Monday, September 28, 2015

DIRTY HABITS –LAZY BUTT 2015

Friday 9/24 – Atlanta 

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Loop ~ 55 miles
Little Water > Bear Creek>Willow Connector > Decker>Senate Creek> Grouse>Atlanta> Trail Creek> Shake Creek

Riders – Spode Daddy ( Trail Boss & Sweep ), Tim, Jon, Randy, JimBob , Scott, Gerald

Left camp at 11:30 AM.


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Midway up Little Water 

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Horses were right around the corner

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Impromptu break .
I moved on right after the photo , however I soon put my front wheel off the trail going around  a small tree.

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Being the most senior fat man, all I had to do was watch while the crew pulled my bike back on the trail !

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After the excursion the front brake felt bad ,like the pads were pushed apart. After one –two pumps they would
feel good. Tried back bleeding by pushing the pads apart. Finally figured out I had bent rotor. Scott was able to
tap the bad spot back in to place with a rusty bolt and rock he found at the cabin. 

At the Senate Creek intersection Tim blew past the group.
Randy volunteered to find him and depending where they were, continue on or back track to Senate Creek.

When we got to Atlanta , Randy and Tim were  already at the Lodge !

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Lunch at the Beaver Lodge in Atlanta.

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Shake Creek
In August it had some monster trees down. The trail had been cleaned up and was a quick easy ride.
However I was still fatigued coming down the last set of switch backs .

 

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The group waiting for me near the bottom of Shake .

We got back to camp around 6 PM .

 

FRIDAY/ SATURDAY - BIG PEAK  (Beer , Whiskey and Wine ……..)


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Loop – 107 miles

SF Boise Rd > Skeleton> Little Skeleton> Conant Creek> SF Boise Road > Lick Creek >Big Peak >Bluff Creek>
Big Smoky > WF Big Smokey > Snow Slide> Paradise > Paradise Timber > Boise River Road > Skunk Creek>
Boise River > SF Boise River > Conant > Little Skeleton> Skeleton> SF Boise River

Riders – Gary , Spode Daddy , Paul, Ann, Tim, Jon ,Randy, Ben, Gerald, Scott  

Thursday evening I floated the idea of riding into Smiley Creek for lunch and fuel. We would have to to pack
oil for the 2-strokes and it would be a ~ 90 mile day. Friday morning I was less ambitious and scaled backed to
”a Big Smoky Loop”, something we could do on a single tank. Gary suggested Lick Creek to avoid some of the rock
gardens on Big Smoky.

We left camp ~ 11 AM and decided to scope out the wash on the South Fork Boise Road about a mile past Skeleton Creek Trail Head.

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It’s a major wash , the other end is about 4 miles below Conant Creek, maybe 1-2 miles long.
Randy and Ben said the top end is a major lake.

 

 

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One of the views from Conant Creek side hill, lots of exposure but not technical.

 

 

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Stop along one of the saddles on Lick Creek.

 

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Just below the crest of Big Peak where it transitions to Bluff Creek.

 

 

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Looking back down the East Fork of Big Peak.

 

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The crest of Big Peak/Bluff Creek

Bluff Creek is a lot rougher since  the last ride in 2010 !  There are a lot of blow outs and sloughed off
side hills to negotiate as you approach Big Smoky, slow going.

 

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The Rock Pile on Big Smoky.  It was easier to “ride” this year with Gerald and Jon spotting/pushing ,
I was able to paddle over.

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Upstream of the Rock Pile.

 

 

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Ann on the Snow Slide side hill, we were just starting to lose daylight in the canyons.

At the bottom of upper Paradise it was dusk. Paul and Ann were waiting for Gary and I.

Randy and Ben ( no light)  had booked down the rest of Paradise to Smoky Junction. 
Randy ran out of gas on Skeleton and had to transfer gas from Ben, said they got to camp ~ 8 PM.

Scott , Gerald , Tim and Jon took off to the left on the “road”- wrong direction takes you back to
Big Smoky. Gary and I said in harmony that we need to get moving.
I suggested Paradise to Smoky Junction. Gary suggested the road  to the bridge on the South Fork.
Gary said “he knew”  a short cut to get to Conant from the Skunk Creek road.

Running down the Boise River Road we started hitting reserve near the Methodist Camp.

 

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Darkness set in on Skunk Creek…….. all sense of direction is was lost ……………

  "We're lost, but we are sure making good time!"

When we finally turned around we were actually headed in the opposite direction of
Conant Creek.



Right before the Skunk Creek * Boise River Road intersection Ann ran out of gas.
On the way down the hill you could see house lights.
Scott rode down to the cabin to see what opportunities we might have. 

Gerald went back for Ann  and gave her ride to the intersection.

Scott returned , said the man had gas and would give us any help we needed.

Paul still had a few ounces of gas in his fuel bottle, enough to get Ann to the cabin.

So eight of us show up on Chris’s doorstep at 8:30 PM, we had clocked ~85 miles.
Immediately Chris offers us gas, food and place to sleep !

Gerald and Scott opted for gas and ride back into camp.
The rest of us piled into Chris’s cabin. He had the BSU game on DIRECTV.

