chasingsummerp.010

Chasing Summer p.010

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Day 34 - Sept 18th - Field to Nakusp hot springs

Damn, it's so cold this morning! We're still at about 1200 m of elevation and Teryk's light tent had ice inside the rain fly during the night .

Looking forward to the moment the sun will be finally hitting us directly...

The good thing in this area is that Teryk knows it from his bicycle trip: We continue West on the 1 to cross Glacier NP and Rogers Pass; then, after Revelstoke we take the 23 South to Nakusp. On the map it seems like a short day of riding since we will stop before Nakusp to some natural Hot Springs.

The road is nice but it's one of the main roads there and so it's quite busy. A cool picture from Teryk of one of those avalanche tunnels on the way...

The Kootenay's area is awesome! It's nearly an 'island', being almost entirely surrounded by very long lakes and rivers. As a consequence, coming from Shelter Bay requires using a ferry that runs at every hour. Problem is that the line is huge! We don't even see the water or pier from where we had to stop!

Oh well, let's wait 45 minutes and hopefully we'll catch the next one... Teryk has that amazing capacity as being able to sleep anywhere in no time...

We start discussing with the people in the surrounding cars and it appears that there is no chance that we're going able to take the next ferry either from where we stand in line. Most of the time there's a place to fit motorcycles on the side but we don't know for this one since there is no one at the pier.

Teryk decides to wait for the next ferry to arrive and go check it while I'll wait in line. Suddenly I hear through the speakers of my helmet (that was on the bike) "JL, if you can make it NOW, we can get in, better hurry though!" Jeez, not willing to wait at least one more hour I pass the whole line as quickly as possible and arrive just in time before the boat's departure.

Crossing the Upper Arrow Lake...

The springs are quite hard to find and I'm glad that Teryk knows the way and also a cool spot to camp. Then we go to the springs that are right on the river. Quite a downhill to get there

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Finally at the river

And the springs! I always love so much better the natural springs, in the middle of nowhere, with minimum 'construction'...

We met a couple of great guys, from Switzerland, had a good firecamp and just a great evening overall!

Day 35 - Sept 19th - Nakusp hot springs to Nelson

We had heard good things about Nelson and wanted to stay at least a night over there, which meant again a short riding day. Unless, of course we decide to goof around and explore some of the local dirt roads.

Just before to leave the site we met this nice couple, doing a similar trip as ours but taking way more time and travelling with a camper and this motorcycle on the back. It looks like they were having a great time and it's awesome to be able to travel with your GF but you could see that the guy was still envious of us doing it with motorcycles.

Teryk's pic

Good thing it was dry because getting out of the springs area was pretty steep for loaded bikes on street tires...

Teryk's pic

Logging is one of the main resources in the Kootenays...

The dirt road going North-East (and then South to Kelso) offers beautiful views of the lakes and mountains. The lakes in this area are so long and narrows that they almost looked like very wide rivers...

One more from Duncan Lake

It's a quite remote area and we saw a pretty good size black bear on the road just ahead of us. And of course we had to avoid quite a few deers.

Crossing Kootenay Lake

Checking the dam further down South we notice this sign...

This fun trail went on for maybe 20 miles and finally ended up on the same road we were on earlier, just further North (opposite direction to where we were going). Not exactly a shortcut but definitely worth it.

We stopped in Lardeau (I believe) for a quick lunch on the beach of this quiet and beautiful place.

Helping a local KLR rider having troubles with bungees stuck on his wheel. Yes, that's a rifle on his handlebars!

We see a sign for the Kokanee glacier via a steep dirt road and decide to check it out. Lots of logging going on there.

Teryk's pic

Another invitation?

Climbing on the side of a steep mountain the road is fantastic!

Teryk's pic

It would not be a JL ride report without a bike wheels up so here it is. I had not paid much attention to those branches on the way because their section was not too big but I had not anticipated that they would be very slippery so my rear tire just slided away.

What's hilarious is that when I crashed I called Teryk (who was ahead) on the radio "I crashed and so I will need a couple of minutes here" and his answer was "Well, I just crashed too so I guess we both need a bit of time!". The trail was getting too rocky and steep, so this time we had to backtrack...

We later stopped for a bit in the town of Kaslo that has a very nice feeling to it but we had our mind setup on Nelson so we jut went on.

