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Taking the Long Way Home - Atlantic to Pacific and back


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May 10 day 12

Yesterday and today I tackled the white rim trail. I have been looking at this trail for months on google earth and have been looking forward to it for the entire time. I really wanted to ride it unloaded but couldn't bring myself to leave my gear anywhere so I just decided to go for it I mean how bad could it be?

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This is the track of the first day (60-70miles) and it ended up being such a tougher trail than I had expected. I had a lot of trouble on 3 really badly rutted out hill climbs and had to turn the bike around on its side get it up and go at them again. And had two pretty good offs in deep sand. but besides that everything was pretty manageable the going was slow and very tough so I stopped frequently to drink water and take pictures e908a9ebab16422bf38f5625452decf5.jpg5ad73b653bcaae5f3b638e526cdf37d8.jpg1516632c60a9e0c3fbfae0bb88c6bee2.jpg05f86a2ae4af765a8e4660e6e93806a7.jpg45949fa81e08e1733a3e5dceeafd6ef1.jpgecd6a1081ca99b2c481bee058eeb9dcf.jpg422eb42950dc660c997235e0983496a3.jpgdd3897d6ca6098601bd703eaa7d754e5.jpg33898bf935253abb4caeba42b0b94125.jpg793b2fe2187954a6f684237be665b18e.jpg321eacdedb4c2f845fc752cf1a7d2950.jpg

Last night I got to camp at potato bottom campsite which is available by permit only and it was absolutely beautiful. For sure the most incredibly remote and truly wild place I've ever been in my life. I am sure I took pictures of the camp site but my camera is dead right now so I will upload more pics of the camp and white rim tomorrow.

The ride out this morning was around 20 miles and most of it was much easier going than the previous day's riding. Just one bad hill climb and two minor offs in deep soft sand

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It was a tough trail but I feel like I learned a lot about hairy hill climbs and deep sand and how to ride the bike loaded over tough terrain. I wouldn't recommend doing the trail solo though. I would have felt a lot better with a partner because the times where I did struggle seemed pretty bad until i had the bike turned around back up and ready to try the hill again. In all made it out unassisted with only a ding in my front rim, two smashed up panniers, a bash plate toolbox ripped clear off, lots of fresh new dings and scratches all over me and the bike. I don't think any actual damage was was done to the bike. Some coolant leaked out while it was upside down but was still above the minimum line on the coolant tank and the ding in my rim stopped leaking air as soon as I bashed it a couple times with a rock and got it mostly back into shape. It was an adventure that's for

I've met some really cool people while I've been in Moab/Arches/Canyonlands. Casey and steph from salt lake came here to skydive for the first time and I saw an older couple on triumphs and we talked briefly, the woman had snapped off her clutch lever while riding a trail outside Moab "egg" something if I remember correctly. Bryce the guy who checked me in the campground is actually camped just across the way, and is traveling from Oregon.

Today I made camp early in the afternoon and got some food and a couple liters of water to relax around the campsite and recover from the previous day's ride. Just like the million dollar highway a lot of the time I found myself both in awe at the beauty of the landscape and terrified at the prospect of falling off it. I'm just glad I didn't know how bad it was going into it because I would have been riding less confidently and probably spent a lot more time worrying or struggling and less time enjoying the view and off-road riding experience.

Thanks for reading guys check out my tracks here if you want

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0vOdQ17Gkzl75o9nCrbjzbmjyUZI7hDtx

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Thanks for documenting and sharing your journey. I have the same bike, same year. Great to see you out there on it. Hope to do it someday myself. White Rim sounded epic! What tires are you using? Thanks again. I'll be following the rest of your posts.

Ruppbike

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Dude that is epic! Can't believe you did it solo loaded down! :lol: That's definitely an adventure.

And I can see from your SPOT that you're in the same campground I was back in 2012 for the GS Trophy.

Jealous!

It was the best camp site of the trip so far still. I can't even say how quickly I made my tent so I could just sit around watching the sun change on the canyon walls while listening to the green river. That's so cool you stayed at the same site, and during the gs trophy no less! That must have been seriously epic! And yes I defiantly had a bit of an adventure.

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There used to be a small tool box there which houses my spare hardware and such for the bike.

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Those are both from a pretty good crash from deep sand and I bashed a huge rock with the front tire dinged the rim and could here it seeping air and bashed it back into place, and it's been holding fine since.

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It's hard to see on the panniers but there smashed in pretty good and neither are waterproof anymore. I've got to try and bang them out with something at some point.

I'm in northern Kaibab today and tonight where I've got good cell service at a sweet free dispersed camping site. I'm planning out the next couple days and going to catch up on here with everything tonight.

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Thanks for documenting and sharing your journey. I have the same bike, same year. Great to see you out there on it. Hope to do it someday myself. White Rim sounded epic! What tires are you using? Thanks again. I'll be following the rest of your posts.

