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High Sierra for Lost for a Reason - 2016


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Hell of an event.
This was my first time at this ride, but I'm a long time Mono County "resident". Some of these tracks are my favorites from personal experience, and this area is the main reason I bought a GS a few years ago.
It was great meeting so many new friends, and catching up with some old ones. Cyndy Kelso and I met years ago up at Lundy Lake, and it was good to catch up with her as well.
I stuck around for another week up there after all of you folks left, and hung out with the Lundy Lunkers, a group of guys who have been gathering up there for the past 50 years. They set up a campsite as a big card room with 3 or 4 tables going constantly. Lots of cash and booze flowing! I came out about 50 bucks ahead...but stayed up until the wee hours, and pretty much wrecked the next day of riding just to recover.
Something is up with my phone, and I'm having trouble getting the pics off it. No worries. I'll figure it out and post them soon.
I've been checking out everyone's pics and video, and it's great to see others riding the stuff I love.
Ok, first thing:
Compared to years past, the trails are in generally crappy shape. Drought and a lot of vehicles makes for a lot more sand and chewed up trail than we are accustomed to up there. Two of the routes I consider "super easy" had some tough conditions this year. Bald Mountain is usually a walk in the park, but this year it was mostly sandy on the way up. This one varies a lot because of the road maintenance getting there, and I've done this run two weekends in a row before with completely different results. After riding the main road at 50+ mph one week, the following week saw a fresh load of gravel and a lot of work. So I wasn't 100% sure about this route, and to have it chewed into sand is a bit of a disappointment. But still worth the ride up for the views and that cool little warming hut (I'm pretty sure you can spend the night here without any hassles).
I also told just about anyone that would listen that Log Cabin Mine is super easy except for one steep section that gets a little sandy...my apologies for the understatement of the year. I go up this trail every single time I'm up in the area, and this is by far the worst shape I've ever seen it in. But it was great seeing pics and video from the top, knowing riders pushed through that crap anyway. The views alone make it worth it. Did anyone explore the structures up there?
Dunderberg Pass...That upper section keeps finding its way into the .gpx file. No idea how, I've never taken a bike up there (or a GPS). Why? Because I know better! LOL!!! I've been up there in my truck, and turned around when my wife started getting freaked out. Sorry to anyone who might have been cursing my name (or Eric's) up there.
A small group of us also rode Masonic Road, but stayed on it instead of getting on Bodie/Masonic (this was a mistake I made somehow, but it kinda paid off). There is very little sand on this road (virtually zero) and it has a few decent challenges with rocky areas and step-downs. We came upon three vehicles trying to figure out how to pass each other and went around them on the outside edge with one guy (me) standing there spotting so nobody fell off into certain death and destruction, or maybe just divorce. Same thing, kinda. Brunch at the Bridgeport Inn was great, but I sure do miss Hays Street Cafe, which closed recently after 25 years in business. It's for sale, by the way...
The previous day, we did go Dunderberg to Bodie, then out Cottonwood Canyon. From there, it's a quick 1-mile jaunt down Cemetery Road to DeChambeau Ranch, which served Bodie and other townsites back in the day, and is set up like Bodie as a sort of museum.
On our rides, we stopped for pics at places like Chemung Mine, Masonic, Bodie, and DeChambeau Ranch. I'll get the others to post their pics. When you see pics of glassy-looking beaver ponds, those are from Lundy Canyon, and might help to explain why I go back there a few times every year. Since something like 1967!
Big thanks to Eric for a great event! Also, special thanks to Classy Cowgirl (fantastic food!), June Lake Brewing, Mammoth Powersports, and anyone else who made things happen for us. All of these businesses are now aware that this group will be up there every year, and they are preparing.
Very sorry that my buddy Lance Gines got hurt, but he's going to be fine. I've ridden Idaho and a few other states with Lance and Robbie Musheno, those guys are hardcore. It was great seeing them again, but a bummer seeing them leave early. See ya next time, guys.
Shout out to my other partners in crime: Rafe Hardy! Rafe bought a new truck and toy hauler when he got home, can't wait to help get it all dirty and scratched up! Mark McClellan, one of my absolute dearest friends in the ADV community, shared the experience with Dan Schoo from BMW of Riverside. Great couple of guys! Rafe, Mark, Dan, and Trinie Lara all stayed an extra night or two at Lundy. Trinie's bike had a persistent flat front tire, and we dropped it off with JW Stoehr of Mammoth Powersports after several attempts to patch the tube. He put in a new one and sold her his last 21" tube as a spare (just in case) to get home. Really good guy. Trinie is a lot of fun to ride with, too. She took a yellowjacket down her collar at one point, and tested Sena's mic gain and speaker output...in our ears...pretty impressive volume, but I was a little disappointed in the massive distortion. Couldn't figure out if she was saying "AAAAAAAGGGHHHH" or "&%$#@!&%$#@!&%$#@!&%$#@!". Gotta get with Sena on that, curse words need to be intelligible.
Ross Wenger joined us for the Masonic Road trip, and got to stretch his legs a little on some stuff he hadn't done before. Good guy, we'll be riding again soon. Knows how to curse, fits right in! Need to introduce him to the Lundy Lunkers...
My wife Yun arrived just after the event and proceeded to catch a bunch of big trout. She also brought huge King Crab legs, jumbo prawns, ribeyes, portobello mushrooms, and a bunch of other delicious stuff. We ate like KINGS.....after you folks went home. Sorry...not. HAHAHA!!! Between our food and the meals from Classy Cowgirl, I actually gained a couple of pounds. I usually lose a few up there.
If anyone is curious about Lundy, have a look on Facebook at pics posted by Trinie Lara, Rafe Hardy, Dan Schoo, or me. It's a little hidden gem in the Sierras, a really magical place.
Looking forward to next year...and as soon as I get this problem figured out, my pics will be posted here as well.
See ya!
Rob Day

 

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