Day 2
Day 2 began with us packing up our
sleeping bags and tents and getting our gear properly placed back onto
our bikes/bike racks. Though it’s not a terribly difficult task, I
really dislike this part of each day. I would rather just leave my
tent/sleeping bag behind and just ride off unencumbered by my “gear”!
Oh well, 20-25 minutes later we were ready to head down the road.
The weather was nice…clear blue skies
and the sun coming through the trees, though it was a bit cool. We
headed east on highway 12 to connect up with our next dirt road that
would move us North. At the top of White Pass, we decided to stop
and get some breakfast…fill up on water and fuel up…correction…we
had fueled up the night before, so no need! There was pretty much
one place on White Pass to accomplish these things and it was all in
one place. It is a Fuel Station, Café, Convenience Store kinda
place, that everyone going East or West tends to stop at for one
reason or another.
We parked the bikes and went in to get our
respective necessities. For Jim this would be coffee. We grabbed
something to eat, filled up on our water and sat down for a bit to
contemplate the days ride. While there we observed quite a variety
of people coming and going…A State Trooper was chatting with
one of the gals at the counter…you could tell he was a regular, or
the store was on his regular route. There were a few “granola”
types…looking like they were coming or going from a nature hike. A
couple of folks that came through the doors weren’t even speaking
English.
I discovered that there was a very
small bathroom…with an accompanying very long line. Hmmm. I
really don’t like not taking a shower, or washing my face
etc….before beginning my day…no matter where I am at. It doesn’t
need to be a hot shower…heck, it could be (and has been) a dip in
an ice cold river or lake, a cold shower, a makeshift “bath” by
way of a canteen full of water…hiding behind a tree in the snow and
using yesterdays t-shirt as a wash cloth….doesn’t matter what
method, I just don’t feel “ready for the day” until I have
cleaned up.
I saw this tiny bathroom as a big
opportunity, so when the line dwindled and Jim and Brandon were
enjoying a makeshift breakfast and some coffee, I entered the
bathroom…which could not be locked. It had a small sink, a urinal
and a toilet. I took off my shirt, grabbed some soap and as quickly
as possible, I washed my hair, my face and my torso….as people came
in/out of the bathroom, a few of which probably wanted to wash their
hands! Sorry kids…I gots to be clean!!!!
A few minutes later, I am walking out,
fresh as a daisy…with a few people in line wondering if there was a
shower in that bathroom! Ha! I walk out to where Jim and Brandon
are sitting and Jim says (with some jealousy I’m sure) “someone
took a bath”! Yes…yes I did! A couple bottles of juice later
and I am ready to hit the road!
We take off, westbound, on Highway 12.
There are a couple of turnouts that offer some really nice views of
Mt St Helens and at one point we turn off to get a look. As we roll
up on a picnic table near the visitor viewpoint, we see a rather
unusual “memorial” of sorts.
There on the picnic table is …well,
you know what?...I will simply post the photo so you see the
“memorial”, just as we saw it when we rolled up. Interesting to
say the least!! I will leave you to your imagination.
We take off again and find our turnoff
onto a dirt road, where we see a few other riders making their way
north. We stop and chat with a guy and his wife, who are riding “two
up” on a large adventure bike. They are here from Canada if I
recall correctly?? They ask us about the trail, but since we have
yet to experience it ourselves, we are unable to provide much
information. They set off as we wait a bit, so that we don’t catch
up with them right away. We discuss how uncomfortable we would be
with all that weight…two persons, very large motorcycle etc…when
trying to navigate the rough stuff. Oh well, more power to them!
We head out and are soon enjoying a
rather leisurely ride/gradual hill climb. The dirt is well packed
and there are smatterings of gravel but it is all pretty simple stuff
as we make our way to the top of a hill that provides a beautiful and
panoramic view. There are a couple of Jeeps up here and their
passengers are taking in the view as well. We stop for a photo or
two, and head out after the Jeeps that had just left.
It is not long
before we catch up and pass the slow moving Jeeps. We wave as we pass
them and continue up another gradual hill, cresting Bethel Ridge about a mile or
so up the trail. It is a great southern panoramic view. We met a
few other adventure riders at this point, so we conversed a bit, had
them take what I think is the only photo with all three of us in it,
and we are on our way again.
