2/19/12 Dualsporting Ride Report Around Gaston/Yamhill
Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 6:50 am
The weather had been really lousy and I needed to go riding. My girlfriend, Donna, was feeling the same, so we decided to go on a dualsport recon mission. For years I'd heard there was a way up to Brown's Camp from Hagg Lake area, but also heard it was majorly gated off due to it being Stimson's land. I rounded up Gordon Lawrence, Stevie Ray Branstetter and Jim Dukes to go with Donna and I. We met up and I was surprised that Jimbo brought his big BMW. His XR probably hasn't been fired up in a couple decades and he seems to ride his big GS better anyway for some reason!
When we met up, Stevie Ray was wearing normal, non-insulated dirt riding gear, with an open dirtbike helmet/goggles even - brrrrr! Plus he had no hand guards. We took off over the top of Bald Peak heading towards Gaston and hit one of my favorite dirt roads along the way. At the other side, it was agreed to stop in Gaston for a cup of joe, since Stevie Ray was freezing. JD got a chance to show off his Aerostitch reflective strip too.
After the warm-up stop, we continued west out of Gaston, swung near Hagg Lake and eventually ended up on Stimson Mainline Road, which began with a big gate. The gate was locked, but there was a way around it, plus there were big signs that said, “Open On Weekends”. So we decided to continue on, since we would never ride in areas that were closed. We climbed up in altitude, and then started seeing snow-covered mountains in the distance, specifically Saddle Mountain, which was our eventual destination to get us to Brown’s Camp. Along the way we were confronted with a loaded log truck that was surprising. Soon enough we were riding in slush and we had another 1500 feet to go, so turned around. Bummer. It was at this point I felt so bad for Stevie Ray freezing that I let him use my Moose Handguards. Then my bike wouldn't start - WTF? Turns out a wire to the clutch had come undone when the handguard was removed - whew!
We made our way back down to Patton Valley Road, where it thankfully warmed up. Jimbo had to exit, so headed home, however the rest of us headed south towards Pike, then to Yamhill. This was now familiar country since for years I used to go this way to get to the (now closed) Trask riding area – no thanks to Weyerhaeuser. A nice afternoon lunch and something warm to drink and we headed up over Bald Peak and down to the Laurel Store, then home. Total mileage for the day was around 85 fun, cold miles. Guess I’ll have to continue that route later in the year. What a great time and no bails or breakdowns (well, except for my 650L not starting momentarily). And we are all impressed with Donna's rapidly improving riding skills!
-Tom
When we met up, Stevie Ray was wearing normal, non-insulated dirt riding gear, with an open dirtbike helmet/goggles even - brrrrr! Plus he had no hand guards. We took off over the top of Bald Peak heading towards Gaston and hit one of my favorite dirt roads along the way. At the other side, it was agreed to stop in Gaston for a cup of joe, since Stevie Ray was freezing. JD got a chance to show off his Aerostitch reflective strip too.
After the warm-up stop, we continued west out of Gaston, swung near Hagg Lake and eventually ended up on Stimson Mainline Road, which began with a big gate. The gate was locked, but there was a way around it, plus there were big signs that said, “Open On Weekends”. So we decided to continue on, since we would never ride in areas that were closed. We climbed up in altitude, and then started seeing snow-covered mountains in the distance, specifically Saddle Mountain, which was our eventual destination to get us to Brown’s Camp. Along the way we were confronted with a loaded log truck that was surprising. Soon enough we were riding in slush and we had another 1500 feet to go, so turned around. Bummer. It was at this point I felt so bad for Stevie Ray freezing that I let him use my Moose Handguards. Then my bike wouldn't start - WTF? Turns out a wire to the clutch had come undone when the handguard was removed - whew!
We made our way back down to Patton Valley Road, where it thankfully warmed up. Jimbo had to exit, so headed home, however the rest of us headed south towards Pike, then to Yamhill. This was now familiar country since for years I used to go this way to get to the (now closed) Trask riding area – no thanks to Weyerhaeuser. A nice afternoon lunch and something warm to drink and we headed up over Bald Peak and down to the Laurel Store, then home. Total mileage for the day was around 85 fun, cold miles. Guess I’ll have to continue that route later in the year. What a great time and no bails or breakdowns (well, except for my 650L not starting momentarily). And we are all impressed with Donna's rapidly improving riding skills!
-Tom