Strat's October ADV Weekend, Eastern Sierra Edition

Day 1

It's mid-October and the kiddo had a 4-day weekend off school so he went to the grandparents and I went riding with my ADV partner-in-crime, Monte. This is the third year in a row we've done a mid-October trip together, so I guess it's becoming a tradition. This time around, we opted for the Eastern Sierra and it would be a shakedown trip for my new(to me) Husqvarna 701.

We got across the valley and took Dogtown Road out of Coulterville



And continued on Briceburg Road into Yosemite.





It was an absolutely gorgeous day and the 701 was a treat! Light, nimble, and far more comfortable than a big dirt bike has any business being.

We took Tioga Pass over to the east side and followed the June Lake Loop on our way into Mammoth, taking a short detour on a fun little dirt track.

This is the Minarets Vista just past Mammoth Mountain





Out of Mammoth, we took Benton Crossing Road out to a sandy track leading to Bishop. I'm going to gush on the 701 again. This bike is so damn easy to ride in the sand! Keep in mind, I'm coming from an Africa Twin with the handling characteristics of an aircraft carrier. Everything is just easier on the 701.

It was getting near the end of the day when we got to Bishop, but we decided to push to Big Pine for some Copper Top BBQ and camp at Baker Creek Campground.

Heck yes! Looks awesome!

Glad you are digging the new bike!

budman said:

Glad you are digging the new bike!

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Hell yeah! I'm beginning to think unicorns DO exist!

Stunning. Looks like a Blast

Day 2

On our first October trip in 2021, Monte and I rode up Silver Canyon Road and back down Wyman Canyon, each on a BMW GSA. At that time, it was the most challenging thing either of us had done off-road and we wanted to revisit that ride on this trip to see if it was as hard as we had previously perceived. Since that time, we've put in lots of miles off-road, gotten smaller bikes, and went to formal training classes.

This, from that ride up Silver Canyon two years ago:


This time around, the ride up Silver Canyon was easy. That hairpin where we both dropped our BMWs? I didn't even stand up on the pegs this time.



One thing that hasn't changed from two years ago is the amazing view of Owens Valley and the Sierras!



From the top of Silver Canyon, we rode north to connect with another trail (Forest Road 05S01) instead of continuing down Wyman Canyon. Fast, flowy two-track gave way to rocky terrain.

Here, Monte had just picked up his T7 from the first drop of the day.


The trail went to the edge of a canyon and dropped down with a series of steep switchbacks. We stopped here to scout the trail ahead on foot


I wasn't feeling good about this, but it looked like the trail conditions might improve as we drop into the canyon...

The next couple hundred yards resulted in the T7 hitting the ground several more times. How many times? I lost count, but I helped right that bike enough times for me to conclude a T7 is NOT in my cards in the future. That bike is one hard mofo to pick up--nevermind doing it many times at high altitude.

Monte had enough and decided to walk his bike down the trail


...which didn't prevent him from dropping the bike several more times.


Things were starting to get pretty serious and I stopped taking pictures...we finally got to the bottom of the canyon and thought we would get some relief from the terrain.

We were wrong.

The next bend presented a steep, rocky climb, probably 100 yards or so. Monte dropped his bike at the bottom of the climb. He was so flustered, he left his bike there in the dirt and walked up the hill. While he was up there, two guys on 500cc enduros rode up and exclaimed to me "What are you doing here?!!"

Thank God for those two guys...they stayed with us and helped Monte get his bike through several more challenging sections before our trail intersected with Wyman Canyon.

Daylight was rapidly fading and we parted ways at Wyman Canyon --Minte and I heading east on a familiar trail and our saviors headed west back to Silver Canyon.

Monte and I followed the creek down Wyman Canyon and he dropped his bike one last time in the water. This time was the hardest to pick the bike up.

We finally made it back to the highway at dusk.



And rolled into Bishop for burgers and beers with our newfound friends who invited us to crash the Ventura MC Dual Sport Rally at the fairgrounds.

All told, I think that T7 hit the ground over 20 times and I'm not exaggerating. My 701 hit the ground once and I was easily able to pick it up by myself --and this was AFTER picking up the T7 countless times.

To be clear, this is NOT a reflection of Monte's riding skills--he's a VERY skilled rider, who absolutely crushed the ORBDR this summer (and the only one in our group who didn't drop his bike). We just got in over our heads. Had I been on my Africa Twin, I'd have likely been in an even worse position. I've had my own struggles man-handling a big bike in pursuit of the likes of Cabrito, SFMCJohn and Fluffy Bananachunks up goaty trails.

That pic of him kneeling next to his downed bike is epic.

Fun description of a full on ADV day.

Fine report. I came over Tioga today, in my van. 61 degrees at the gate. You are having some of the best October weather in a long time. I hope it hold for your entire trip.

stratslingr77 said:

I've had my own struggles man-handling a big bike in pursuit of the likes of Cabrito, SFMCJohn and Fluffy Bananachunks up goaty trails.