We liked Nelson very much. From what we heard the city has changed quite a lot in the last few years, evolving from a "hippy" spirit to a hardcore outdoor activities (mountain bike, ski, etc...). There is still a mix of atmospheres and people that was quite nice. We also loved the Backpackers Hostel right in the center, cheap and very welcoming. Even better they had free Wi-Fi. We had a fun evening in town and decided to stay one more day in Nelson...

Day 36 - Sept 20th - Nelson

It's raining today in Nelson and so we're really glad that we're not camping this time. Not much to do besides lurking in the many outdoor and bicycle shops around, pay a visit to an old style barber and just get a feel for the town.

Of course I also take advantage of the Internet connection to update this thread. In the evening we do some nice cooking in their great kitchen and are invited to the premiere of live play in the local theater. Wow, can you say weird?!? I can't even describe this "musical comedy" but there is very little chance that you might see it in Broadway any time soon.

Day 37 - Sept 21st - Nelson to Saint Maries

No rain today, cool! We're not too sure about the best options to go South from Nelson and so call for help in ADVrider. Once again we experience the magic of this web site with plenty of great and detailed suggestions posted within the hour by local riders.

We ended up going through Canada and 3 states in the US (Washington, Idaho and Montana) that same day, with an excellent riding most of the time. It felt so good to be finally enjoying twisties that we realized at the end of the day that we had taken no pictures at all.

Since we got some good tips, here is our itinerary in case you're traveling in the area:

• From Nelson: South on the 6 > 31 > 20 then 2 to Sandpoint. Except the 2 it was scenic and curvy, just as we like them!
• Then we went East on the 200 to Thompson Falls. Awesome views on the Lake and reservoir. A bit too straight/boring in the last section.
• Then West on the 471 / Prospect Creek Road. Narrow, beautiful, it was fun!
• Then at Murray, we took (SW) a twisty dirt road (Delta-Murray rd) going over Kings Pass to Thiard and Delta. Awesome road, although the gravel was a bit slippery.
• From Delta we went South on Beaver Creek rd which was definitely a favorite to Wallace. Wallace is a great historic city by the way.
• From there we took a gravel road (456) that goes South. It was quite unusual to hit a serie of maybe 8 tunnels while being on a dirt road.
• At Avery we took the St Joe River Road (NF 50), a great twisty paved road to Saint Maries

To our surprise it was getting really dark already (at not even 7 PM) so instead of the 3 we took a small dirt road going SW (Saint Marie River rd and Alder Creek rd) to find a place to camp. It took us a while to find a flat area since we were between the river and a steep mountain but we found eventually a good spot.

It's so strange how things look different when you're looking for a place to camp at night: most places look inhospitable and it was not easy to finally settle. It was in fact a pretty good spot that had already been used by 4x4 and we even found enough wood to make a nice fire camp.

Day 38 - Sept 22nd - Saint Maries to Hells Canyon

We have now no specific place to visit on our way back to San Francisco besides Hells Canyon that is the deepest river gorge in the USA.

On the morning, at daylight the dirt road we are on looks just awesome, twisty and narrow, so we continue on it towards West. It was definitely the best section of dirt road we've found around! Unfortunately, after Benewah, it became a regular gravel road to the 95 that we took South to Lewiston.

Checking our tires in Lewiston I notice that my rear Scorpion has just reached the 'wear mark'. Sure there was still a few hundred miles left on it but tomorrow would be Sunday so everything will be close and who knows where we will be in 2 days and if there will be a tire available then. We decide to play it safe and to do a 90-mile detour (round trip) to go to East to the Orofino KTM dealer. They are closed Saturday afternoon so we pre-pay the tires on the phone and they will just leave them outside the shop. Luckily, the road following the Clearwater river is nice and with little traffic.

No problem, the tires are indeed waiting for us outside. However the 640 oil leak is getting worse and oil is now dripping on the floor!

Fortunately, it's only a screw in the front of the oil carter that was loose and so Teryk was able to fix it in no time. Now, what to do about the tires? Since we still have some thread left we decide to continue with our current tires as long as possible and just stop on the side of the road when they will be too worn out. Plus, with the new tires strapped at the back of our bikes we will finally look like 'real' ADVriders

.

We go back West to Lewinston and then we take South to the very fun (most of the time) 129 and 3 to Enterprise, Joseph, and finally Hells Canyon.

