Steens and Oregon Backcountry - The Ride Report

[kurtw]

Prologue

A few of us have been discussing a ride around Oregon's Steens mountains, etc.
For those who would be interested, what do you think?

XLR8 planted the seed for this way back in the cold days of March. Fast forward six months later and enough details had been decided to get three of us on the road, converging on a point in the Oregon outback for three days of great riding and great company.

Big thanks to XLR8 for getting the ball rolling! My only regret is that some of the other guys that had expressed a keen interest early on in the planning were not able to make it.

More to come.

Go ahead and pile on guys.

[bubba zanetti]

   Looking forward to this ...

[kurtw]

I had been looking forard to this ride more than anything else thoughout the spring and summer. Nothing blows away the stress of real life better than a dual-sport motorcycle camping trip to the middle of nowhere. I was ready.

I talked a couple guys from my local board, BendDualSport.com into coming along for the ride. Jim (aka KMA) on his Weestrom 650 and Park (aka hanksmybuddy) on his XR650L. At the last minute, another BDSer, Mark decided to join the ride with his 640 Adventure. Jim knows this country very well and mapped out a Strom-friendly dirt route for us from Bend headed east. The plan was to meet up with Ron (aka XLR8) on his 990 Adventure and David (aka mtrider16) on his 800GS. The designated Friday rendezvous point was Crystal Crane Hotsprings, southeast of Burns, Oregon.

The Bend crew met up on Bend's east side for a lazy noon time departure. We took off heading east through Alfalfa and left the pavement heading up into the Maury Mountains, following Jim's route.

At one point we ran into an unexpected locked gate plastered with No Trespassing signs, causing us to detour an extra 15 miles or so that turned out to be very nice.

[kurtw]

Some photos from Jim

Wishing we had some mule deer teeth? (According to the sign, there's a prize drawing for a new rifle at the end of the hunting season).

Photo: Jim


Mark lost his rear brake on a steep winding downhill, prompting a pucker moment and immediate repairs. Quickly sorted.

Photo: Jim

[kurtw]

Afer the detour, we popped out onto the Paulina-Suplee highway for a few miles before jumping onto Forest roads that took us up through the Ochoco Mountains, passing the Allison Guard Station, Delintment Lake, and a big open burn area just above Burns.

The guard station - an interesting looking lodge-style fire outpost.


We hit the highway again right at Burns where we loaded up on beer and food for the evening. Crane Hotsprings was just a short ride down the road.

When we arrived at Crane, Ron was there and had his camp all setup and was relaxing. David was still on the road somwehere.

Crane Hotsprings is a developed hotsprings campground with camping cabins, tenting, showered, a kitchen, common room, and of course a large soaking pool. It's deluxe. We couldn't have come up with a better place to meet up. By the time we set up our tents, the sun was setting in the west and the full moon was rising in the east.









Park is a spectacular photographer. He put me to shame with some of his shots, like this one of the soaking pool.

Photo: Park



After getting all set up, cooking some dinner and enjoying a beer, I had a great soak in the hotsprings. Thorougly relaxed, I went looking for the rest of the guys and found them in the common room watching a Jackie Chan movie and swapping stories of other crazy adventures in the wilds of the Oregon and Nevada deserts (I need to go see Denio based on freakshow stories that Jim was telling). David had called earlier in the evening to let us know that he was still making his way in from Ontario. He eventually showed up safely just as we were all crawling into our tents.

Day 1 was 205 miles for the Bend crew.

[katego]

Crane....

ohhhh yeah.... one of my favorite places in the oregon outback.

-k

[sagerat]

Ahh, I am relaxing already just looking at the photos of the soaking pools.

Next year, dang it, next year...

[kurtw]

We woke up Saturday morning and some enjoyed a morning soak while others packed or admired David's GS in the daylight.



Saturday, I had a route in mind to get us up on top of the Steens with minimal slab. I figured this would be an easy day to see how the big bikes handle the dirt.

We topped off the tanks and left Crane.



