| | Buck and Parcel's 960 mile Great Basin Cattle Drive. | |
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Dan Clown Shoes
Posts : 511 Join date : 2009-01-08 Age : 45 Location : Bend, OR
| Subject: Buck and Parcel's 960 mile Great Basin Cattle Drive. Tue Sep 07, 2010 12:26 am | |
| My apologies for the delay on this report. Had to leave town the day after we got back and Photobucket is being a dick. Anyhoo, here we go! Our ride begins on Sunday, August 29, 2010. Unusually cool, but mostly sunny. As expected, it took longer than it should have to get out of the house. My beloved Lumix was acting up and I was forced to bring along my li'l Canon to take the bulk of the pics. It does okay but, not up to par compared to that Panasonic. I finally got on the road, to get Casey, around 1030am. We left town around 11am. Rather than dick around with the played-out and slower Ford Road, we moved as fast as we could to the powerline near Sand Springs for a straight-shot into the Christmas Valley area. Horse Butte Rd, China Hat, "smooth Ford Road" and FS23. Some shots of Bend to Christmas Valley (with occasional commentary). No people for miles but, ran into this little bird dog , just north of the Crazy Dust Lady's place. Aaaah, the powerline...Now we're talking! The first of MANY, MANY cows! Hence the RR title. I officially hate these animals. As I roll up to the Green Mountain road, I stop a look for Casey. There he was, being chased down by a BLM Ranger. Great. Rather than bolt and start a high-speed chase over Green Mt, I stopped to get the lecture. "What's the speed limit on this road" - BLM guy. "No clue. I didn't thing there was one." - Buck. It's 55 mph...I assumed it was a free for all out here. He "clocked me at 70". Anyhoo, he let us go with that and told us to have fun. The final curve into the straight stretch into Christmas Valley. We did our fill-up (fuel and corn dogs), watched an old man drive away from the pump with the nozzle still inside his truck =rofl and talked shop with a younger bro. His bike went from an XRR to a XRL. =confused Anyway, on to the good stuff. Casey had never DS'd south of X-mas Valley. Without much trouble, we found our way to "Good Fandango". It had it's shitty moments but, worlds better than the Diablo Rim road! Shots: I got confirmation that we were on the right road when we saw the epic, red cattle guard. I had her pinned in 5th on approach, saw how crazy big it was and chickened out. I still hit it a a good clip but, I didn't wanna die this early. Pretty solid air. Casey, nearly went ass over teakettle... Stopped here for a break. There's Casey's extra battery! We got moving again and stopped just shy of 395. At this point, the road was 5th gear pinned with ear-to-ear grins. Abert Rim My idea of a break is climbing a rock outcropping, while the UPS guy smokes. The rock... More... | |
| | | Dan Clown Shoes
Posts : 511 Join date : 2009-01-08 Age : 45 Location : Bend, OR
| Subject: Re: Buck and Parcel's 960 mile Great Basin Cattle Drive. Tue Sep 07, 2010 12:27 am | |
| Day 1 cont'd Trying to avoid slab at all costs, we skipped running north on 395 to Hogback. Instead, we took a li'l shortcut. We saw some moto tracks on it but, other than that, this road hadn't been used in some time! Overgrown, loose and hammered. It slowly improved... Hogback road! Experimental seeding. Thought this was cool at first. Then I started seeing similar areas throughout the trip. Plush. Never been...always wanted to go. Check. On the road again. Goal: Hot Springs CG in the Hart Mt Antelope Ref. Waterless lakes... Who knew? Antelope in the antelope refuge. These guys are everywhere! It was getting dark and cold. Fortunately, we found camp quickly. HSCG is a pretty cool area to camp! Sasquatch searching for the perfect spot! Right next to the creek...very secluded! Still cold! Kicker! Hell yeah! As I approached the springs, I noticed this very large hawk perched on the wall. He didn't let me get too close. Anyhoo, we got all settled in, grabbed a few beers and went for a soak. In the midst of our soak, we had a gal our age (Lee) ask if she could come hang with us. Naturally, we welcomed her with open arms. We talked about life, the desert and this guy named Dave she met in the Alvord the previous day. We tried to describe our Dave but, we couldn't seem to agree. Come to find out she DID hang with Wox in the 'Vord. We went our separate ways (back to camp). After some time, Lee tracked us down and hung out with us for the eve. It was fun! I had trouble getting Casey and her to make out. =rofl Tortillas and Mountain House! Casey with our new pal! We hit the sack near midnight, concluding Day 1. Day two coming up! | |