The riding at this point is still
pretty simple. Hard pack dirt, ruts, some chunky gravel, a few deep
puddles…but nothing difficult. We enjoy the views from the ridge
we ride for the next hour or so. It is perfect for Brandon, as it is
just the right mix of good conditions to allow him to get some
experience, but still enjoy riding.
A while later we get to the Cleman Mountain
area and at this point there are a few steep hills covered in fist
sized, jagged rock, about a foot deep. This stuff is never fun and
the only way to really deal with it, is to attack is with some
throttle! We catch up to the “two up” riders we spoke to earlier
at this point. As we watch them start up this 100 yard long, rock
strewn mess, we couldn’t help but think….”no way”!?!
Well, they start up the hill, and as
they slowly make their way, we figure, “ehh maybe they are fine”!
So Jim hammers up the hill, getting past them and I tell Brandon he
is up next. I tell him that he will need to get moving and then
point the bike and really get on the throttle to get up on top
of/power thru and over these large rocks. I can see in his eyes, he
is not terribly comfortable with this, and I don’t blame him. If
you make a screw up, and slow down/stop, you are going to tip over
onto the rocks…and it’s gonna Hurt!
So Brandon gets moving, but I can tell
its not fast enough. He is coming up on the “two up” bike midway
up the hill, who has since gotten “stuck” in the deep, jagged
rocks. I think having them block part of the trail causes him to
slow a bit and sure enough….ohhh, ohhhhhhh…there he goes, falling
over onto the rocks. Ouch. He gets up, and tries to get moving
again in the deep rocks. I forgot to tell him that if you have to
start on a hill, in big, deep rocks, that it is going to be really
hard! Oops! There he goes again…he’s down. Brandon finally
gets moving a bit and is able to safely, though recklessly, get up to
a leveled off spot at the end of this hill and the beginning of
another equally challenging hill. The “two up” crew had made it
to the same leveled off place, after the female passenger had
dismounted the bike to allow the man to ride the large bike (barely)
up the rest of the hill.
With the trail clear, I hammered the
Super Sherpa up the rocky hill…getting sideways and throwing jagged
rocks back down the hill at waiting riders. It wasn’t pretty, but
bam…I am up the hill. We left the “two up” crew at that level
spot and Brandon motored up the next stretch with a lot more vigor
and was soon atop the hill looking back at the rock quarry he had
just conquered. He did a great job climbing that second steep hill
and I know it felt good for him. I followed him up where we met up
with Jim and a couple of Jeep drivers that had the pleasure of
watching the last few riders bang their way to the top. In
hindsight, we should have stayed a while and videoed some folks
coming up, as it would have showed the tenacity required to get up
that section of the trail. Oh well, off we went…we had a lot of
miles to cover.
For the next hour or two, we rode
pretty much north/northeast and we cold literally feel it warm up as
we headed into Eastern WA. The riding was scenic, relatively easy
and very enjoyable. Brandon commented on how much he was enjoying
the ride that day, as it was perfect conditions for gaining some
experience. It wasn’t long before we were into Eastern WA and
headed towards beautiful Umtanum Ridge. This is a large ridge that
we would ride for a while enjoying the views of the valley some 2500
feet below us.
We had made good time on our ride, and
as we hit Umtanum Ridge, we were really towards the end of the days
ride, as once we descended, we would be riding a dirt road into
Ellensburg. Umtanum had a few rather steep and rocky (More like
loose gravel) sections that were 100 to 150 yards long. Now, by this
time, we had ridden for several hours and had really put a strain on
Brandon, who had never put in this kind of seat time, let alone in
80-90 degree weather. We knew he was a bit stressed here and there,
but I think we under-estimated the impact that his “holding on for
dear life” grip on the bike had over the entire day. He was tired,
very tired and when you get tired on a dirt bike, you start getting
sloppy, no matter how good a rider you are.
We hit a few hills, rocky but not too
steep. Brandon was getting sloppy and was having a hard time
literally holding onto his handlebars. His arms and shoulders were
exhausted and as I followed him, I began to really notice it. We all
stop and talk. We figure about 30 minutes on the ridge, up and down
some hills and we would be on the easy gravel road that would lead us
to Ellensburg, where we would stop for the night. We even agreed to
just get a motel room so as to get a good nights rest etc. and ease
tensions.
We have been simply following the GPS
track on Jim’s GPS at this point. We had not needed to pull out a
map or anything, as this track had been checked/double checked and
updated by many adventure riders before us. We had decided after
looking at the GPS when we hit a small radio tower, that we should
proceed east along the ridge. That’s what the GPS said..