We took Lava Beds Rd down to the Pete French Round Barn. I was hoping that Lava Beds would be gravel but it was a scenic, twisty paved road crossing some interesting....you guessed it...lava beds.





Then, things got interesting.

After Lava Beds, I wanted to try a dirt road that would climb up and T into the Steens Mountain Road at Fish Lake. The map showed it as a main so I figured on gravel or easy dirt. It wasn't actually anything too crazy but it was quite a bit rougher than I had planned on for the big bikes. Jim said he was at the limit of what was doable on the Strom.

None shall pass - Cows on Moon Hill Rd.



This road had some steep, moderately rocky sections, some silt, a little bit of everything. It was a really fun one to ride on a thumper. Before we knew it we were way above the surrounding landscape.





Eventually we hit Fish Lake and stopped for lunch.

Once on the gravel freeway that is the North leg of the Steens Mountain Loop, the first stop was Keiger Gorge. Cameras just don't work here. It's breath-taking.



Ron looking for the perfect spot to take it all in from.



Ron and Park





Playing around with the camera, hoping to capture some of the scale. I Failed.



The main overlook was equally jaw-dropping





I bet this guy knows how to shoot a good panorama...I've never seen such an apparatus.



Ron hiking around again looking for a good vantage point. I can't wait to see his shots too.





Descending the Steens Mountain Loop on the south side was more interesting than the road up on north side.



From the Steens loop, we slabbed it into Fields for supplies and refershment.



We then burned up to the Alvord playa to set up camp. Jim knew a cool trail down onto the playa at the south end and saved us from some of the gravel. It's a cool feeling when your bike gets its first bite of playa.

Playa camping*

* note, for some reason, I enjoy saying 'playa' It sounds so exotic ... a tropical day at the beach but so not...





Land-sailer in the far background...









What was in the beer, Jim?

[kurtw]

Here's a couple more amazing shots from Park.

This is the ride up into the Steens on Saturday.

Photo: Park


Saturday night. Full moon silhouette of me and my bike.

Photo: Park

[kurtw]

Day 2 was 170 miles according to my GPS:



Steens detail:

[kurtw]

Saturday night, in between beers, bourbons, and keeping a lookout for UFOs, we talked about what to do on Sunday. Jim was not copacetic with the idea of slabbing from the Alvord to Bend and preferred the idea of taking two days to ride back via Crane or Hart Mtn/Summer Lake. While this would be a great way to go, I really wanted to spend more time in the Alvord area and was willing to pay the price on Monday with a half day of fighting holiday traffic on the highway. David, with more homeward miles to ride, needed to start east early Sunday morning.

Mark decided to head out with Jim and Park decided to stay in the Alvord with Ron and I.

Once that was all decided it was time to retire to the Alvord Hotsprings (just up the playa from camp) for a pre-shuteye soak.

Morning in the Alvord







The weather had been great thus far and the weather forecasts were still calling for cooling but no bad turn in the weather. Up on top of the Steens was another matter, I think. At nearly 10,000 feet, the summit had been cold and windy, but clear, when we rode it on Saturday. Sunday morning you couldn't see the very top and you could smell just a hint of the rain blowing down from the high country.



A few more playa photos





So at some point in the morning on Sunday, the Alvord group lost half its riders and Ron, Park, and I planned to check out a route up into the Trout Creek Mountains and back.

Before leaving the Playa, I watched the balloonists launch. It was windy and their ride across the playa was short. Still, it was fun to watch them setup and take off, followed by all their chase trucks storming across the desert.

[kurtw]

Just to be safe, we topped off gas tanks in Fields and headed up. I wasn't sure if this road would be another one that was rougher than I expected. After Saturday, I was pretty much planning on that being the case. As it turned out, I doubt we could have chosen a more perfect loop for the kind of ride we were looking for. It was a good two-track road with a few little challenges to keep it interesting but.

And the terrain and scenery were spectacular. I had no idea this was here.









