Day 4

Stats: 220 Miles; 9:32 moving time; 28,063 vert ft climbing

I woke up early and started my day going to the grocery store to grab a new lighter, tape, & breakfast (4 pack of muffins + coffee) while waiting for USPS to open.  I decided to pull my skid plate off to be ready to change my oil, unsure where I was going perform this ritual.

 

As soon as I pulled off my skid plate I found trouble, I had sheard off a bolt from my ignition cover. Totally my fault as I had put an Enduro Hog ignition guard on with big hex cap heads and it stuck out from the skid plate.  There was a small oil drip from the bolt hole and no way to remove the sheared fastener.  I decided rather than pulling the ignition cover and risk it resealing I would just quick steel over the hole to further slow the already minimal leak.  I ran back to the grocery store to get paper towels and rubbing alcohol to clean up the leak and get quick steel on it so it can cure before my oil change heat cycle.  All of this done I went a 9:15 to grab my shipment.

I had shipped myself a funnel, drain pan, oil filter, & premeasured oil which made the change quick and I made no mess.  I had a great setup at the motel and even had the previous weeks motocross race playing on the TV to listen to.  The oil change went quick but by the time I shipped back my package and got geared & loaded up it was already 11:30!

I headed out of town at my prescribed 42 MPH and up another switchback road, luckily not as far along the river road.  Not being one to pass up a fire tower I stopped to find this one was staffed, the nice man staying there had been there since June and would be until the first major snowfall!  Within a minute of getting on a trail I saw something I've only seen once before, a mountain lion!  This cat was not full sized but also not young which made me nervous after a strange encounter with a similar aged bear a few years ago being its likely first encounter with humans on its own. The cat ran along the trail then jumped off to the high side besides a tree.  I hesitantly rolled forward at a crawl while turning on my camera.  The cat then jumped back onto the trail ahead of me and ran along before jumping off to the lowside. It did this at least one more time before sprinting down the hill.

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Next I hopped onto Little Van Buren, regretfully skipping another nearby fire lookout!  This trail was rugged and had little traffic. It was mostly a rain damage rut filled with down trees on the loosest soil yet. Luckily it had been cut out this year!  I did have to cross under a small recently fallen tree, using my right hand to hold it above my head while slowly scootering and letting out the clutch. 

No Business trail is accurately named, it was extremely steep & full of difficult switchbacks through rugged terrain, but at least it was smooth. I skipped even attempting North Fork of Slate Creek as reports from the previous week were it was impassible.  

The logging roads to Marble Point were bustling with activity, I was run off the road by logging trucks a couple times.  I was glad to be on trail the Marble Point which ran through a still lush forest.  I exercised restraint over the water bar jumps but apparently not enough as I broke another strap on my tent and one of my Trailbound fender mounts holding my folding saw to my front fender.  I took a quick break at Marble Point to move my saw to my pack and enjoyed the Sierra Nevada I had picked up in Riggins.

A few quick logging roads brought me to pavement and a few miles away was Cougar Creek trail.  There was a few cars in the lot which was inspiring, however the first few hundred feet of trail were a carwash of brush and immediately on a bench cut there was two down trees with no tracks on the far side.  I managed to turn around on the 3 foot wide shelf of trail. The detour around this section was reminiscent of any rally car video and turned into a great ATV trail with lots of recent traffic and cuts. I of course had to stop at the fire tower just off route, this one was staffed and the young man working it was also around for the season, however he had recently been relocated here as his typical tower was too close to a fire.

Kooskia was an interesting town, the only open business's were the grocery store and a bar.  Having called the Pierce gas station before leaving Riggins they told me they closed at 7 and I had rolled into Kooskia around 6, and it was 50 miles of roads to get there.  I decided there was no way I would make and not knowing the size of Pierce I decided I should sit down at the bar in Kooskia and plan to camp just before Pierce to get gas first thing the in the morning.

I went in the bar and wow what a place! When I walked in everyone stared at me.  I asked if they had food and the locals all cheered its taco Tuesday! I ordered a PBR which confused the bartender and ordered 4 tacos which was apparently a lot. The bar reeked of smoke.  As soon as I sat down I realized my phone said it was 5, I had hit the time change when I rolled into town and could make it to Pierce! I ate my tacos quick, topped off with gas then made a break for Pierce.

The roads between Kooskia & Pierce were an ADV dream.  I made it to Pierce with 20 minutes to spare and filled up my tank & fuel bag, 7.2 gallons of fuel to get me to Avery, the longest stretch without fuel with plenty of trail between, some I had no current trail status on.  I was surprised by the size of Pierce and there were many businesses open.  I decided to stop at the pizza shop, unsatisfied with my bar tacos.  I decided I wasn't hungry enough for a full pizza so I got a scoop of ice cream while I studied the map to choose my target for camping.  There was another fire lookout 20 miles ahead and it looked like mostly roads to get there.  I was half tempted to stay at the hotel here and get an early start but with rain in the forecast for the morning the move was to ride in the dark as far as I could, camp, and hope the rain wasn't too bad.  There was a group riding the BDR at the pizza shop and staying at the hotel there, they talked about how big of a day they had and asked how my day on the BDR was. I didn't want to spend the time explaining what GRIT was so I told them my day wasn't quite done, the guy I was talking to said "Your going back out there, now!?" and pointed to the dark window.

As I rolled out of Pierce it was drizzling and I was questioning my decision but it quickly stopped. Dan Lee Ridge trail had some highlights but was mostly overgrown with now wet bushes.  Where the trail ended there was a small flat spot with a fire ring surrounded by dead trees, I didn't know what the expected overnight storm would bring and having seen plenty of similar trees laying on the ground already I decided to keep moving. I rode the short singletrack to the fire tower and saw no flat spots far enough away from this active tower.  While looking at the map I had an interesting exchange with the man stationed in the tower who thought I was lost and advised I go back to Pierce.  He said the only campsite I would find was the one at the base of the tower trail.  I decided I should just keep moving on route. With how overgrown Dan Lee was I decided to skip the optional trail titled "Fun Trails, but some overgrown".

I had no info on the Larch Butte trail which was for the best in this situation.  It was also overgrown and it had been on and off drizzling again. The trail was an endless carwash of wet brush, mostly on bench cut trails.  It didn't look like a long way down off the bench in the dark but it did look steep and full of downfall.  The brush was so thick you couldn't see the trail for the most part and it being fully dark at 10 PM didn't help instill confidence.  There were a few small flat camp spots I took a look at on trail but I had my sight set on getting to the end of this trail, the map said there was a ranger station which usually means there's a few good camp spots near by.  The trail was mostly uneventful for me with a few sections I was extremely careful on. There was one down tree over a bench section of trail, it was clear others had ridden it as it has most of the branches broken off.  You had to duck under the trunk with your bike, put the bike in a small pocket of extended dirt off the bench, then hop over a branch and land onto the bench...in the dark and rain.  I was on edge and nailed the move taking my time to line it up knowing I only had one chance or I'd be camping on the trail there.  I finished through the car wash of wet brush, everything was soaked but I had packed all my dry clothes and sleeping bag in drybags.  The trail ended into an epic campsite with ancient trees and a picnic bench.  I setup camp around midnight and set my alarm for 6:30AM which is when it had been light the last few days, forgetting I had changed time and now it would be light at 5:30.