Brandon takes another spill as he
climbs a longgggggg and rather steep hill, with loose gravel. He
picks up his bike and Jim helps get him to the top of the hill, but
after picking up his bike, taking the falls, and the long, hot day’s
ride, it is obvious he is running on empty. I make my way up the
hill and we head out…Brandon’s face is anything but happy at this
point, but he soldiers on.
We have one last hill in front of us
according to the GPS, and after that, it shows us descending down
towards the dirt road towards Ellensburg. Jim climbs the hill, parks
his bike and stands up on the hill to help guide Brandon up. I tell
Brandon to take the left path up, as there are some patches of dirt
that he can grab some traction on, before hitting the rocky parts of
the uphill.
Brandon says “ok”. His tone
betrays his exhaustion, but he points his bike up the hill and heads
up. He gets about ¼ the way up, hits some loose rock and goes down.
At this point, it is not even an issue of skill, he is simply just
too tired. Jim walks down and advises Brandon to just walk up the
hill and he will ride his bike up. Jim comes down to the bottom of
the hill where I am at, slipping and sliding Brandon’s bike all the
way down the sloppy gravel. He tells me the trail is “a bitch”
and that it goes on for a distance greater than it appears, so keep
on the throttle once I get moving.
I take off up the hill, letting the
throttle do all the work, and climb to the top…passing
a slow walking Brandon about halfway up. I pull next to Jim’s bike and Jim comes
flying up next to me hooping and hollering! Seems he realllly likes
Brandon’s bike and is having a blast screaming up the hill on it!
Click Here To See Video (Choose 720p for best results)
We turn to see Brandon cresting the long hill...helmet in his hand, tired...and the first word that came to mind seeing him slowly stumbling towards us was....dejected. I took this photo of him as he crested the long hill.
I tell Jim that we really need to get
off the ridge and onto some easier stuff as Brandon is spent. (Which is going to affect his riding) He
agrees and says, “according to the GPS we should be heading left
and down the ridge up ahead”. Famous last words.
Jim decides to scout the route that
descends off the ridge. He comes back a few minutes later and looks
perplexed. According to the GPS we should be taking a left, down the
hill, but it appeared to have dead-ended? We decide to ride east a
bit more…and we again, dead-end at the edge of the ridge?! Now, we
are not on empty at this point, but I calculate we have less than a
gallon of gas each and we can’t be messing around too much looking
for routes off this ridge.
Now it should be noted that Jim and I
both consider ourselves expert at land navigation, map reading,
terrain association and the like. Jim is a member of our Search and
Rescue Team and I spent 12 years in the Army doing land navigation and reading maps routinely. We are both familiar
with old school map reading, back-azimuths, route planning and
everything to do with finding one’s way in unfamiliar
terrain/geography.
The only map page that we do not have,
is the page that covers this particular area, and we are using a GPS
that does not appear to be “updating” or working correctly on
this ridge! Jim turns the GPS off and on, resetting it. It simply
keeps telling us to head North off the ridge. Hmm, I scout the trail
that seems most likely to be correct. I travel about 2 miles on this
trail and it descends in a Northerly direction consistent with what I
expect would get us where we need to be. I head back up the trail
and tell Jim and Brandon, it looks as good as any other trail heading
North….so we head out.
About 2 miles down the very well
established dirt road/trail…we hit a dead end. It simply stops.
Brandon is very unhappy at this point, as he was physically done
about an hour ago. We decide we need to get back to a known position
(top of the ridge) and get our bearings before committing to another
trail.
Well, the ride back up to the ridge is
rocky, loose and a bit challenging. Brandon is so tired he
stubbornly rides with almost reckless abandonment…and actually
rides better! We backtrack on the ridge and then turn back East to
again, follow the little line on the GPS that has the pre-loaded
track for this ride. We head out and the GPS tells us to go left,
down the ridge, very near where we had just tried.
It is smoking hot, we are tired,
Brandon is whatever comes after dead-tired and we are getting low on
water and fuel. We are also a good hour or two behind schedule and
we will lose the sun in about 2 hours. I do not even remember how
much time we wasted on that ridge…but it was at least a couple
hours of riding here, turning back…going down hill, coming back up
the hill. Here is the kicker…we are in Eastern WA! I mean, I can
literally see 40 miles in damn near every direction! I can see a
small town below us to the South, I can see 30 miles to the East…I
believe I can actually see the main road a few miles to the North of
us, that we will need to use to move NE to Ellensburg! We are not
lost, we just cant get to where we need to go! It is sooooooooooooo
frustrating!