Whenever I thought we were going to start descending, we climbed another 500 feet. The views from the broad ridges on the actual top were enticing. "I want to ride that. And I want to ride that. And..." Next time...

When we really did start down, it looked like we were riding off the edge of the world.

Here's one of me about to start the descent. Photo: Park

[kurtw]

When we finally hit the Whitehorse Ranch Road again, the fun was just beginning. Next on my list was a hotsprings further out that I hadn't yet visited. Time to go check that off the list. The GPS lead the way.

There was a cool pool and a hot pool. Getting into the cool pool after jumping off the bikes was refreshing beyond words. Once cooled down, the hot pool felt fantastic.







What a way to break up the riding... After getting good and pruned, it was time to get on the bikes and rally back to Fields Station before closing.

Fields is so cool. It's the only civilization within at least 50 miles of this area (more like hundreds of miles if you don't count Denio or Frenchglen). Everyone who is in the area, ranchers, campers, motorcyclists, or tired-eyed Burning Man travelers, shows up at Fields at some point for gas, water, burgers, and/or milkshakes. On a busy weekend like this, it's the social hub of the Alvord.

Anyway, we pulled in and the owner came out and greeted us. She handed us the gas pump, and while we filled the bikes, she took our dinner orders and shared some of her fresh Albacore tuna fillet as an appetizer. Fields is so cool.

Three GINORMOUS burgers and milkshakes later, we headed back up into the Alvord. With the last bit of daylight, we decided to check out Mikey Hot Springs. I took a lot of photos here last trip and didn't take many this time but Ron has some.





From Mickey, we took a sandy two track down onto the playa and goofed around a little more as the sun set. Weaving around through the scrub bushes at the relatively lush north end of the playa was a lot of fun.



Back at camp after a long day. Time to enjoy the last of the bourbon.



My parting shot from the playa.



Day 3 was 179 miles.

[kurtw]

For me, Monday was a solo slab ride home. It was about 3.5 hours from where Ron and I hit the highway and parted ways.

Damn Southeastern Oregon holiday traffic...



Day 4 was 238 miles of mostly highway.



My gallery with more photos is here:
http://kurtwindisch.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Steens

Thanks for the great company guys!!!

[Mastros2]

Wow! Beautiful pics!  Looks like it was a great trip.  Thanks for the share!

[DogBoy]

 


Great write-up and the pics are beyond words. I'm ten kinds of jealous.

[bubba zanetti]

Love the stark beauty of this area. Great pics of a wonderful trip ...  I am Kawasaki green with envy !!  


That bourbon looks suspiciously like Canadian whiskey to me ....  

[kurtw]

David, I'm sorry you had to leave so soon. It would have been great to ride and hang out with you some more. I just realized that I missed some shots of your incredible GS. That looked like quite the perfect machine for this type of thing.

[kurtw]

That bourbon looks suspiciously like Canadian whiskey to me ....  

I'll leave that to you aficionados to decide...

[kurtw]

Park's photos are posted here

[sagerat]

My parting shot from the playa.

Wow, what a great shot, kurt.

Oh, I once honeymooned at the Whitehorse hot springs.

[kurtw]

Wow, what a great shot, kurt.

Not bad for a full moon night. Just goes to show you how far out you are there. Imagine what it would look like with less moonlight.

Oh, I once honeymooned at the Whitehorse hot springs.

TMI...  

[mtrider16]

I'll try to post up yet this week.  Maybe I'll have some time Sunday.  It was a great trip, I just had a lot of miles to cover between here and there and couldn't stay any one place as long as I would have liked.

The pics are great Kurt.

David

[sagerat]

One of my KLR buddies took his land sailer down to the Alvord, altough I don't think he's in the background shot.  He saw you guys, but didn't get a chance to ride over and say hi as we was too busy land sailing.  

Small world, hunh?

[kurtw]

Not to take away from this STN thread in any way, but I see that Jim has started a RR thread on ADV - cut-and-pasted it from the benddualsport thread

FYI - http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=504840

[traveler]

Epic photos of an epic ride in the boonies. Well done and I'm officially jealous.

