Dirtkids

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What a weekend…

Tom and I took Friday off so we could participate in all the activities for the spring Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship (SBTS) epic. Twice a year the stewardship invites its members to join in a weekend of riding, debauchery and some trail work.

The spring epic kicked off with an extra ride on Friday in Forest City. The Forest Trails Alliance (FTA) has been working to resurrect parts of trails and roads that were historically used to access mines, carry supplies, etc. They are establishing a series of trail loops in and around Forest City for non-motorized use and we got a preview Friday of the trails that aren’t fully under snow.

A group of about 20 people met in Forest City, about 12+ miles from Downieville via a combination of paved and dirt roads. Reps from the FTA organized the group and we were off, climbing towards part of the Sandusky trail. What makes the trails extra special is that some of the people in the FTA consider themselves artists, not just trail builders. Specifically, the art comes in the form of rock work and bridges…considering how remote some of these trails are, the work is truly art. Some pictures of the rock work can be found on their website, www.foresttrailsalliance.org. Riding with 20+ people and dogs requires a bunch of stops and re-grouping. Although some folks were anxious to keep things moving, most were just happy to be riding, not working, on a Friday. The first loop dropped us back to the parking area in “town” so people could grab more food (or beer in some cases.) Although I can’t speak to the history of Forest City, it has a history rich in mining. With a year round population of 3, it’s close to becoming a ghost town. But some of the old houses in town are being restored and if the trail system takes off, it’s like that population might increase.

The next loop saw us climb up part of the High Grade trail and then we dumped onto the Plum Valley Ditch trail, 7 miles of singletrack…actually it was all singletrack! As we progressed on the PVD trail, we stopped just short of a mining claim we had been warned about. The claim owner has some sort of rights further than just a mining claim that has apparently extended to the area also being private property. A piece of cyclone fencing lay across the old road bed and apparently easement and use rights are still being debated. We were warned to stay together and proceed through this area quickly. After a more lengthy break while one of the guys fixed a flat, we were on our way. We rode right by one of the mine openings and some of the lead guys decide to jump off their bikes and peek in the mine…bad idea. They could hear the sound of metal on rock, probably a hammer…someone was in the mine and working. Suddenly we hear someone yelling from down below…clearly pissed we were “trespassing”…we all start to hurry to get out of there when the first gunshot went off. I’ve never seen people move so quickly!! We get past the other fence blocking off the other side of the claim when a second gunshot goes off. You could hear a chorus of “oh shit!” as everyone scrambled to get the hell out of there. A few miles later in a forest opening, everyone re-grouped and shared the pissed-off-miner story. Soon we were on our way again for more awesome singletrack. At this point we were probably 10 or so miles into the ride. Timed perfectly, we popped out onto a fire road and feed station. The FTA guys had a spread of oranges, watermelon, peanuts, chocolate and water. I was ready for more calories and so was everyone else…

What followed was what the FTA called a “social spin”…less than a mile of a fire road climb and then about 3-4 miles of rolling road climb until we reach our next trail junction. At the relative top of the next trail, which dropped us back to the parking area, the FTA boys were again waiting with refreshments…this time of a more adult nature. I never thought chips, salsa and margaritas could be so good mid-ride. These guys were awesome!!! They ran a blender off an inverter hooked up to one of the vehicles and the tequila flowed.

While we enjoyed our margaritas, Zachi, the leader of the FTA pranksters, proceeded to confess to the miner/gunshot incident. It was the FTA boys in the mine, Zachi down below yelling and setting off firecrackers…basterd!!! We all felt like suckers…every one of us fell for it. After each of us finished a couple margaritas and more snacks, it was time for the final descent. This was the High Grade trail…3+ miles of almost all downhill. We ended back out on the road into Forest City for a couple hundred yards of rolling back to the Jeep. Our day on the trail and with the crew of new bike friends was almost 6 hrs and 19 miles. Everyone was dirty, thirsty (now there were beers) and telling stories of the day. Although we’d hoped to stop by the Indian Valley campground to hang a bit with our fellow riders, it was late and the dogs surely needed bathroom break. So we headed back to Sierra City and the cabin where we were fortunate enough to take hot showers, cook a big meal and get some laundry done.