Ruppbike

Hey Ruppbike, white rim was pretty epic but at a couple points I was really wishing I had a buddy with me and an unloaded bike. The 700 can do it no problem though just make sure you've got a solid bash plate on there. I'm riding on hidenau K60 scouts and they look to me as if they might have about 2k miles left on them and they've got probably 6.5 now. I really like this tire a lot. Thanks for reading!

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Those first scratches always cut the deepest!

A well used adventure bike is like a pair of the old cotton fatigues we wore in the Old Army. You had to break 'em in and then they took starch better. They seem to wear forever. Those scratches are battle scars.

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May 13 day 15

Two days ago...

May 11 day 13

I packed up my camp at slick rock campground in Moab, said goodbye to the new friends I had made, and headed towards four corners. The ride there was beautiful (191 to 262 to 162/41 to 160) and uneventful but I personally found four corners itself so boring there I forgot to take out my camera. I walked around the monument and was about to get on my bike and head towards Mexican Hat when I met two friends in a jeep out on a road trip from Kansas City. Nick and Hayden are videographers and youtubers who film mostly with drones and GoPros. I told them where I was headed and they decided to follow me for some footage and of course I agreed because who could turn down drone footage of yourself riding in the middle of your adventure!? We ended up making camp about 20 miles outside Mexican Hat at the Sand Island BLM Campground, and I am glad we did. 596408cba5e9d67ea3695309616b2e2f.jpg

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What an incredible place to make camp. 15 per site per night and the place was crawling with reptiles and rock formations and petroglyphs all within a 1/4 mile of any site. b18fdc0b74a199dd3ff307a374761988.jpg423caecb0d187d1727f9b0db26de4e50.jpg

Nick, Hayden and myself made camp there and took some drone footage of me riding around the dirt track behind the campground. As well as some incredible aerial shots of the vibrant green San Juan River valley surrounded by desert. Once the stars came out we pulled out my dslr and tripod to see if we couldn't get some shots of the night sky.

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May 12 Day 14

We decided to head towards Zion in the morning, and make camp somewhere to charge up all our camera go pro and drone batteries. We ended up at the hurricane KOA and it was pretty good. The ride there. found Monument Valley to be the best part of the ride and a very moving and borderline spiritual place. I would recommend that ride to anyone who's got the time for sure.(163 to 160 to 98 to 89 across the southern edge of lake Powell to 389 to 59 to 15 into hurricane KOA). 276710db892a9bd3d2c8c95cfc1faa45.jpg1e44c14b0df1b5dc4d24d1a0166feef7.jpg0952034e5d03a1caccf377515d4352ac.jpg4358e70bc0202d38bfab4a74d3a78849.jpga05e003bf20672a9c597b1ffcc214589.jpg

We made camp, got to shower and charge all our gear, enjoy some ice cream and access to a nearby Walmart to restock on random items and get ready to go into Zion in the morning. We also stopped by this really cool lake a mile from be KOA. c5340f437cd8d862c56e863fb43212ba.jpg5f1516c8dc32559a444c9bbb9eca7110.jpg

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May 13 Day 15

This morning Hayden, Nick and myself headed for Zion early hoping to beat the rush for the gate and things went awry as soon as we got into virgin. GoPro problems had me pulling over to sort it out which got us separated and screwed up the footage of them following me. Then miles long lines traffic and 90 degree sun had me turning around so quick and headed for a less populated area. Nick and Hayden had decided to stay and push on through the crawling line of tourist driven cars. I am glad to have camped with them but it's much easier to travel solo. I stopped at a gas station and whipped out my butler map of Arizona and decided to head for north rim. I stopped at Jacob lake inn for a top shelf bacon cheeseburger don the way where I saw a ton of bikes, Harley's KTMs and old Honda VFRs and a lot more I forget.

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While talking to some other bikers it turned out North Rim is closed until Sunday so tonight I made a free dispersed camp inside Kaibab forest. It's a beautiful and very private spot to set up camp.

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And I found a new piece of jewelry for Furiosa

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Looking at my map I'm pretty sure tomorrow I'll head for the south rim of the Grand Canyon stop to check it out then turn south again towards Prescott and make camp somewhere around there . Right now it's dinner of ramen, canned peaches and pistachios; a little bit of journal time, then sleep.