[ IF the South Fork Road wasn’t washed out we could of made it back in the dark,
  even  the guy’s without out lights.
  IF we had a better “MODEL” we wouldn’t have had a 100+ mile route .
  IF we had left by  9AM it wouldn’t have been dark .  ]

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Chris was a fantastic host !
Fed us tacos , whisky ,beer and wine   and built a fire

Snowmobiling is Chris’s passion. He and his family ride in from the Crouch summit during the winter.

 

 

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Saturday morning Chris made us coffee , hash browns and toast.
When it warmed up and the chill was out of air, Chris helped us mix 6 gallons of fuel . We were on our way by 10AM ( our earliest start).

 

We decided to take the roads back to Conant Creek.

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Getting Jon’s bike back on the Skeleton  side hill.

We rolled into camp around noon, a 35 mile ride .
I was finished for the weekend. My back was sore (starting to feel it in my legs ) from lifting bikes back onto the trail.
I clocked ~ 160+ miles in a couple of days.

Monday, September 14, 2015

Warm Springs ( I’m going to Ketchum ) 9/13/2015

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Loop ~ 72 miles | 15 MPH AVG

Ditto Flats > Drive Way> Dollarhide >MF Warm Springs > Warm Springs Road> SF Warm Springs>
Lick Creek> NF Deer Creek> Red Warrior > Warfield >Red Warrior> Lodge Pole> Mahoney >
Mars Ridge > NF Deer Creek> Lick Creek>SF Warm Springs> Willow Creek

Riders – John , Chris

Photos – John, Chris


Had to get another  fix of the Warm Spring trails . Chris was the only taker. We agreed to met in
Mountain Home at 8 AM.  Just as I was about to leave the house I couldn’t find my wallet .
After 10-15 minutes I found I had  packed with my street clothes !




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Views  from Dollarhide Ridge. It was hazy with smoke so the views weren’t as spectacular. 

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Near the bottom of Middle Fork we passed by a fellow setting up a tent just off the trail. 
His truck was parked at the trail head – another illegal alien ……….

 

After the Middle Fork I had plans to ride Castle Rock , Alpine and Placer .
The trail was marked closed for bikes 8/29. As we were evaluating our options a local rode up.
He talked us out of it said it wasn’t  worth the risk even though the trail was really buffed out.

It’s marked open 5/1-8/29, but the snow usually doesn’t clear until after the 4th of July.
So it’s a short window of 6-8 weeks.

[ Monday I called the Ketchum FS office to asked about the dates .
Zach returned my call .
In government speak he told me “your fucked” - should of provided those inputs back in 2006 and now the dates
will never be changed. Outside chance an act of congress might change it. They are protecting the wildlife during hunting season
by
keeping out the motorcycles . Go figure.
]

Chris and I backed tracked to the SF/MF trail head.
There was a fellow on a KTM500 - North Carolina Plates tentatively crossing the creek. He was wearing adventure helmet and jacket.
Spoke with him a bit, sounded Dutch with a British accent but he never answered were he was from.
He said he was a with the GPSKEVIN  group doing a loop out of Ketchum following a GPS route.
He showed me a map but it didn’t have trail names or numbers.
I told him he shouldn’t ride up the South Fork trail alone. He was welcome to go with us, he declined. 
I don’t know how he would get to Ketchum w/o riding single track or atv trails unless he would ride the roads
all the way through Fairfield.

We stopped for a lunch break  on the South Fork just past the Warfield intersection. 
While eating lunch I was able to think through a new route.


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Poison Flats- more foreigners

 

Chris had stopped just below Poison Flats to the let the dust settle and the lead rider of five blew by him.
I was waiting at Poison Flats when they all gathered up.
I asked them where they were from , what trails were they headed down . They pretty much grunted “we’re going to Ketchum”.
They appeared to be more concerned about being loud and fast.

At the Deer Creek intersection I waited for Chris . Deer Creek is marked closed .
They couldn’t tell which trail was which , didn’t seem interested in the names and didn’t want any help pulling out their unlabeled
map. Chris & I moved own.
Chris began brake sliding and roosting to stir up more dust to make them back off our tails.

I found the page for the  I'm going to Ketchum Ride .
Not only did Kevin bring a bunch of dick heads to Idaho he poached one of my photo’s ! 

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             IdaSpode on the Willow Creek Connector.,Ross Peak in the background.

The dick heads didn’t bother me , Kevin using my photo didn’t bother me but the combination was grating .

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Entrance to Red Warrior

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Red Warrior –Warfield Connector

 

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Me ridding down Mars Ridge. I was starting to get fatigued , mainly my hands , backed off a gear.

 

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Mars Ridge

 

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Starting  back on North Deer Creek to Poison Flats  , then the South Fork to Willow Creek and the truck.

Chris packed some wraps & jalapeƱo chips for an after ride picnic at the truck !

PS:
The Map Guy tells me the Forest Service is required to review the Travel Plan annually.
Send in a written request for the closure change also ask for supporting evidence for the trail closure of 8/29.

 
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