[kurtw]

I cleaned up my report so that it's more or less chronological.  

Here's some helmet cam footage. Let's see if it will embed.
HD version is available here.

[sagerat]

So did you guys see the green flash at dawn?

[kurtw]

So did you guys see the green flash at dawn?

At dawn, you say!? We were looking at sunset. 

Nope, but we were looking! 


XLR8, nice photo. You can photoshop out the dork kneeling down and taking pics in the background...

I'm looking forward to seeing the rest and reading your reports!

[mtrider16]

Okay, here is my report.  You can see this Steen Report and other reports at MTrider16 smugmug site.  (Warning some reports are unfinished)



This is Fort Logan, a fort northwest of White Sulfer Springs in Western Montana.  This block house is one of the few fort structures remaining at this site.  The fort was located here during the Indian conflicts to protect the frieght road from Fort Benton to Helena.

I should give a little background here, on September 3rd, I started on another bike ride.  My goal was to take the BMW to the Steen Mountians in SE Oregon.  I hoped to take several dirt roads that I had seen and generally explore some back country routes.  In Oregon, I was planning to meet up with some riders I had met at one of the online motorcycle sites I frequent.

Typical of my trip planning lately, I didn't have time to get everything ready during the week and ended up finishing things Thursday morning and got out of Glendive around 11:30 am.  With this aborted start, I cut out several gravel roads in Eastern Montana that I had been on before and just took the highway to White Sulfer Springs.



Here is a pic of Benton Gulch Road, a little ways outside of Fort Logan. It took me up over the Big Belt Mountians and put me on the road in Confederate Gulch which drops into the Canyon Ferry valley. From there it was a quick trip into Townsend. This special section was about 27 miles.

As I had come about 345 miles, I stopped at the "Cowboy Coffee and Steak House" for a burger and fries. They were out of regular fries and were cooking up homemade fries, which is better in my opinion. I stopped for gas and was finally out of Townsend about 7:00 pm.

The next few roads were interesting. ;-) I road out of Townsend on a snowmobile trail to Radersburg and then jumped onto Johnny Gulch Road. This road took me up into the Elkhorn Mountians and finally after going through several gates, dropped me into Boulder with about 45 miles of gravel.

A quick ride down I-15 brought me to Basin Montana and the Boulder River road. By this time it was dark and I was riding in the glow of the headlights. A few miles up this road and heart gave a lurch as a moose ran out of the creek by the road and crossed the river and finally was out of sight in the bushes. I'm not one to celebrate startling a moose when I'm out on the road on a motorcycle. They are pretty awesome creatures with a capacity to stomp me into a bloody pile of goo if they don't like me or my bike.

Anyway, from Basin, I only had to go about 16 miles on the gravel to Orofino campground. Judging by the outhouse, it was an older campground, and I was the only person there. So I set up my tent in the dark and settled in for some sleep.



So, there were a total of 419 miles on the odometer for the day. The special sections are marked in orange and add up to about 88 miles. I had the tent set up about 10:00 pm and set my alarm for 4:00 am for the next morning. I hadn't gotten as far as I wanted and had over 600 miles to ride the next day.

Start: 11:30 am
End: 10:00 pm
Total Milage: 419 miles
Specials: 88 miles

In the Dakar race, the daily course has both "Connection" and "Special" sections. The "Special" sections are the off road part of the course where the racing happens and the racers are timed. The "Connection" portion of the course is the road that the racers travel on to and from the race camp, to the start or end of the "Special".

[mtrider16]

4:00 came early. As I was laying in my bag thinking about getting up and going, I heard an elk bugle. Its a bit early in the season for that, and I contemplated whether it might be a hunter practicing or not. I heard it two more times before I decided I better get packed and moving. One of the bad things about my gear is the time it takes to pack, it was pretty much an hour, plus a little time brushing my teeth and otherwise getting ready for the coming day. About 5:30 I was loaded up and heading out to Deerlodge for fuel.