| | | Dan Clown Shoes
Posts : 511 Join date : 2009-01-08 Age : 45 Location : Bend, OR
| Subject: Re: Buck and Parcel's 960 mile Great Basin Cattle Drive. Tue Sep 07, 2010 12:28 am | |
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| | | Casey Bone Yodeler
Posts : 103 Join date : 2009-01-09 Age : 46 Location : Bend OR
| Subject: Re: Buck and Parcel's 960 mile Great Basin Cattle Drive. Tue Sep 07, 2010 12:28 am | |
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| | | Dan Clown Shoes
Posts : 511 Join date : 2009-01-08 Age : 45 Location : Bend, OR
| Subject: Re: Buck and Parcel's 960 mile Great Basin Cattle Drive. Tue Sep 07, 2010 12:29 am | |
| The reality of having a dry end to our day was quickly crashing down around us. Big drops! Casey had his tent's rainfly ready to go, just in case we got caught in a deluge. It got a little wet but, this one was a false alarm. Enough of the bullshit...Let's roll down to the Bog. Saw Chloe' down there! Wait...maybe not. =rofl It would be totally gay to run out to the hwy and buzz into Denio for lunch, right? So, up and over the Pueblos we go! As we climb is gets windy and dark. Oh well, this'll be fun! Fuck...rain's coming! Under the rainfly! The rainfly wasn't panning out with the F3 winds. Off to shelter B! LOL! WET! I head out to scout the conditions. LET'S ROLL! Shit got a little slimy and foggy but, we pressed on. Prior to the above photo, I performed another rut-induced low-side onto my left leg. My leg was pinned...and starting to hurt pretty bad. Casey rolls up to free my ass. Good to go. The clap of thunder got us moving into Denio. In the pourdown, I did my best to look for the bomber. Maybe we were too south? I was really pissed that the weather was ruining my bomber search. Oh well, next time! A local drunk was nice enough to let us use the hose. He didn't even work there. Funny. Shit got dirty! Instead of heading for McDermitt, we planned on camping at the Alvord for fun. The rain and cold kinda shot that one down. Off to Fields Station for a hot shower and a dry bed! Looking toward Alvord HS: Our Digs... One bed?! Fuck that! I'm on the floor I guess! Wait. What's this?! ANOTHER BED! =woo Had a couple of beers, studied maps and shot the breeze with two hunters shacked up next door. Stay tuned for Day 3! | |
| | | Dan Clown Shoes
Posts : 511 Join date : 2009-01-08 Age : 45 Location : Bend, OR
| Subject: Re: Buck and Parcel's 960 mile Great Basin Cattle Drive. Tue Sep 07, 2010 2:21 am | |
| Day 3 begins with a bright sun, a pinch of snow on the Steens and a giant pancake. Casey and I agreed yesterday that we'd throw a playa run and Mickey Hot Spring stop on our itinerary for today. We'd ride the powerline to the fun 2-track that led onto the lakebed. The road was a little damp from yesterday's rain but traction was good. Until... Yeah, standing water. No big deal, right? Wrong. This was the shit Pat warned me about in May. Slick as snot and in some cases, can swallow your bike right up! Wasn't going too fast, nor was it as gooey as other parts here: We pressed on, doing our best to ride around the shit. We made the northbound turn onto the road that would take us to the playa and gave it a shot. It had it's brief good moments but overall, it was no bueno. Since we've already rode the Alvord Playa, we chose to continue eastward into uncharted territory. We made it to Whitehorse Ranch Road and hammered it out to hwy 95. According to the map, about a 1/2 mile north on 95 will bring us to the Old Idaho Oregon Nevada Highway (old-ass two track,). We didn't see any roads splinter off 95 until we hit the VOR (REO) and the time zone line. Eastbound to intercept the ION hwy...Which will take us NE