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I can say without fear of contradiction than you and Mr Monte have put in the work and school-training and BDR miles, where you’re riding circles around me these dayz … Mr Fluffy and Mr Cabrito, too.

I’m vaguely familiar with the route you did with the drops—my Dakar-style racer KTM 450 buddies used to do that stuff on their race bikes to train for righteous gnarly rally-raids. so, you guys are awesome for getting it done, and Mr Monte for doing it ona basically big street bike!

always loooved the double-down GSA Wyman Canyon pic, a true classic joys-of-ADV-riding-on-inappropriate-bikes photo …

fun to hear about you guys railing that switchback, this time … arty

Man, you guys sure do like adventure! I'm tired just reading about it...

I see a 701 in Monte's future..

Cabrito said:

I see a 701 in Monte's future..

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Me too. I was shocked at how much easier the 701 is to ride off-road. I remember you letting me throw a leg over your 300 Rally at StonyBARF last year and that was shocking too. I think that was the moment the "light is right" seed was first planted in my brain.

Day 3

We woke up around 7am to 31⁰F. Our socks, soaked from picking Monte's bike up out of the water yesterday, were frozen stiff. We walked into town (just a couple of blocks) for breakfast and by the time we got back to the fairgrounds, it was quickly warming up.



We slowly packed up camp and made our plans for the he day: Lucky Boy Pass into Bodie and then Bridgeport. From Bishop, we stabbed north on 395 and pulled off the freeway at Tom's Place for an out-and-back to Rock Creek Lake. This a nine-mile twisty stretch into the mountains with golden aspens hugging the side of the road. It was gorgeous and a reminder that riding motorcycles on pavement is ALSO fun. Back on 395 north to Lee Vining for gas and snacks at the Whoa Nellie Deli...then east on 167. If you've been to the Hawthorne Rally, you know this road...





Then Lucky Boy Pass. Aside from a couple of washouts early on, the road was in great shape and the views spectacular.



The plan was to ride into Bodie, but we got turned around in Del Monte Canyon. The road disappeared into a rock-strewn river.



So we backtracked to Hawthorne-Fletcher Road and blasted that into Bridgeport. We checked into the Bridgeport Reservoir Marina & Campground, setting up camp in time for the sunset.



We closed out the evening with hot showers and a steak dinner in town.

Looks like a fantastic trip. Love the eastern Sierras!

stratslingr77 said:

then east on 167. If you've been to the Hawthorne Rally, you know this road...

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Unofficial BARF proving grounds...

Good stuff Strat!

budman said:

Unofficial BARF proving grounds...

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Heh! I thought of the BARF crowd blasting down this road on their sprotbiles.

As much as I love my 701, it'll never be able to do that!

Day 4

Up with the sun and camp food for breakfast. We're heading home today but still want to have some fun in the process. When we initially planned this trip, we wanted to do Mt. Patterson but our hijinks in the White Mountains the other day turned into a drain on time and confidence, so Patterson became a question mark for us. But at the very least, we would ride up to Lobdel Lake and make the call on Patterson at that time.

The ride up to Lobdel was spectacular!






Lobdell Lake



At the lake, we decided to try Patterson, but a short while later, we came to a steep, rocky climb with a sizeable rut down the middle of the road. Monte hesitated. I scouted the climb but couldn't determine how much further the rocky section extended. When I got back to Monte, he asked me if I would take my Africa Twin up that section.

"Hell no!"

Discretion is the better part of valor, they say. And so we decided to leave Mt. Patterson for another day. Neither of us wanted a repeat of Saturday when we both had to get home and be at work tomorrow. So back down, we went and followed Burcham Flat Road into Walker...



...where we stopped for lunch.



Over burgers and strawberry shakes, we plotted our route home: Monitor Pass with a detour to Leviathan Peak, Ebbetts Pass, and then Parrotts Ferry into Sonora before the final grind back to the Bay.





And that's another great October trip in the books! The big takeaway for me? Monte's experience on Saturday made me revisit a similar experience I had on the White Rim Trail last year and I think I'm cured of the notion to take massive adventure bikes off-road again. In both cases, things were on the way to going really bad, only to be helped out by some amazing passers-by. And luck is not a good plan to get around the Backcountry.

In a nutshell, "Light is Right!'

Thanks for following.

Looks like an awesome trip. Based on my memory of Patterson last year, it's rocky, rutted and loose all the way to the top. Wore me out on my DRZ, I can't imagine doing it on a big bike.

I'm glad we skipped it, then given the totality of the weekend.

Good ride and totally doable on on that 701 I suspect, but for me at least, going to the the top and then down the western side made for a full day. There are some spots where you get a break but I remember rocks and ruts, and as well as steep switchbacks full of loose shale all giving making me wonder if being out there by myself was a bad idea. I'll probably tackle it again though next time I find myself and the DRZ up in the area.

I definitely want to ride Mt. Patterson, and I'm confident in my ability to do it on the 701. Monday just wasn't the day, and in hindsight, I know we made the right call. Your description of the climb confirms it.