It was cold!! The day before I had seen 90F on the bikes dash thermometer, but this morning was hovering around 30F. I hadn't packed warm gear, because I was expecting warm weather. When I got to Deerlodge to fuel up, I spent some time adjusting my gear and getting warmed up. Finally I stopped shivering and loaded up and drove down I-90 to Anaconda, and then headed west towards Skalkaho Pass.

I had been over this pass with the Interceptor before, but it is a pretty route and worth riding again. On the road out to the pass the morning sunlight was hitting the peaks and I had to stop and try to take a picture.



Skalkaho Pass is a pretty easy gravel road, but routes through some beautiful sections of forests. Here is a quick attempt at a photo on the road.



You have to stop and take a picture in front of Skalkaho Falls.



From Skalkaho Pass the route lead to Darby for a little fuel and food. Refreshed I headed down the road along the West Fork of the Bitterroot to the Nez Perce trail and the Magruder Corridor. This was a route that had been highlighted in somebody else's trip report, and I really wanted a chance to see it in person.

The route started off easy winding along some creeks. Eventually it started to climb and the road surface deteriorated to large rocks embedded in the road bed. The route was passable with a 4 wheel drive pickup, so it remained two tracks wide. Along with the climb, the road twisted back and forth on switchbacks attempting to stay along the ridgelines. Even with the large sections of burned forest, the views were breathtaking with miles and miles of forest and mountians in the range of view.



Here is a panoramic photo of at one of the viewpoints along the Magruder Corridor. You can click on it if you want to see a larger version. One of the historical plaques along the route commented that the trail was named after a miner in the area that was killed during the Nez Perce war.

The Magruder Corridor is about 88 miles long and on the west end drops you onto Hwy 14 near Elk City. From there it is a quick trip to Grangeville and Hwy 95. Once I was on Hwy 95 I started a 170 mile trek to Ontario. I kept pushing the speed limit a little and was eventually stopped for doing 74 in a 65. The officer gave me a warning and I continued on.

At Ontario, I made a little detour to Caldwell to visit an old Classmate of mine, Paul Fauth and his wife Sarah. We had dinner together and then I headed back to the road.



Here is one more pic from the Magruder Corridor.

Hwy 20 goes through the eastern OR desert from Ontario to Burns. I made a left at Buchanan and took the county road to Crane Hot Springs were I was meeting up with some folks from the Sport Tourning Forum. I finally arrived at the campsite at about midnight MST.

The group had just retired to thier tents but Ron and Kurt got up to say hi. I quickly pitched my tent and said goodnight.



Start: 5:30 am
End: 12:00 midnight
Total Milage: 662 Miles
Specials: 127 miles

It was a good day of travelling through some beautiful country.

[mtrider16]

The next morning I met the entire group as we started to pick up our stuff and head out from Crane Hot Springs. We were planning to camp somewhere out on the Alvord lake bed, so we needed to take all our gear with us. About 10:00 we took off from the campsite.

I never took a group picture of everyone, but here we had all the bikes lined up as we took a look at this round barn. Ron's (XLR8) 990 adventure from Boise is the first bike on the right. Park and his XR650L from Bend is the next bike. Mark is also from Bend, and his bike is the KTM 640 adventure. My F800GS is next. Kurt (KurtW) is the second 640 adventure and is also from Bend. Jim, also from Bend, has the V-Strom 650.



We continued on our connection through these lava beds. Kurt said there was a gravel road around here somewhere. {shrug} ;-)

Sure enough we go around a couple corners and there is a two track going up the side of the mountain. It was a fun challenge. Finally after climbing for a while we hit the main road.



It was quite the view. That is Blitzen Gorge in the background.



Kiger Gorge was also breath taking. According to my topo maps there is a 2000 foot difference between the notch and the valley floor.



Our next stop was the mountain overlook. This was looking north along the escarpment overlooking the eastern valley.