Thanks for reading

Follow my tracks here

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0vOdQ17Gkzl75o9nCrbjzbmjyUZI7hDtx

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May 14 Day 16

This Morning I left Kaibab a little disappointed I didn't get to see north rim, but there's still the southern side, so I headed for Grand Canyon NP and the south rim. a0cb7cdd80da3f3e1cddf875cf52fd33.jpg80941ef4f1deee32a4726dc47d05e7fe.jpg

It started pouring as soon as I got off the bike there so I only had a minute to snap pictures and accidentally left my cam on manual focus for the first 3/4 of shooting so it was all bs accept for the last 10 pics. I got soaked all the way through and was dry within 10 minutes of riding out of the storm. I had considered camping I or near Prescott Az but in the end I decided to skip the rest of Arizona and head for Joshua tree tomorrow. So tonight I've made camp in the needles KOA to charge up shower and head into the desert. The ride here was beautiful and by far one of the most interesting things I've seen so far was the little shelters along the road in cliff dwellings AZ.

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Tomorrow I'm headed for Joshua tree which will be the southern most point in the journey. Sorry for the lack of pictures I'm charging my camera and GoPro batts tonight so tomorrow should be a great day for riding and shooting! I am thinking over the next few days Joshua tree, Death Valley and then sequoia parks. For Death Valley I'm thinking of heading through ash meadows towards to Ryolite into Death Valley through Titus canyon and then to tea kettle junction and racetrack playa then out towards sequoia. Feel free to chime in here guys let me know about some good spots/trails/gas station through Joshua tree, Death Valley and Sequoia!

Thanks for reading!

Check out my tracks here

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0vOdQ17Gkzl75o9nCrbjzbmjyUZI7hDtx

Come hang out at Overland Expo next week (thur-sun) at Mormon Lake. It's a huge ADV gathering.

I'm not sure if I'll be around there then but if I end up within range I'll be there!

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When you say "racetrack playa then out towards Sequoia," what does your exit path look like?  I'd caution against going down Lippincott because it's pretty gnarly.  I'd probably turn back after seeing the playa and back to Teakettle Junction and go right.  That will take you over through Hidden Valley and over Hunter Mountain back to Saline Valley road and exiting a hwy 190 where you'll go right to get over to hwy 395 at Olancha (gas) then south to where you'll go righ on 9 Mile Canyon road to go up into Sequoia.  There's gas at Panamint Springs, Stovepipe Wells (87 only) and Furnace Creek and that's it.

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When you say "racetrack playa then out towards Sequoia," what does your exit path look like? I'd caution against going down Lippincott because it's pretty gnarly. I'd probably turn back after seeing the playa and back to Teakettle Junction and go right. That will take you over through Hidden Valley and over Hunter Mountain back to Saline Valley road and exiting a hwy 190 where you'll go right to get over to hwy 395 at Olancha (gas) then south to where you'll go righ on 9 Mile Canyon road to go up into Sequoia. There's gas at Panamint Springs, Stovepipe Wells (87 only) and Furnace Creek and that's it.

Yeah I had seen a video on YouTube of lippencott and it's a no go. And after seeing racetrack I am going to go back out to tea kettle and take the route you've recommended for sure. Right now I'm stopped off 95 south checking out the desert. Im headed towards salton sea and Joshua tree right now.

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May 16 Day 18

Yesterday, May 15 Day 17
I broke down my camp at the Needles CA KOA and headed for the southern entrance of Joshua Tree. It was a little under 200 miles from camp to camp and a pretty uneventful but very beautiful ride down. Joshua Tree is a very cool park with a lot of amazing plants and animals. I was surprised at the number of rodents, rabbits, and lizards. I had figured to see plants but few or no animals, but alas my camera has a junk lens and I've got no good pictures of animals because I can't get close enough. Joshua Tree is full of awesome camp sites and in no time I found a great one at the second campground off park drive heading north.
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It was very hot, around 95 degrees, so I made camp in the late afternoon and hung out in the shade. A couple hours later a Toyota pickup pulled up with a super cutie in the passenger seat and a really cool hippy dude behind the wheel. David and Madelinn had met because David is a couch surfing host and Madelinn is on a cross country tour out of Oregon aboard a Honda shadow. Check out her Instagram @madelinn_rose she is a super cool person and she's making pretty sweet videos of her journey posted on her YouTube channel MadelinnRoseMotorcycle. Both her and David were super cool had a lot of info about the area and where to get gas in Death Valley as she had just come from there. They also explained to me that the yucca are not baby Joshua trees and that the Joshua trees only grow between a certain altitudinal range which is why I saw none in the southern half of the park. After talking for a while longer a strong wind came and blew my camp half into the thorns so I had to thank them for stopping and run to retrieve my gear.

Several hours later maybe 10:30 or 11 I was messing around with some nighttime photography when I had a little mishap

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How?