to Rome, OR VOR in the distance... The "highway"! Looking back toward the Steens. We stop for a break and I do a basic bike check to see how she's holding up. Just fine except for the loose countershaft sprocket! No oil loss or chain issues. Phew!. Time for a little trailside repair! I'm free bitches! We're just a few miles from Rome when I see this sign. We thought we'd go in a bit. Glad we did! The Owyhee river and canyon. Along our short loop, we run into what looked like the remains of an old homestead. A fire ring and table were added for camping! ROME! Looks like they had gas. Off to see the Pillars of Rome and ride the back way to Jordan Valley for fuel. Pillars... Bridge over the Owyhee. What I believe is the ION highway. Heading toward Arock. Getting a little more civilized. We continue east, past Arock on a main road that the map says goes to Jordan Valley. After a good 5 miles... Yep, private property with no way around. Ugh! Back into Arock and out to hwy 95. 6 miles to Rome! We spent what seemed like forever and at least 24 miles to get to this point from Rome! 24 miles to go 6...Awesome. It was getting late so, we decided to slab into JV to make up for lost time. I really wanted some daylight to set up camp! JV shots... Before we hit the road again, we ran into a guy from British Columbia on a GS650 touring Oregon. He was carrying his dog in a crate on the back of his bike and prolly bounced the shit out of it in the backcountry! No pics...He wasn't riding at the time. More... | |
| | | Dan Clown Shoes
Posts : 511 Join date : 2009-01-08 Age : 45 Location : Bend, OR
| Subject: Re: Buck and Parcel's 960 mile Great Basin Cattle Drive. Tue Sep 07, 2010 2:34 am | |
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| | | Dan Clown Shoes
Posts : 511 Join date : 2009-01-08 Age : 45 Location : Bend, OR
| Subject: Re: Buck and Parcel's 960 mile Great Basin Cattle Drive. Tue Sep 07, 2010 2:31 pm | |
| As always, start off the day with a little coffee and oatmeal. The wind started picking up overnight and through the morning. Again, the menacing clouds seemed to be rolling in. We'd have to wait awhile to check the weather. No service in this canyon! Always stake your tent! From camp, we roll NNE into Adrian, OR on our way to Vale for fuel. We were gonna avoid the slab again by backroading it to Lake Owyhee for a more exciting way to Vale. Again, private property ruined that. Oh well. Shots outta SCSP... We stop here, along the Snake to check the weather ahead. Supposed to clear up state wide. Cool! We slab it over Keeney Pass into Vale. Along the route, you begin to see concrete and fiberglass posts marking the actual Oregon Trail! I've always wanted to see this! By nature, there was NO WAY I could jump back onto the slab! I decided to roost the Oregon Trail! Fun! I catch up with Casey at the pass for a little break. Using Casey as a comparison tool, note the depth of the wagon ruts! A short ride into Vale for fuel and a REAL lunch! Lousy pic but, we ran into a cowboy at the gas station. He saw the bikes and just had to hang out with us! He later left with a bag full of malt liquor! Time for a little more slab. Rode hwy 20 west to Harper. Made a left onto Crowley Road. This would get us off the slab and headed SE through the desert, over the Stinkingwater range and into the town of Crane. More... | |
| | | Dan Clown Shoes
Posts : 511 Join date : 2009-01-08 Age : 45 Location : Bend, OR
| Subject: Re: Buck and Parcel's 960 mile Great Basin Cattle Drive. Tue Sep 07, 2010 3:06 pm | |
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| | | Cait Bone Yodeler
Posts : 114 Join date : 2009-01-08 Age : 36 Location : Bend, OR
| | | | Jeremy Sizzle Tits
Posts : 211 Join date : 2009-01-13 Age : 46 Location : Kennewick, WA
| Subject: Re: Buck and Parcel's 960 mile Great Basin Cattle Drive. Wed Sep 08, 2010 12:45 am | |
| Whoa, thanks for sharing. It took me over 30 minutes to get this far in! Looks like a blast. Nice pics! | |
| | | Dan Clown Shoes
Posts : 511 Join date : 2009-01-08 Age : 45 Location : Bend, OR
| Subject: Re: Buck and Parcel's 960 mile Great Basin Cattle Drive. Wed Sep 08, 2010 1:56 am | |
| Thanks guys! I'll get Day 5 up soon!
