This would be the final day on the Trans America Trail. Like so many other days over the last few weeks it would prove to be another fantastic day filled with great riding in amazing places.

This will be my last post for a while as I’ve got to start on a trans continental motorcycle ride in an hour or so. So farewell until next time.

p.s.: Dual sport bikes don’t have a shiny side to keep up.

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Last day on the trail

Failed attempt to reach the coast by dirt roads. Another tree fall would block the path a few hundred feet further.

Glimpsing the Pacific from the last of the dirt roads.

 

I hate it when this happens.

Unfortunately today Ted had get off the trail so he could make it down to Tahoe to make it back to the real world and decided to take a direct route to the coast before heading south.

The riding in Oregon continued to be easy and relaxing but it could still bite if you relaxed too much (cough).

Again the only issue with riding in OR is the unreliable TAT directions but with a GPS it’s easy to choose secondary routes and continue on in the right direction. It’s actually one of the pleasures of riding in OR but people relying on roll charts would be in a bad way.

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Ted and I going our separate ways. It was a great ride.

Mmm more big red roads.

These are nice also.

I think they're trying to say something. If you lost an MSR jacket it's here.

:-)

 

So not NV

Removing a tree from the trail. I got lucky with this one.

People who live in National Forests tend to the colorful.

The car was riddled with bullet holes. To put it out of its misery I suppose.

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After dealing with all of the sand and rocks riding in Oregon would be a welcome relief. Not just from the road conditions but also from the unrelenting sun. Other than an unmarked barbed wire gate and some confusing TAT routes due to the ever changing nature of roads in the forest this was an easy day which reminded me of riding in West Virginia oh so long ago.

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Cedarville CA

Ditoo

California, quite a change from NV only a few miles away.

An unmarked barbed wire fence which tried to take me out.

I love the big red roads.

The first of many tree falls on the trail. This one was easy to get around.

 

A final bit of sand in OR to keep us honest.

A tree half way across the trail. My radiator guard in the middle of the trail.

Luckily Yamaha makes strong radiators.

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While yesterday was the longest day of our trip today would prove to be one of the toughest. While there are various sections of the TAT which are described as particularly difficult with bypasses for those who wish to take them there was no indication that this leg would be particularly difficult. However, this leg consisted of many very steep climbs covered with loose rocks and and sand. After one particularly long and difficult climb Ted decided that that was enough of that nonsense and we headed to Cedarville CA to regroup.

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McDermitt has filing stations for motorcycles and horses.

Typical NV

Oasis

Ted negotiating the last climb.

The camera hides the steepness. It was actually difficult to walk down it was so steep.

Success!

 

The Jack. The rest of the wild asses would run when we got close but this one wasn't the least impressed by us.

OK, that's enough Nevada already.

Woot.

This would turn out the be our longest day on the trail and a rather challenging one at that. The leg of the TAT following Eureka was very short and we got to the end of if before noon. Feeling pretty confident we decided to push on to McDermitt close to the Oregon border. As it turns out there was a reason for the short days and the afternoon proceeded to abuse us thoroughly. As the day was ending we were still up in the mountains Humboldt National forest riding on well disguised two track. Fortunately we managed to find a fire road just as the last of the light disappeared and we made our way into McDermitt (2 motels, a casino, and a bar) sometime around 10pm.

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Fields of sage brush. We would see a lot of this while in NV. At least it smell good when you run over it.

Ted trailing a cloud of sand

Snake in the road.

Trimming the brush

 

 

 

The notorious Bull Dust.

 

 

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After 7 straight days of riding it was time for another and our final break before our run to the coast. Eureka is a strange town, It’s the county seat so the all of the county services are located there (courts, jail, medical, etc.. ) but there are  very little or any services for the residents even though the town is in supposed to be experiencing a resurgence due to the increase in mining activity. Since the TAT runs through some of the most remote areas of the country the town you end up in tend to be small with not a lot to see or do.

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Main street Eureka. The mines are literally right outside of town.

Eureka courthouse with the Sentinel Newspaper / Museum in the background.

 

The Sentinel Newspaper printing press which was used until 1960 when the paper died.

Old Sentinel prints

I don't know how a town can survive when the fun goes away.