At one point, we see a sign that tells
us it is illegal to go further East on the ridge. We seriously
consider disregarding this and blazing a trail off the end of the
damn ridge! But, we decide against it. We finally decide to
trust/follow what the GPS says. We take the nearest trail North off
Umtanum Ridge, and we all agree we will need to commit to this trail
as we won’t have the fuel, or time to screw around looking for an
alternate trail.
I am sure Jim was as frustrated as I
was, trying to figure out what we had done wrong…though this
“trusting the GPS” thing is something neither of us liked. In
fact the same GPS unit had thrown us for a loop or two on our
previous TAT Ride.
We headed down and off Umtanum Ridge,
and followed the trail for a mile or two as it became more and more
“primitive”. Bad sign, as this trail should be very well
travelled. It isn’t too long before we run into a
roadblock…literally. Blocking Jim’s way is a very large tree
fall traversing the entire trail. Unbelievable. That was not the
word(s) that we used to describe our feelings at this point, but I
try to keep these posts G rated. Brandon is ready to explode…I see
it in his face, but he keeps it in.
We look around, and we can see we are
entering a “draw” that is following a dried up creek . (A “draw”
is simply the downhill low spot, bordered by a steep hill on either
side…with both slanting downhill) It is going the right direction
and we are losing elevation, so we simply commit to moving forward.
We drag our 300 lb. motorcycles up and over some large tree’s/logs, then
under another one. Given how hot and tired we are, this required a
bit more energy than I care to admit. We mount up and ride slowly
along the dry creek bed, hoping we don’t run into any more
dead-fall. Another ¼ mile down the trail…yep, another dead-fall
(trees that are mostly dead that have fallen)
Well, we are committed come hell or
high water, so we half drag, half throttle the bikes over this latest
obstacle. Another ¼ mile…another dead-fall. It is kicking or
butts. At one point Jim has to wheelie his bike over a couple logs,
after we drag the bikes under some more deadfall. He then has to
wheelie Brandon’s bike up and over. I decide to sloppily wheelie mine
to save Jim the trouble.
Hope that is the last freaking
dead-fall….1/2 mile further…an even bigger dead-fall. Huge trees
completely blocking the trail. we literally are laying our loaded
motorcycle on their sides and squeezing them between the ground and
the trees, dragging them across the ground for 10-15 feet at a time.
It is so tiring and so ridiculous, it is almost funny!
This is the only photo I took of our tedious journey down that draw...until we would stop for the night. The look on Jim's face is a good representation of how tired we all felt.
We continue along the trail and this
goes on for another hour or so. It is grueling. It is starting to
get dark and I keep wondering if we could just motor up the very
steep sides of the ridges on either side of us. I ask Jim about it,
and we agree, it would be a last resort, as someone might get hurt
trying to escape in this manner, as the ridges are very, very steep.
If someone fell, the rider and bike would tumble right back into the
“draw” we are in.
By this time we are not even starting
the bikes up; we simply let gravity pull us down the draw until the
next dead-fall, saving gas. We are all out of water at this point
and we are all sweating like crazy as we push, pull and try to ride
our bikes under, over and across these damn fallen trees. We are all
a bit dehydrated. The mood is less than joyful.
A bit further down the trail (we are
making or own trail at this point, moving thru saplings and
overgrowth) we hear the slightest trickle of water. We look off to
our left and sure enough there is a tiny little stream…not even a
stream. (It looked like someone had not completely shut the water
off in a front yard hose) We decide to filter some of this water
and drink/load up, even though it was going to take up more time.
Jim gets the filter system out (brought it as a back up) and we start
to fill up our respective camel packs. About 30 ounces in, the
filter stops working. Are you kidding?!! We spent 20 minutes trying
to fix it/figure it out..no luck. It is a stupidly simple siphon system…I
don’t know how it could possibly not work!?!?
Brandon says he is done for the night.
He will camp right where we stand. Jim says it would probably be a
good idea to bed down in place for the night. I am not ready to do
that. I hate not completing a plan and I was certain we could get
out of this if we pushed on. I really wanted to continue, but when
you are with a group, you have to consider the groups
perspective/ideas. We grabbed some water and decided to simply boil
it to use for our dehydrated meals. I had brought Iodine as a back
up…to the back up, but it would be quicker to just sanitize the
water by boiling it.
