to get some photos, of the Stronghold but they just don't come across right on the flat screen. It just ends up looking like a bunch of rocks.
Well the rest of the story isn't very exciting. It was about noon and the GPS told us arrival at "home" would be 5:30. Add in gas and Quiznos and we pulled in at 6:30 rounding out our biggest day at 340 miles. One of the best parts about coming home is that we get to take hwy 20 west of I-80 for a little bit of twisties and then take a shortcut down a side road that is dirt with some nice bumps and ruts to make it interesting. As we turned onto this road there was some major construction on the beginning paved part. Wow, they are going to town here! Getting to the good part we were dismayed to see it freshly graded. Boo!

I feel pretty guilty for the lack of photos in this report. I gleaned the only point of interest from my videos for your viewing pleasure. You can see the bad angle of the camera here in my production of this fine bit of film that I call "Roadkill"

Hobbes950 · 10-03-2012, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikegc

No kidding on the weirdness scale! I was there about six weeks ago and haven't seen more dreads, tie-died tee shirs and people hitch-hiking with dogs since Jerry Garcia died.

Mike

Funny thing is, I fit right in!

rollinrob · 10-04-2012, 05:17 AM

Cool trip, I went to HSU in the 80's and spent many weekends at Fern Canyon. Heading up that way again in a couple of weeks.

It's like Arcata is stuck in time, the town has not changed, same businesses etc...behind the Redwood curtain

Hobbes950 · 10-16-2012, 09:34 PM

I forgot the best part! Well, not best, but amusing anyway.

As we went through the agriculture check station in Truckee, Hans said that his earplug came out and motioned to the side. We pulled over on the highway just after the ag check where there was a big island surrounded by eight lanes of westbound highway. He parked and put down his kickstand, but it didn't quite deploy. 600 pounds of motorcycle and gear ungracefully laid gently to the tarmac. I of course started laughing. Laughing so hard in fact, that I failed to notice that with the angle of the gutter, my bike was precariously upright on its kickstand. As I dismounted, I pushed off my bike and it toppled over in the other direction. There we were two fluorescent morons on the side of the I-80. A car honked at us. Truckers were laughing as they rumbled by. Truly humiliating and funny as hell. I wish I would have gotten a photo.

oldtrucks · 10-16-2012, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hobbes95821

I forgot the best part! Well, not best, but amusing anyway.
Truly humiliating and funny as hell. I wish I would have gotten a photo.

You can use this to tell half the story.........I'm starting to see a pattern

Hobbes950 · 10-17-2012, 05:55 PM

What can I say? Our bikes like cat naps. Maybe I will try some NoDoze in the tank next time.
I like that we can just drop these things and just laugh. No worries about the plastic or chrome.

foxtrapper · 10-18-2012, 06:15 AM

Well told story.

And I've got to remember that line. I did *not* fall over, my bike just likes spontaneous cat naps.

Buzztail · 10-19-2012, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldtrucks

I like the Hwy 162 idea, opens up a completely different way to the coast. I'm so used to taking Hwy 20 I never considered Hwy 162. I think next time I'll leave town on Hwy 49 and take the back roads in Oroville and take 162 across the valley

I just took 49 while on a bidness trip (in my rental car) Really jealous of the roads y'all have out there to ride. NW Florida (Buzztopia) is NOTHING like that!!

oldtrucks · 10-22-2012, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buzztail

I just took 49 while on a bidness trip (in my rental car) Really jealous of the roads y'all have out there to ride. NW Florida (Buzztopia) is NOTHING like that!!

49 is OK, very scenic but it can be slow with all of the the traffic through some of the small towns. Since Hobbes didn't make it to the Lost Coast we did it for her last week

. Found the back road into Oroville and 162 to be a perfect alternative to Hwy 20. Came home on Hwy 36 all the way to 89 then cut over to 49 on the Gold Lake Rd.

Hwy 36 from Fortuna is a fantastic route from the coast. Very light traffic, actually saw more motorcycles than cages, I guess it's not a secret

Buzztail · 10-22-2012, 03:47 PM

162 sounds familiar, and I think I did pass through Oroville. I'll have to look at my work GPS and see where I actually went.
Edit: Looks like Marysville Rd., Marked Dark Day Campground as I stopped for a smoke, Hwy 49, and CA 20...

kfsinc · 10-23-2012, 07:13 PM

great story!!