Saturday we woke up early to load the bikes and drive to the campground for the Saturday festivities. Once again hugs were exchanged and friendships renewed after a winter spent apart while trails were under snow. Today had ride options. Tom and I chose to get shuttled to Downieville and leave the car at the CG with the dogs hanging until we returned. Knowing that we haven’t been riding much, I opted for the “short” ride…the 17 mile North Yuba trail back to the CG. Tom opted for the medium ride…climb up 1st divide and 3rd divide, down 2nd divide and then the NY trail all the way back to the CG…probably a 35 mile day. SBTS had an aid station at the bike shop so we could grab fruit, make sandwiches, grab drinks, etc. I packed a lunch headed “down” the NY trail with 2 fellow riders, Nica and Skye.
Tom and I had done trail work on the North Yuba but never ridden it, so I was looking forward to riding the whole thing. After starting with about 3 miles of climbing, the trail does a lot of rolling…down, up, down, up, down, well, you get the picture. We stopped for food and breaks at bridge crossings and along the river. The trail was rocky, narrow, fast, slow, steep, switchbacks, technical, flowing…it had it all. After about 3-4 hrs out on the trail, we landed back at the Indian Valley CG. I inhaled the lunch I’d made…we haven’t been riding much, so 35-40 miles of riding Sierra singletrack was some work! I jumped in the FRIGID Yuba river to clean up (translation: poison oak everywhere on the NYT) and get the dogs cooled off. We hung at the river for awhile and then I made my way back to camp to get changed. While at the river, several more people had returned, food was starting to be put out and kegs were tapped.

It was getting on towards 6pm and Tom was still out on the trail somewhere…I hoped he was ok…he chose to do a punishing ride considering how little we’ve been on our bikes. I’d had 2-3 beers and chips and salsa and finally saw Tom roll up to the car. He was wiped out too but glad he did a bigger ride. We grabbed our camp chairs and settled in for an evening with the 50+ SBTS members that showed up for the epic. The monster, custom BBQ was cranking out food but barely keeping up with the appetites. After dark we all relaxed by the fire, full from plates of pasta, salad, chicken, cheeseburgers, beer, etc. There was a raffle of cool bike schwag to benefit the SBTS and then it was time for Tom and I to hit the road back to the cabin. We did our poison oak showers and completely crashed…

Sunday we woke up and debated whether to head back down river again for the trail work. The day before, the SBTS folks weren’t sure where to send people since the lower trails were in good shape and the upper trails were still under snow. Tom had a long drive back to Bishop and we were both pretty wiped out so we decided to bail on the trail work…losers, I know.

Several times during the weekend, we remarked about how fortunate we were to have grabbed the cabin. In the real estate world of location, location, location…we couldn’t have picked a better location. The amount of trail work going on near Forest City, in Tahoe National Forest and over the hill in Plumas National Forest and the Lakes Basin is staggering. We will continue to do whatever we can to help out as these trails are in our backyard.

Again…what a weekend.

We’ve been back from vacation for about a week, long enough to get somewhat caught up on the life we left behind to play. A great time was had by all…ok, the dogs probably would’ve preferred more exercise but the combination of short hikes and rest was good for Bodie’s knee recovery…

The vacation nearly ended before it started. Friday night, we set out from Bishop with the goal of weaving our way over to Hwy 95 in Nevada. The plan was to crash somewhere along the road, arrive in Hurricane, UT Saturday and sneak in a ride at Gooseberry Mesa before continuing the drive to Moab. Not so wisely, Tom and I opted for a windy, remote road south of Bishop that on paper seemed the most direct route to 95. About 20 miles from the town of Big Pine, on windy 168, we passed the Ancient Bristlecone Pine park and were already agreeing to avoid this road in the future. We were driving two vehicles, not yet willing to take the $$$ plunge on the tow system needed to tow the Jeep Wrangler behind the motorhome. About 15 miles or so later, Tom radioed that he wanted to pull over and check on the motorcycles secured in the motorhome garage…he was concerned they had moved around. Pull-outs on this road were few and far between…

