700 miles in two days Three Forks-Trout Mtns and the Steens

Ok as I laid around licking my wounds popping Ibuprofen like M&M's cringing with spasms I couldn't help but have this shit eaten grin envelope my face as I pondered what a great ride I had this past weekend and what a great part of the world too.


You see we have a local bulletin Board/club site where members post potential rides and post open invitations : Motoidaho.com Anyway "Trailrider383 aka Ed posted a ride into the vast ION corners so I elected to join in even though I have been nursing a pulled hamstring since WetFest and against my better judgement I'm in.

We leave after work meet up in Marsing ID about 6 PM I said hey Ed isn't getting dark around 7:30 now he just smiled and said we have 84 miles to Three Forks I'll get us there before dark OK! Well there were NO pictures taken cause we were well gettin on it picked up one more rider in JV then gravel.

Sure enough good to his word we hit the bluff dropping us in just before dark 7:30 ish


Onward


we camp down around that bend in the river



Alrighty, it's not dark yet I lay out my bed roll and get a picture..damn it got dark


Oh yea no fires permited as it is so dry so we stand around in the dark laughing and introducing ourselves.

Kent from Boise a 08 KLR rider next Larry from Marsing the KTM Adventure rider, he sure got an adventure. Bob aka Hondabob I've ridden with him a few times now first meet him on a Steens ride three years ago, and our leader for this wonderful ambling Ed aka Trailrider383 DR650, each and everyone an accomplished rider who could hold there own.

the sunset was absolutely beautiful, pictures serve NO justice


I laid there that night and was overwhelmed at the night desert sky, the constellation's was unbelievable, I'd forgotten (should have taken a picture) then I drifted of...

The morning was very snappy with that jack frost bite, but I just looked out from my nice warm bag watching the sunrise


Finally crawled my butt out,:huh whoa is that frost


We all where like cold blooded creatures seeking the sun's warmth

Kent and Larry


Me



HondaBob was having a little problem getting out of the river bed that morning...oh this is just the start


Kept hearing his revving engine so I do what any red blooded ADV rider would do... I grab my camera

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Well we finally get under way heading about two miles to the river crossing point with many mud boggs along the way from springs, I just happen to have a hard left turn into one and bam I'm down, crap! agitated that hamstring already, oh I'm off to a good start:eek1

I get there and Larry on the KTM is already across I didn't video anything just crossed but here's a couple of shots





Kent crossing the Owyhee

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We all finally get across, me I am POed cause my leg is bothering me, Ibuprofen is my friend!


theres the hot springs





Ha finally get a shot of Trailrider


Oh this was the really easy part now it gets fun, the climb out

Didn't catch any of the KTM, but he dropped it in the big rocks not once, but twice but I did get some shots of this section and we still had three more miles of this

Here comes Ed Trailrider
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HondaBob

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and as much as I hate to admit this, I ask Kent to bring Gumby over this spot as I had just agitated my hamstring on the other side of the river and my drugs had not kicked in yet (advantage of being older you know how to swallow pride once in a while)

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It's late I'm tired so I'll leave you with this


more later

Cool, Sam. Nice start to your report.

Hey Sam

So I am guessing that was your KLR in that last video?

I'm guessing you did not have the Tiger on this trip?

Oohh, would've loved to have seen the Tiger crossing that water.

Good stuff!
I need to chat with someone about the Steens as we are planning a trip out there in a couple weeks...

Hey back to you, you a funny man! Tiger out there, well not for that section any way you'd have to replace that KTM shot with the kitty times 6

Alright mission accomplished we broke a good sweat all before 9 am.

let's take a short breather


Yup as we looked up the trail/road, this is going to be fun! I asked Trailrider what's the road like, he just's smiled and said and you think you sweating now:huh


goodbye to the canyon floor and away we go..



Not a lot of pictures as I had my hands full, "literately" so the only shot I took on the egress was of Larry's KTM


This worked out good though as it gave time for Trailrider to get ahead enough to position for a video op.

...and yes about 2 to 3 miles of this to the top.

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and hear comes Bob
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Once on top we were definitely in need of a breather not to mention Larry's bike was in need of trail side maintenance



alright off to work...

Looks good Sam

Funny writing and fun images, Sam! I have to agree, it was a great ride.

Sam, Looked like an incredible ride. The KLR looked like a handful at times. Heal up and get ready for a mud run this weekend. If the forecast holds we are going to have a wet one.


tt

We got Larry's bike squared away so,



we took off on the relatively lesser rock strewn road/thing for quite sometime when we stopped at some convergence of several roads, Trailrider pulledout out his map and started looking it over when he asked me what my GPS read, humm, pulled out my glasses zoomed in and replied "Five Points".




Yup that's what I thought we are going that way for about 40 miles


Folks when riding with Ed always be ready to move cause if he fires the engine up zoom heza moving.


There was a very long dusty run where the scenery was just not changing much, if you know what I mean, seems as time passed we just kept throttling up until we hit Highway 95. It was at this point I was thinking of bailing because my hamsrtring kept messing with me but I said I'd do lunch in McDermitt popped a 600Mg Ib and head to town.

Well after lunch I was feeling better, so I said I'd go on with the ride.