Cait... We soaked at the first spring (rock wall) and the last (pond). There were another 3-5 along our route but time didn't allow. | |
| | | Dan Clown Shoes
Posts : 511 Join date : 2009-01-08 Age : 45 Location : Bend, OR
| Subject: Re: Buck and Parcel's 960 mile Great Basin Cattle Drive. Wed Sep 08, 2010 1:49 pm | |
| Let's finish this up, shall we? Our fifth and final day starts with coffee, a Clif bar and a soak. The plan was to get to Hines for a top-off. We did a little zig-zag across the valley to get us on some dirt and off hwy 78. Prolly 10 miles into the jaunt, Casey hits reserve. This will be close! We make it to the Sinclair station in Hines, where Casey dumps 3.6 gallons into his 3.9 gallon tank! From there, it was the slab of hwy 20 to OO Ranch road. By the looks of it, we could find a dirt route south, then west across 395 to the Stauffer area. Things really opened up! According to the map, we were gonna take the first right after Moon Res Road. NOPE! Private Property! Okay, maybe we can get across near Moon Res? Let's try it. The Res... My back-up plan. Fail! Keep looking! I failed to take pics but, we got banged by private property every step of the way. Fuck it. Slabbed into Riley for a break. Ran into some ADV riders from Washington working their way north on the OBDR. They were having a tough time on the trail with those big bikes. "I guess this is it?", I thought to my self as we were pounding the last 100 miles along hwy 20. "We'll just slab it into town." I wasn't okay with that. As we approached the Glass Buttes, I pulled over. I told Casey, "I gotta do this." I told him to go on without me. I knew he was burnt out. One last romp in the dirt before it was all said and done. Up and over the buttes to explore the old ghost town of Stauffer. I took the left route! I found my new moto hauler up there! The hills were scoured for something. Not much obsidian in this area. Looking NW. Fun tracks! A little volcanic glass showing up in the road. As I get toward the bottom of the butte, I run into an old fashioned cattle drive. I shut the bike town so I wouldn't spook the cows. Yay cows. I pressed on, looking for a way outta here. I found the rancher's truck and this beast... =hugebarf I found a old 2-track that went south along a butte. I really wanted to head more WSW, but this would lead to something. At times, this road got bumpy and whooped out. So bumpy, I lost my sleeping bag. FUCK! I took everything off the back (minus GL bag) and went back up to find it. Nothing. Damn it! Must keep moving. The road dead-ended at a fence. No gate. I consult the GPS and it says there's a road to the west of me. So I bushwack for a good mile along the fenceline (sweating like a whore in church at this point) to another fence. No way out. The road is on the other side. Not much of a road BTW. I really don't wanna do this... SNIP! Fence be gone! You can see the road, kinda. Luckily the old-ass road took me to a larger, BLM road. WOO! A couple of fences and ranches to avoid, otherwise smooth. I had to scare this guy off so I could open the gate he was guarding. Finally made it to where the GPS told me Stauffer was. Nothing but 4' tall sage. I poked a round a bit and found a few relics. I'll be going back someday. I found my way back out to hwy 20 and rode it in. Home sweet home by 5pm! The End! Stay tuned for mileage stats and a track map! | |
| | | Dan Clown Shoes
Posts : 511 Join date : 2009-01-08 Age : 45 Location : Bend, OR
| Subject: Re: Buck and Parcel's 960 mile Great Basin Cattle Drive. Wed Sep 08, 2010 1:52 pm | |
| I'll get a tracklog up soon. Here are daily mileages...
Day 1: Bend to Hot Springs - Hart Mt. 210 miles Day 2: Hot Springs to Fields 134 miles Day 3: Fields to Succor Creek SP 186 miles Day 4: Succor Creek to Crane 204 miles Day 5: Crane to Bend 225 miles | |
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