RIDES: BORN UNDER A BAD SIGN - MAGRUDER ADVENTURE RIDE AUGUST 19TH-23RD

Loop ~ 1,000 miles

Idaho City>Pinyon Peak > Challis > Twin Peak> Morgan Creek-Panther Creek> Shoup> Darby>
Magruder >Elk City > Riggins> McCall > Yellow Pine > Garden Valley > Boise

Riders : John    KTM 950
                Byron   BMW WC GS1200
                AL          KTM 990
                Chris     KTM 1190R
                Loyal    Husaberg 501

1 flat
2 SFS malfunctions
1 warped rotor
a few loose nuts

Fun ride even though we missed “the window” by a couple of weeks. A electrical fire
moved through an started several fires .

Photos – John , Chris , Loyal

Day 1 Boise – Challis

215 MILES

We rendezvoused at Trudy’s in Idaho City at 8:30 . The ride in was chilly , mid 40’s but the smoke wasn’t too bad.
By the time we finished breakfast the temperature was approaching 60.

We topped off at the Sourdough Lodge on the way to Cape Horn. As we rode up Banner Summit the smoke became worse.

Much of the road at the lower elevation into Pinyon Lookout is a easy jeep trail. As you climb to the ridges the road is wider and more established.
The lookout employee rides a 4 wheeler in from Cape Horn.

The smoke got worse irritating my eyes , throat and generally making me feel off.

Pinyon Peak LO is 10,000 feet.

Me coming through a switchback.
I had dropped my bike a couple of turns back. I rolled off the throttle in the turn
and the bike died. I waited a few minutes for Byron to help pick up my bike.
I never heard his bike so I had to muscle it back up .
Byron said he had dropped his bike in the first switchback .

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Dan is still manning the lookout.
Byron and I met him on last years trip.

Switchbacks on the Loon Creek road. Good example of how bad the smoke was.

USFS instructions on how to shit in the woods.

Custer .
Some relief from the smoke. My second ride on the Motorway neither time I got to see all the sights.
Last year it was raining , this year the smoke. Calls for another trip.

Pioneer Motel in Challis.
Good place to stay . Rooms are comfortable , clean and the owners are helpful .

Mule deer in front lawn on our way to dinner.

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DAY2 CHALLIS- DARBY

237 MILES

What really happens on adventure rides ……….
Chris and Loyal were trying to sync radios .

Friday morning had some relief from smoke, but you the Lost River Range was still hidden.

As we approached Twin Peaks the smoke thinned .

The climb up to the look out was spectacular !

Started to climb out of the smoke and see some Idaho skies .

Last push to the look out . Byron spun out in some loose shale.

Note all the riding gear on the ground, Evidence of Al’s SFS malfunction.

Twin Peaks is the tallest Look Out in the west at 10,3000 feet.

Chris just too happy !

On the way down Al noticed Chris’s panniers were flopping around.

Chris found he has some missing nuts and bolts. He has to scrounge and swap some hardware
to patch it back together. We decided to ride back into Challis for hardware and Loctite.

After Chris completed his repairs we followed HWY93 to Morgan Creek.
Morgan/Panther Creek is a 60 mph dirt & gravel road. It services ranches and mines.

I wanted to take a side trip to Yellow Jacket, a ghost town 15 miles off Panther Creek.

Yellowjacket Guard Station can be rented for ~ $20 / night. Might be a good option on the next trip.
A couple from Oregon were staying the weekend.

Old stamp mill.

Because of the Challis detour we were running behind “schedule” and didn’t have much time for sightseeing.

Soon after we were back on Panther Creek Chris, got a flat.
It looked like a granite shard pierced the tire. It took Chris a couple of attempts to seal the puncture with a plug.