I wanted to see if we were close to
getting out of this “draw” we were in, so I grabbed my flashlight
(it was dark by now) and headed off to see what would be in front of
us. As I walked, I ran into a few smaller trees across the trail,
but there was room in each case to ride under or around these trees.
about a mile later, it cleared up significantly, with just
some scattered saplings and thick weeds in the “draw”. I was
tired and not having seen an actually “end” to this “trail”,
I turned back and reported my findings. If nothing else, it was good
to know that we would not be facing the same type of large dead-fall
that we had dealt with the past couple of hours.
As Brandon fired up his revolutionary
(and admittedly cool) cook stove, that uses anything for fuel
(sticks, leaves, wood whatever) and uses heat to actually move an
induction fan to act as a bellows....I could not help but wonder how
the hell we are lost in the most wide open part of the damn state!!??
It is terribly frustrating and a blow to one's ego. I mean, this is
basic stuff!!! It was humbling to admit that we had navigated
ourselves into such a silly situation. It reminded me of a couple TV
shows I had seen where one or two tiny mistakes, led to someone being
seriously lost, or dehydrated or injured etc. We were far from that
kind of thing, but this was sobering...and embarrassing!
Oh well, deal with it in the morning.
The one thing that we were not, was unprepared. We would toss up our
tents, throw our sleeping bags in, and then boil up some water and
get some food into our belly's. While the fire was being started,
Jim, who had a splitting headache/wasn't feeling too good, lay down
for a bit. I sat next to Brandon, staring at his hi-tech cook
stove/fire maker! We had given him a lot of crap for buying this
fancy shmancy thing, but I admitted right there and then that it was
very nice to have. A fire of any kind/size, just seems to take the
edge off at the end of a challenging day.
I moved to get up and wham....right
quadriceps cramps up. I groan like a lame old man, and try to relax
and sit back down to alleviate the pain. Hmmm, appears we are all
suffering a bit from some mild dehydration. The whole situation is
ridiculous, and admittedly a bit funny. Brandon an I chuckle about
how stupid it is to be sitting in a ravine, hopelessly lost...while
civilization is a mile or so away!
We get some food in us, and coax Jim
out of his tent. He still feels like crap, likely just dehydrated,
as I think he did the most work in helping get the bikes over and
under stuff...and a couple times riding all three bikes around the
toughest obstacles. We convince him to get some food down, and
within the hour he is back to normal.
It is a beautiful night, and we sit
around and talk about the days ride, but mostly about the last few
hours. We talk about how if Brandon had brought a gun on this
trip (He usually does)...that Jim and I would likely have been left for dead some miles
back! We talk about the fact that we must be close to getting out of
draw we are in. We talk about people finding us dead 30 years from
now...while they are hiking around. It's a light hearted discussion,
even though an hour or two before we were all pissed about one thing
or another.
It was relatively early so we sat up a
good while before retreating to our tents. At this point, the days
ride was at an end and we had re-hydrated and were setup for a decent
nights sleep. Heck, tomorrow would be a new day, we will figure it
out in the morning.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ...I wake up
about..ohhh 2 am or so...need to relieve myself. I grab my tiny
flashlight and I swear I hear something. Is that someone talking???
Hmmm, I listen....nothing. I stumble out of my tent into the pitch
black darkness thinking maybe I heard an animal or something, as
there were game trails all over the area we are in. I
listen....still nothing.
I walk a few yards away, and I hear
Brandon start to yell! I am thinking, “what the hell”?? I shine
my flashlight over at his hammock, which is easy to see as it is
exposed and simply tied off to two trees some 10 yards away. His
hammock is moving and I start to wonder if there was an animal, maybe
a deer or something over by his hammock. Brandon starts to thrash
around, yelling and mumbling like he is literally fighting with
someone or something...but I dont see anything around him, nothing!
A few moments later, all is quiet. Bad
dream? I don’t know, but he scared the hell out of me! I forgot I
had to pee! I finish my business and I go back to my tent. I think
Jim says something to me, after hearing the commotion. I tell him, I
think Brandon was dreaming or something. Who knows. As I crawl back
into my warm sleeping bag, I can't help but laugh..what a weird and
crazy day it had been!
Tomorrow will bring some answers and
some revelations, but it is lights out for this longgggggg day. More
to come.
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