Sorry you didn't get to complete the trip -- I was up there a few weeks ago -- nothing short of awesome!! Here's a view from Usal Road -- in case you need some incentive to give it another try

PacificPT · 10-24-2012, 09:55 PM

Well you did have an adventure! Thanks for taking the time to share your story. One pic of what you missed.

10-03-2012, 02:38 PM	#16
redog1 KLR650-2009 Joined: Sep 2009 Location: Magalia, CA. Oddometer: 1,074	Got to see how this turns out... I've got a lot up close to Montague. Love it up there. __________________ No, I don't know where that road goes, let's find out! redog1

10-03-2012, 04:50 PM	#17
AdventurePoser Beastly Adventurer Joined: Nov 2001 Location: in The Cloud Oddometer: 1,553	Those are some great roads up there. The weirdness scale in Humboldt county is high. No pun intended! Am enjoying your ride tale. Cheers __________________ "Converting oxygen to carbon dioxide since 1951." www.ridesroadsandeats.com

10-03-2012, 09:38 PM	#19
Hobbes950 ^OP Darth Kitten Joined: Jun 2007 Location: Nevada City Oddometer: 1,712	We had a neighbor at the campground who was on a bicycle. We chatted a bit the next morning and found that he was on a trip to South America. He had started with is sons, but the had quit a couple days previous so he was continuing on his own. He planned to be in Sacramento it four days. I can't imagine spending so much time on the road alone on a bike. He said that this wasn't the first trip like that he had been on. Pretty amazing. We gave him our number and told him if he ended up in Nevada City and needed a place to stay to give us a call. This was going to be our last day on the road. We decided to take some time to check out the Lava Beds and then scoot on home. There were several caves available for exploring, we decided on two to check out and headed out. It was still a bit early, 9:00, and we had our first cave to ourselves. There were metal stairs leading down to the lava tube and it continued on for quite a ways. It came to the surface in several spots, and split and rejoined again and again. It was nice to be able to wander and explore on our own, and for once the Kevlar pants and hard boots were good clothes to wear walking along the jagged, hardened lava. After a ways, we had seen enough. It was pretty cool, but it was all the same. The next time the tunnel surfaced, we exited. Not where were we? The cave seemed to head mostly north, but how could we really tell? We saw a road nearby, and the road we had been on was a loop. It seemed like our bike must be parked in the opposite direction from that road, it must be the other side of the loop. We took off in the assumed correct direction though the sagebrush and lava rocks. We didn't get far before doubt set in. It would not be a good thing to go traipsing off and get lost. We didn't look for landmarks before we descended. Thinking that we should err on the side of caution we headed back to the road. It turned out that our first gut feelings had been correct and we had been heading the right way after all, but was weird how disorienting the landscape was. Part of the history of the Lava Beds is the Modoc War, where Captain Jack of the Modoc tribe and over 150 Modoc people hid from the Army in the beds for most of six months. It was easy to see how knowledge of this land would be a huge advantage. Returning to the bikes we figured one cave was enough. It was interesting, but a bit dull after a while. Riding out to see Captain Jacks Stronghold, an area where they had set up standpoint of defense, we stopped to check out "Black Crater" It didn't seem so much a crater, as a bumpy hill. It turns out the crater is a Spatter Cone, where thick blobs of lava are thrown out of a vent and they form a cone where they land. Arriving at Captain Jack's Stronghold we noticed these plants. From a distance I did a double take. No one in JoMomma could tell me what it was. Go figure! The stronghold was pretty amazing. We could see why they held out as well as they did. There were caves and alleyways in the rock. Several places were barricaded against enemy fire. It would have been easy to shoot then move undetected to another spot and shoot again. Two warriors could easily seem like ten, and with ten to one odds, they needed every advantage they could get. That place was offensive suicide. What eventually brought them down was water and cohesion, or rather the lack of both. The Army managed to cut off the Modoc from Tule Lake, their only source of water, and although Captain Jack wanted a peaceful end to the conflict, several of his warriors were impatient and thought violence was the way to get results. I tried to get some photos, of the Stronghold but they just don't come across right on the flat screen. It just ends up looking like a bunch of rocks. Well the rest of the story isn't very exciting. It was about noon and the GPS told us arrival at "home" would be 5:30. Add in gas and Quiznos and we pulled in at 6:30 rounding out our biggest day at 340 miles. One of the best parts about coming home is that we get to take hwy 20 west of I-80 for a little bit of twisties and then take a shortcut down a side road that is dirt with some nice bumps and ruts to make it interesting. As we turned onto this road there was some major construction on the beginning paved part. Wow, they are going to town here! Getting to the good part we were dismayed to see it freshly graded. Boo! I feel pretty guilty for the lack of photos in this report. I gleaned the only point of interest from my videos for your viewing pleasure. You can see the bad angle of the camera here in my production of this fine bit of film that I call "Roadkill" __________________ When in doubt, take it as a compliment. Lost Coast ride report Nevada Desert ride report Campoaventura Hobbes950 screwed with this post 10-04-2012 at 03:46 PM