Looking out southeast from the top of the mountain was the Alvord dry lake. We would be camping near that discolored spot on the lower right side of the lake. Again, according to the topo map that lake bed is about 4500 feet below the point this picture was taken.



We didn't go to the last lookout and headed down this road which went along the Indian Gorge. We ended up hitting the pavement near French Glen drove out to Fields Station for gas and a few supplies for camping that night.



Here is a pano shot of the Indian Gorge.



The Alvord dry lake bed. You can point the bike at the horizon and pin the throttle. I had to act a little squidly and hit 80 mph a couple of times.



Start: 10:00 am
End: 7:30 pm
Total Milage: 169 miles
Specials: 87 miles

It was a fun day of meeting up and exploring roads with other riders.

[mtrider16]

It was a little breezy during the night, so I used the bike as an anchor for the tent. The mountains were lit up with the morning sun. This is a stitched together pano shot, which did weird things to the rear tire on the bike.



I had to leave early as I had a number of miles to travel. I reluctantly left the group at about 9:00MST and headed out to Fields and the Whitehorse Ranch road. The road was a fast, well graded road and I twisted the trottle and was making good time.



I had to stop and take this picture of the Steens. The Alvord is just on the otherside of that ridge in the foreground.

Eventually I hit highway 95 and travelled to Rome for fuel and breakfast. I sat down just as 3 couples with Harley's drove in. A local hunter came in and was wanting to look up his hunting permits, as he had gotten caught last year without his tags and figured the fish and game folks would ask him for his license. The place was fairly busy as people were taking trips on this labor day weekend.



From Rome, I headed out to the road that goes out to three forks of the Owyhee river. A few miles down the road, I took a left, and cut across a ranch on a two track to Juniper Mountain Road. This was a fairly technical route, at least for the big bike.

The road at this picture winds down to the North Fork of the Owyhee river and up the other side.



The canyon is surprisingly deep. You seem to just ride along the road, and suddenly it opens up in front of you.

The road winds around the mountains and finally comes into Grand View ID. The road is pretty easy to drive on, a nicely graded 3-track.

I picked up gas in Boise, and headed up Hwy 21 around 5:30. This is a fun road to ride on, and I will have to come back with the Interceptor and ride it again sometime. The road winds its way up towards the Sawtooth mountians and finally ends at Stanely and the juction with Hwy 75 along the Salmon River.

I stopped for a burger at Lowman and get a sweatshirt to help with the cold morning I'm expecting to experience in the morning. Its getting dark, and I hope to get a campsite allong the Yankee Fork Gulch. I finally arrive and there is an opening at the Flat Rock CG; once again, I'm setting up my tent in the dark.



Start: 9:00 am
End: 9:30 pm
Total Milage: 447 miles
Specials: 172 miles

This was one of my longer days on gravel roads. These areas in Oregon and Idaho, remind me of the open areas of eastern Montana. It has its own stark beauty that stretches on from horizon to horizon.

[mtrider16]

I got up early again, and was moving before the sun came up. The road up Yankee Fork goes up into the mountians and drops into Challis. It goes past the Yankee Fork Dredge and Custer ghost town. It was too early to get a tour of the dredge, but it is someplace I would like to visit sometime. The dredge worked the claims in the area from 1940 til 1952.

It was cold again, and I was glad I picked up that sweatshirt as the temperature was dipping below 30F. As the sun started to come up, I decided to stop and play with my camera a little. By using a rock as a tripod, I could take some reasonable pics of the road in the morning light.



As I started to drop into Challis, the sun started to light up some of the ridges on either side of the road.



Another picture along Mill Creek road heading into Challis.

I ended up in Challis about 8:00 am and decided to stop for breakfast at a cafe. Afterward I picked up fuel and then headed up towards Salmon.



Hwy 93 winds along the Salmon river and the bare hills in central Idaho. I decided to stop and take a picture of the river and some fields alongside the road.



At Salmon, I turned back along Hwy 28 to Tendoy, and then turned off on the road to Lemhi Pass. The difference of these hills and which ones could support trees made for a stiking photo.