Well the pannier lid was off. And I had just taken a 20 second exposure of myself on the bike with camp and stars in the background. As soon as I heard the shutter close I dismounted in that precarious position where the bike is standing on its own but you could tip it with a finger because the kickstand is elevated just 1 inch too many by the uneven ground. As soon as I took 2 steps towards the camera that big wind came back and blew Furiosa right over. The pannier landed perfectly on a rock and crunched itself in around the luggage rack. After 45 mins struggling I had got it about 70% back into shape, nearly returning it to its original capacity. It's not waterproof and the top won't even close anymore but it still attaches securely to the bike and I've got an extra Rok strap to keep it closed and just incase one of the mounting pucks breaks loose. I want to do whatever I can to bang this pannier back into shape whenever I get home and have hammers and blocks of wood because it's come so far with me and it's absolutely a useful luggage system but I am absolutely going to get soft luggage in the future. Probably the mosko Moto back country soft pannier kit. Other than that it was an absolutely gorgeous night with near half a moon and still plenty of stars. I had lunch/dinner of canned peaches, dintymore stew, and ravioli; listened to some rush and wished I had service to post that pic of my deformed pannier.

May 16 day 18

Today I left Joshua Tree headed for Mojave and ultimately furnace creek ranch. The day started out cool at 830-9 when I hit the road and rose rapidly in temperature to 100f at its peak. With my smushed pannier strapped up tight I headed north out of Joshua Tree and into the southern entrance of Mojave. I was surprised but it seems, from what I saw, that Mojave has an even more impressive field of Joshua Trees than Joshua Tree National Park itself. Mojave was huge beautiful and hot. Deep sand shoulders and brutal heat prevented me from pulling over for pictures much of the way because the one time I did ended up getting stuck going back into the road and had to tip the bike out of the rear tire hole it had dug. There is more on my camera coming for tomorrow but...

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[img=http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160517/46e97ff3bc0c4952a63ee82b6efa0986.jpg[/imghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160517/9e64809276693af80f437ffbcaf14551.jpg]
 

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Tonight I've got a cabin to the tune of 200 bucks a night but I'm glad I do because AC and a shower can't really be beat after 17 days on the road and 14 days outside. 6ab7dab77ea8f58a01e2d233c76001f2.jpg

Also while here I have realized I can't do bad water, race track and Titus canyon in one day so I'm going to do furnace creek to Ryolite to Titus canyon back down to furnace creek for lunch then out on bad water and head for the the sequoias. The past couple of days have been hot and cumulatively exhausting. I am looking forward to resting up in the cool shade of the giant forests.

Thanks for reading!

Follow my tracks here

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0vOdQ17Gkzl75o9nCrbjzbmjyUZI7hDtx

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May 17 Day 19

This morning I headed out from the furnace creek ranch, which is awesome btw. Expensive but super cool with nice cabins, stores, gas, a saloon, a steak house and a spring pool. I headed out north up 190 to daylight pass road/374 across the Cali Nevada border towards Ryolite. It was pretty cool accept for the barbed wire fences all over keeping you from exploring the ruins. I thought the Union Pacific rail car was the best thing there by far. So cool to think that rail car may have also traveled coast to coast over 100 years ago

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I left Ryolite and went a couple miles back the way I came on 374 and hung a right on to Titus canyon road. It was a pretty good surface, and gave me no trouble at all. As I rode storm clouds slowly followed me through the canyon but did not let loose until I was back on pavement. Keeping my eyes on the path was the main problem

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I came out of the west end of Titus Canyon and headed south on 190 toward furnace creek for gas and to re- assess my direction from there. On the way I rode between mountains being showered in rain to my east/left and playa with twin dancing dust devils to my west/right. I got sprinkled with droplets of freezing rain that actually dried from my clothing in seconds. I rode through a dust devil as it crossed 190 west to east. My dash cluster showed temperature swings from 63 to 91 in less than 15 mins/miles. 3000 + foot elevation down to -200 +. The strongest wind I've ever felt in my life hands down. No idea how strong actually but blow you off the road strong is what I'll call it. I feel so lucky to have experienced such an amazing series of natural events in one day.

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At the furnace creek fuel station I bumped into a fellow adv rider on a tiger 800 outfitted with some pretty sweet pelican luggage, Shane out from Maryland. Really nice guy, veteran, and hardcore adventurer; we talked of routes, camps, gear and farkles for 10 or so minutes then parted ways. Turned out he had stopped to help a Harley rider who had struck a deer and went badly in to a ditch. He told me the rider was ok and that he waited with him until a police officer arrived. Meeting nice people is still the best part of the journey and I'm comforted to know that even in one of the harshest and most desolate landscapes in the USA there are likeminded people who would come to your aid. The reason I carry a trauma pack and med kit is not only for if I injure or crash to attempt to patch myself up but more for the event that I come across another person who is in trouble. I thought it was really awesome he had the opportunity to help someone like that, but at the same time glad I haven't yet seen someone injured or in trouble on the journey.

From there I headed out on 190 west which was one of the most beautiful rides of the trip. South on 395 and west on 178 has taken me here to the Isabella lake KOA. Tomorrow I'll head out north in search of really big trees.

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