Unfortunately the rain starts while we're climbing towards the Canyon. It's too bad because the road is twisty and would have been really fun in dry conditions. The other issue is that the canyon lookout is at 5600 feet and when we arrive the clouds are too low to see anything.

It's cold and rainy but we decide to stick around and give another try tomorrow morning. We find a campground nearby but at lower elevation, setup the tarp under the rain, have a pretty good diner but no fire camp for once...

Day 39 - Sept 23rd - Hells Canyon to Fields

Yeah, the sun is out! It rained the whole night but this is going to be a great day. We're looking forward to finally see the overlook on Hells Canyon even though our fellow ADVriders had told us that the beauty of it could only be appreciated through a boat ride on the river.

We climb the twisty road to the overlook and it is indeed quite disappointing since you can't see the river or any deep gorge...

We continue South on Pine Rd and then the 86 to Richland, both really fun twisty roads. We then take a the Snake River dirt road...

The road ends up along the ... Snake River which is also the border between Washington and Idaho.

The area is very remote and the road offers some spectacular views on the river.

Teryk adjusting the spare tire ...

We then take the 84 and the 20 West to Harper Junction. We ask if there will be gas in Fields, 150 miles down a dirt road and one guy say that they "should". It's a great road, again very remote...

Only a few cows keep us company...

Then it happened... It looks confusing but I was actually going from where I took the picture towards Teryk who came back to help me lift the bike. Yes it was muddy and very slippery but I still couldn't believe I crashed doing almost a full U-turn!

We found out later that in fact it was probably because the mud stuck under the front fender had just stopped the wheel. I remember having had the same issue on my old 1150GS but it had never happened to me on the 950....

At this point we met the only people we've seen on the whole road. It was a couple of 4x4 trucks and they told us that the road was even worse the way we were going

. We hesitated a bit and decided to continue anyway. It was hard and required a lot of attention! I tried to be very careful and avoid the mud patches but it was really difficult with that front wheel getting stuck so easily. I then tried to go into the water puddles, thinking that the water would help wash the mud off the tire. Here is Teryk getting around a mud patch...

I crashed maybe 5 times before to finally end up stuck on this VERY sticky mud.

We tried everything from pushing to pulling but to no avail. The mud was like glue and I almost lost a boot in it. We tried with branches underneath, we tried to lift, backward, forward, but the bike was not going anywhere. I admit I felt kind of ridiculous having a brand new TKC80 (knobby tire) strapped on the back of the bike while having to fight in the mud with an almost bald dual-sport tire. Well, there was no way we would swap tires in such a mess!

We were finally able to lift the front of the bike to the shoulder that was a bit firmer.

It took us a lot of time and effort to finally get the whole bike on the berm and go past the mud puddle but we made it

. We were still only half way to the next intersection to a paved road and we seriously thought we would have to sleep somewhere in that mud...

The road finally got better!

At the intersection with the 78, the black top seems awfully nice but it look like our dirt road is also paved so we just continue straight (SW) on it.

The pavement didn't last more that a few miles though but the dirt never got as sticky as before. Which was good since it was getting late already...

We almost stopped at the Arvold (dry) Lake...

But after so much effort we wanted a beer and so we pushed it to Fields. What a disappointment: the grocery store/restaurant/gas station was closed! Luckily the owner who was living close by came and offered us gas and beers

. He also told us about a nice place to camp near by and so here we are...

We were once again lucky with finding wood for the fire camp and it was a great evening despite the cold (4,300 ft).

Day 40 - Sept 24th - Fields (OR) to San Francisco!

We had no plan that morning about getting home the same day or not. We wanted to continue on nice (slow) roads but in the same time the temptation to be there on the evening was palpable.

Desert flowers

We continued on the 205 South to Denio and then the 140 West. Then we had the alternative to take a 110 miles dirt road leading us directly to California (Cedarville). Should we take a long dirt road on such a long day? You bet! Let's just hope that it will not be the same mud as yesterday

.

The road and the weather were beautiful and there was no mud to be seen. What we saw however was wild horses in the hills

I know, that's many pictures of horses but it was magic to see them in a middle of nowhere...

It was cold but we were able to keep a pretty good pace on most of the road.

When we arrived in California still pretty early we decided to push it to home the same day. The only issue is that my rear tire had the "Alaska disease": bald in the middle with plenty left on the sides. So we had to take as many twisty roads as possible to use the sides and preserve the center

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Finally home!!!

It was so good to see my family again!

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