Here I'm at the top of the pass looking back at the road I came up.

The historical significance of this pass, is the Lewis and Clark trail. Here, the expedition crossed over the Continental Divide their first time on their travels west to the Pacific. They crossed over the divide again at Chief Joseph pass and Lolo Pass, but this is the first crossing.

As someone who likes traveling and finding different routes to cross the western states Lewis and Clark's journey is something remarkable. Obviously the native tribes new the route, but to find it and speak the various languages and decipher the directions was a feat.



This spring is labeled "Most Distant Fountain". Supposedly a there is a reference in the journals about a spring below the summit of the pass that Lewis and Clark gave this name. The historians back in 1921 located this spring and the name stuck.

“Two miles below, McNeal had exultingly stood with a foot on each side of this little rivulet and thanked his God that he had lived to bestride the mighty and heretofore deemed endless Missouri.” - Lewis. It took a little fiddling but I managed to set up my camera to take this self-portrait.

The other item of significance is the Sacajawea memorial park. Back during centennial of the L&C expedition, the Daughters of the Revolution were a significant political group, lobbying for women suffrage. Sacajawea was a significant heroine that this group used in their writings and literature. Later one of their members set up this park area as a memorial to recognize Sacajawea's achievements with the expedition.



Here is the road going out east from the pass towards Bannack and Dillon.



Here is a panoramic pic of the view west from the top of the pass.



Start: 5:30 am
End: 9:00 pm
Total Milage: 667 miles
Specials: 65 miles



It was a quick trip down from the top of the pass to the interstate, and that ended the special sections of this trip. I had about 500 miles to get home, and it was almost noon. I turned onto the interstate and throttled the bike up for the long drone home.



Are we there yet?
Are we there yet?
Are we there yet?

Ooh, look at the pretty lightning! I managed to miss the rain because I miscalculated the distance from Big Timber to the I-94 juction. I thought it was 60 miles and it is more like 87 miles. Thus I ran out of gas 20 miles from Forsyth. I pulled off the interstate and under the under pass and poured the gas from my spare tank in to the main tank. While I was finishing this, the rain came down fairly hard for 2-3 minutes.

This was the worst gas milage I have seen on this motorcycle. I'm sure it was due to the speed, wieght of my gear, and the headwinds.



Well, I'm home everyone. A little travel weary but okay.

Did someone say they were planning a trip to Prudhoe Bay?



Well here is the big picture of the trip. That slog out of eastern Montana adds a lot of miles to the trip.

[JimWilliamson]

Sweet pix!

[DogBoy]

Thanks mtrider16. Really enjoyed the write-up and pics.

[kurtw]

Thanks a lot for the report, David. It's great to see what your ride looked like before and after the Steens/Alvord portion. You really covered a lot of interesting ground.

 

[kurtw]

Okay, here is my report.  You can see this Steen Report and other reports at MTrider16 smugmug site.

BTW, nice use of the smugmug journal view. I hadn't thought of doing that.

[mtrider16]

Yes, the journal view works pretty nice for friends and family.  Then they don't have to put up with all the comments from the other forum members.

David

[vulcanbill]

If I had pics like that, my basement would be lined w/ poster sized, professionally framed pictures w/ matching mattes.  Get thee to a camera place and make some big wall art!!  

[XLR8]

mtrider16, very nice report!  

I'll post a report soon, probably after I get back from WCRM.x.  

[kurtw]

mtrider16, very nice report!  

I'll post a report soon, probably after I get back from WCRM.x.  

 

[sagerat]

Beautiful pics, fun write-up, excellent maps.

Sigh.  I wish I was that high tech in my ride reports; I'm thrilled if I can post a few pics to my post.  

I plan to join you in the Alvord/Steens next year (I've done Jeep and pickemup truck camping down there).  Yet, being a Lewis and Clark buff, I may have to lay out a KLR tour of OR/ID/MT next year, too.  

[R Doug]

This is a excellent report of the Oregon Backcountry.  Thanks much for sharing.