(think Forrest Gump here) "I might not be a smart man, but I like to ride my motorcycle) this idelology will bite me later today. I'll forget all about my hamstring..well at least for a while anyhoo!



back to work...

Sam, take care of that hamstring and try not to aggravate it any more. Yeah, I know easier said than done. Remember what I told you about how long it takes those over 40 year old hamstrings to heal. Ouch

I have to hand it to you for camping out in the frost, Rainbow and I wimped out on the idea of waking up to frost on our camping gear and headed for motels while we were down there.

Waiting to see the rest the story I know it's going to be good . . . .

Here is my contribution. So this first picture is above Three Forks before you drop into the canyon. I told Sam we wouldn't have to set up camp in the dark. We got to the river and checked out my first choice for a camping spot right by the main fork of the Owyhee River. It's a nice spot on the sandy bank that I have always wanted to camp at. But every time I have been there to camp......you guessed it, someone is already camped there. Oh well, we went and crossed the bridge over the North Fork and camped beside it.



Saturday morning after the sun made it into the canyon to burn off the frost. The shadow of me taking the picture kind of makes me look like a dickhead. And Sams shadow sure makes him look taller than he is. Kent looks like he is enjoying his coffee cup handwarmer.



There is the warm springs across the river.



Here is Kent riding Sams bike up the toughest spot of the ride. And I just noticed he is wearing Sams helmet. Thats Larry watching.



This first picture is the approach to the rock ledge. Loose, steep, dry and with a curve thrown in for good measure. Not the best approach to try and build up momentum.





This is later in the day after lunch at McDermitt. This is Disaster Peak west of McDermitt.



Here is part of the several mile stretch of poof dust we ran across. Sam was behind me and I guess he did a swan dive over the bars into the poof dust. At least it was a soft landing, huh Sam?



Here is Bob getting to the end of it. Just a few yards back he dumped it into the poof dust, just as I was trying to get my video going. I almost got it.



The rest of the pics are at camp Saturday night. Willow Creek Hot Springs. Great place to camp. We had the place to ourselves. I have heard it gets a lot of use. We got lucky I guess.









It was a great early fall ride. Perfect weather. 80 degree days and cool nights.

Oh my how much fun that looks.
I am keeping an eye on you guys from down here in Tulare County.
Thanks for the posts. The video's look great

Trailrider383 said:

Well not exactly over the bars, and soft landing, hum, let me get back to you on that one; that is subjective!

I need to learn to get the cool pictures you do or is it the camera. Those are really excellent shots!

Well after a pretty good lunch at the only restaurant/casino in town I was feeling pretty good so I elected to stay on the ride and off we go heading towards Disaster Peak A bad omen.

life is good


Well we stop to get our bearings


We travel some more and come to an intersection and I ask Ed, you know where we are, he said yea pointing to the sign


Followed by give me a minute


This kinda brought this image to mind



well off we go nice gravel road running along about 50-55 MPH when I see this coming up fast

Trailrider's picture



OH CRAP:eek1 chop the throttle a little power on a smooth steady 40 ish and find my track ... OMG this stuff is slippery I could feel the dust pouring over my boots like water and then I waffling bad, OK more throttle... oops waffling more, dang I think I'm outa control and then the final fleeting thought sweeps across my mind "damn this going to hurt" phifffffff bounce...scrap...sliding stop. OK don't move, warm boot self check, OK, digits moving have vision, somewhat; someone yells, "YYYYOOOU OOOOK??? all I could do was give a thumbs up. why do I feel I've done this before!

Thanks ever so much Kent for picking my bike up, as I slowly came back on line I started to feel the pain right shoulder and upper right chest but only if I breath in hard, solution, don't do that. Now I was just pissed!!! twice in one day I will not repeat the language I spurted out, made the snakes go running.

Amazing not one photo me down waddling in the poof dust and rocks; as an aside: poof is NOT a good Substitute for monkey butt powder.

I looked down that road and in the moment said I'm not dealing with I'll meet you guys at Willow Springs.

Geez Gumby's looking better than me



see the waffle marks



I think if I had slowed a bit more I may have been alright but who really knows.

Let me finish out the day.

I took off back to the intersection and headed west past the Zimmerman Ranch kept going and heading southwest into Nevada, whoo! pulled up pulled out the Banchmark OH MAN I gotta go back through McDermitt.. so off I go by the time I get there I'm thinking To Hell with and start heading up 95 all the while thinking I don't want to go home; music..."I just want to ride my motorcycle"

I pull off look the BenchMark over and see a road named the Whitehorse cutoff close to where we hit the highway earlier.. humm this'll put me on top of Twelve Mile bluff.

I hit Whitehorse road at Twelve Mile


Look left, that's the way I gotta go


run Gumby up to 60 and held there for ~20 miles made the turn ambled around the desert with a few missed turns before I rolled in to the camp

just before dark


An Excellent place, Ed said it would make my aches go away he was so right if only for a little while

Laid out the bed roll and headed to the spring. I think Kent mentioned they where just hedging bets on if I was going to show up or not.


enjoying the springs AHHHHHH.....



Up next Sunday to the Steens

Lookin good so far.... I gotta get Fugly out in that country...

Sam, you didn't have your bike exorcised after you MediMotoed Loud Al, did you?





Hats off to the 990 pilot if he made it through this.

How can this be?

Ladybug, please explain.





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