So we find a little pull-out on the left side of the road, slightly uphill. Tom is able to get 99% of the MH off the road, puts it in Park and walks back to check…everything is good. Until he can’t get the MH out of Park. Apparently the park pawl (gear) was under what is called “torque lock”…which basically means you need a nudge forward to get out of gear. Hmmm…how will that happen on a slight uphill in the middle of nowhere? It’s now about 10:30 at night, we’re both getting tired and not sure what to do. To make matters worse, we had no cell reception. We decide I should drive the Jeep back toward Big Pine until I get a signal and call the MH chassis manufacturer and possibly AAA for a tow option. I arrive back at the MH around 1:45am…chassis road service was limited to a person who could make further phone calls. AAA had less towing coverage than the chassis folks. The tow company that was contacted in Bishop wasn’t sure how they’d tow from where we were (and would charge $275/hr) and suggested a mobile mechanic be called in the morning. Frustrated, I just wanted to get back to Tom and to sleep. As a courtesy, the chassis folks called the CHP to make sure we were ok and not a road hazard. So we climb into bed after 2am…figuring we’ll try harder Saturday morning to figure something out. About 15 min later, the CHP flashing lights appear. Now keep in mind these guys are working in a remote area late a night…they really don’t have much to do. So they wanted to see if they could help us figure something out. After about 45 min of tinkering, still no luck. They thought we were off the road enough and left us alone to figure things out in the morning.

We slept for maybe 4 hr, tried a few more things in the morning and then it was Tom’s turn to drive to cell reception. He returned over 3 hrs later, with some friends of ours in Bishop. Chris, Amber, James and newborn Kai made the trek to the MH from Bishop equipped with tow straps, tools, etc. Chris was able to pull the MH forward enough with his Suburban to allow Park to disengage…but then we discovered another problem. The steering column shifter for the auto transmission was “limp.” It was cable-actuated and Chris and Tom crawled under the motorhome and found the issue…when the dealer was repairing a leaky hydraulic hose, they didn’t re-zip tie the shifter cable housing away from an exhaust pipe. The housing then sat on the exhaust pipe, melted and exposed the cable…which now had a space to slip out of the housing…the resulting loose cable didn’t allow for us to shift. Chris and Tom rigged a repair and things seemed to be back in working order!

The question now was do we safely head back to Bishop or go for it? We went for it! Although we were bummed to have lost nearly a day of vacation time, we still managed a quick Gooseberry Mesa ride, showers, plenty of food and good sleep on the way to Moab.

The weather in Moab started a little chilly early in the week and was nearly 80 by the time we left. Each day we managed to fit in some combination of hikes, mtn bike rides or moto rides. Although the drive was feeling long on the way there, once in Moab, we quickly remembered why we love it there so much. The scenery is breath-taking, the riding epic and given the never-ending winter in CA this year, the warm, dry desert was also nice!

The drive home was uneventful (thankfully) and the MH is headed back to the shop tonight for more warranty repairs (hopefully they don’t screw things up again!) Pictures follow, enjoy…

Tom and I sit, in front of the T.V., surrounded by piles of used tissues. This is a step up mind you…being able to get out of bed was a chore in itself today. Now historically, Tom seems more likely to catch colds than I but this bug…this is a nasty one. Unfortunately we just started the P90X about a week and a half ago, along with the nutrition plan suggested with it…who knows, maybe that’s part of the issue. Anyway, I’m on day 5 of feeling crappy…which is particularly disturbing considering I can’t even remember the last time I’ve had so much as a cold. Oh well, better now I guess than during the summer and mtn bike season

Fall is clearly upon us with the first snow having already fallen and melted at the cabin. Now that the temperatures have cooled, rain returned and days shortened, the bike rides are a little shorter and less frequent. The fly rod is stored and we transition to snowboarding, skiing and cold, dustless moto rides. The fall also marks the beginning of getting back to working outside. Time to fire up chainsaws, the chipper, burn piles, trail building…anything that is typically unsafe or too dusty in the summer. Surprisingly, we like working our property or just working outside as much as all the playing. Not only is the work necessary to help prevent a fire at our house or cabin but how many other people can turn work around the yard into a bonfire and beers in your backyard and then go in for a shower and BBQ? We’ll keep picking away at the landscape as weather permits and Tom finds himself home from Bishop…

Technically, hibernation indicates slowed metabolic activity and breathing…not an equivalent to sleep as we know it. However, what is it about cold weather and winter time that brings on long, deep sleep? Now I’m not much of a morning person anyway but when the daylight fades and temperatures drop, I can easily reel off 9-11 hours of sleep. The process of waking up becomes even more difficult…just when you convince yourself you’re ready to leave the warmth of the covers and expose yourself to the icy air in the house…boom! Eyes close again…

Maybe this is why so many people (I’m not one of them) drink coffee?