Looking at our TAT maps we found out that just like the Tomichi pass in the Rockies and the Black Dragon Wash in Utah todays ride also had a technical section with a dual-sport bypass which we ignored. The technical section was 5 miles of deep sand and single track but all in all it wasn’t bad at all. Other than the accumulated exhaustion of 7 straight days of riding this was just another spectacular day on the TAT. Much like yesterday much of the day was spent crossing ridge lines and long valleys.

We ended the day in Eureka NV where my front tire went flat. It’s always a pain to get a flat but all in all it couldn’t of happened at a much better time. We’re now taking a day off from riding before the final push to the Pacific.

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As the trail left Baker it led us down roads that had disappeared under the sands of time.

Into the desert. Ever since entering Utah we would regularly ride over a 100 miles with no signs of civilization other than the dirt road we were on.

again across the valley

Entering the technical sand area.

It a lizard eat lizard world.

Airing down our tires for the loose conditions.

The trail wasn't actually that bad the worst part were the trees which insisted on taking up the best lines through the sand.

and across another valley.

into the mountains.

Lunch stop in I have no idea where NV.

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This would be our last day in Utah and after yesterday I would be glad to see it behind me even if it had been spectacular and today would provide some of the most spectacular scenery of all. This was thankfully both an easy and short day my shorter by crossing into the pacific time zone. This day was marked by crossing over mountain ridges and across long valleys and doing it again and again. It was another great day and we ended it in Baker Nevada.

Baker is a tiny little town which seemed only occupied by taciturn people with some bizarre sculptures which gave you the impression of having landed in a bad horror movie. Later though we made it to the Whispering Elms Saloon where the locals, the park rangers and archeologists gather. The views of the mountains and humming bird dog fights were just a bonus.

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Heading out of Richfield looking back on the town. If you want to know what Utah towns our like, think of Disneyland without Disney.

Cattle watching the whow.

Heading over the mountains just west of Richfield.

One of the many gates we would be passing through today and the days to follow.

Nice trail

Typical water crossing. They haven't been "eventful" yet like the mud has.

Out of the mountains and into a valley.

Pin-it!

Crossing a valley

still crossing

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OMG! This day was by far the toughest of the ride. We spent 5-6 hours riding various washes with no roads. The scenery again was fantastic but we didn’t really have a chance to enjoy it as we were in survival mode just navigating the boulders, sand, shale, and mud. Once we finally got out of the washes the riding didn’t get much easier as the trail seemed to have sprung sand and mud traps at every occasion. I don’t know if it was really that difficult or if it was just exhaustion from the accumulated riding but my WR seemed to develop a case of narcolepsy as the day wore on. I managed to do a face plant in a bit of mud which I would normally have blasted through without a second thought and jammed my shoulder but good. Thankfully not long after that the trail turned into an easy rode which ran along the main highway.

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Beginning of the day. So far so good.

Nice place. Not where we meant to be but still nice.

Entering Black Dragon Wash. Wow that's a nice license plate.

Navigating the rocks.

Ever changing terrain.

Damn where did my plate go? The plate actually broke off as the bolts holding it on where still on my motorcycle. The worst part is my bike stand was attached to the plate. Good thing I adjusted my chain the night before as I won't be doing it again soon. I rode to the beginning of the was and back but couldn't find my plate.

We'd occasionally escape the washes and think we were home free...

and back to our usual riding ...

just to get pulled back into the washes (here passing under I-70)

And the skies started turning gray and we thought "hmmm, this would be a very bad place to be if it starts to rain"

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After the beating we took the previous day we were really hoping today would be easier. We were in luck and the ride through the Moab area was beautiful but easy. We saw more amazing landscapes and rode on large rock steps for the first time. We arrived at Green River UT early in the day which gave me the chance to tighten my chain and just generally recover from riding the Rockies. It was a good thing we didn’t try to push on as soon after checking in a Biblical rain came down and soon the Motel was full from travelers seeking refuge. Not long after that the rooms in the Motel started flooding but fortunately ours was on high ground. Unfortunately the walls at the Motel were paper thin and loud neighbors made getting a good nights sleep impossible.

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A field outside of Monticello

Another beautiful morning

with roads beckoning you to the horizon

Up into the mountains and into the aspen groves

Red Ted wore his black boots and yella slicker to ward off the rain.

More Aspens

Our first view of the Moab area. As it came into view through the woods as we crested the mountains was awe inspiring.

Leaving the forest and entering the desert.

Ditto

Same

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