10-16-2012, 09:34 PM	#22
Hobbes950 ^OP Darth Kitten Joined: Jun 2007 Location: Nevada City Oddometer: 1,712	I forgot the best part! Well, not best, but amusing anyway. As we went through the agriculture check station in Truckee, Hans said that his earplug came out and motioned to the side. We pulled over on the highway just after the ag check where there was a big island surrounded by eight lanes of westbound highway. He parked and put down his kickstand, but it didn't quite deploy. 600 pounds of motorcycle and gear ungracefully laid gently to the tarmac. I of course started laughing. Laughing so hard in fact, that I failed to notice that with the angle of the gutter, my bike was precariously upright on its kickstand. As I dismounted, I pushed off my bike and it toppled over in the other direction. There we were two fluorescent morons on the side of the I-80. A car honked at us. Truckers were laughing as they rumbled by. Truly humiliating and funny as hell. I wish I would have gotten a photo. __________________ When in doubt, take it as a compliment. Lost Coast ride report Nevada Desert ride report Campoaventura

10-17-2012, 05:55 PM	#24
Hobbes950 ^OP Darth Kitten Joined: Jun 2007 Location: Nevada City Oddometer: 1,712	What can I say? Our bikes like cat naps. Maybe I will try some NoDoze in the tank next time. I like that we can just drop these things and just laugh. No worries about the plastic or chrome. __________________ When in doubt, take it as a compliment. Lost Coast ride report Nevada Desert ride report Campoaventura

10-04-2012, 05:17 AM	#21
rollinrob Beastly Adventurer Joined: Apr 2003 Location: Nevada City, Ca Oddometer: 1,223	Cool trip, I went to HSU in the 80's and spent many weekends at Fern Canyon. Heading up that way again in a couple of weeks. It's like Arcata is stuck in time, the town has not changed, same businesses etc...behind the Redwood curtain

10-18-2012, 06:15 AM	#25
foxtrapper Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Sep 2011 Oddometer: 279	Well told story. And I've got to remember that line. I did not fall over, my bike just likes spontaneous cat naps.

10-23-2012, 07:13 PM	#29
kfsinc Chaingolian Observer Joined: Aug 2003 Location: Crystal Lake, IL Oddometer: 2,268	great story!! Sorry you didn't get to complete the trip -- I was up there a few weeks ago -- nothing short of awesome!! Here's a view from Usal Road -- in case you need some incentive to give it another try __________________ Karl R1100GS F650GS -- sold -- what's next? “If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough.”, Mario Andretti Indulge. Repent. Repeat.

10-24-2012, 09:55 PM	#30
PacificPT Studly Adventurer Joined: Aug 2006 Location: Monterey, CA Oddometer: 935	Well you did have an adventure! Thanks for taking the time to share your story. One pic of what you missed. __________________ 2000 KLR650 There's roads and there's roads and they call, can't you hear it? Roads of the earth and roads of the spirit. The best roads of all are the ones that aren't certain. One of those is where you'll find me till they drop the big curtain. Bruce Cockburn

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: .
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode