-
Mate that sounds absolutely epic, so envious of all the legally accessible dirt you have over there, in Scotland its a bit weird, there are tracks (farm tracks and random old bits of road on the moors) but not really legal for a powered vehicle (and enforced by annoyed landowners). In some places (f0und one by accident last week) you can use forestry commission unpaved tracks/roads as rights of way even in a powered vehicle where there is no other way (or in that case it was like a 60 mile tarmac trip vs 4 miles of gravel).
BrickMan-
The access here is astonishing as long as you have a street legal bike. Some
Of the trails we rode through were so achingly stunning it almost feels wrong. The reality is you barely see anyone and are miles away from any houses or people to disturb.There's another solid month of high mountain access hopefully and after that, it's desert time.
On the bag front, I'm not sure - goretex outer probably, I never take a tent and although rain is not really a problem, wind definitely is.
Jung
Went out to Pioneer Town yesterday on the XR - the plan was to take the Angeles Crest Highway to Wrightwood then hit the dirt through the corner of the Mojave desert and up into the San Gabriel's behind silver wood and Lake Arrowhead. From there, cut across Big Bear and back down out of the mountains to the Desert Stars festival at Pappy and Harriet's.
It did not go so well...first we set off 3hrs late. We got in 50 or so miles of great flowing sandy and hardpack trails but as it started to get gloomy, we still had a log way to go. Instead off baling for Tarmac that would have required a long diversion, we opted to press on 15 miles or so to make a large shortcut. Big mistake....
The last link up was a quadruple black diamond - the toughest rating and frankly was a huge boulder and Rock strewn clusterfuck. Steep, sandy and incredible hard on a 300lb dual sport bike geared for Baja. After countless tumbles I got to the top to discover the light behind was another rider, not my mate. Cue riding back down in pitch black with a very questionable headlight to dig him out and then slowly battle our way back up. Digging, lifting, wrenching slog fest of the highest order. By this time, we were both drenched with sweat and the temperature was falling fast. We made about another 20 interminable miles off road to Tarmac in the middle
Of nowhere about 15miles outside big bear.
That has to be the coldest 15 miles of my life. When we got there, we were both shivering absolutely uncontrollably and could barely hold the bars. We ended up wrapping ourselves in newspaper before toiling the last 65miles down the mountain and through the desert on the 247 highway. (textbook lonely road and essential a wall of black with a faint white line with my headlight.)
Finally rolled in to Pappy and Harriet's at 10.30, 12 hrs after setting off, caked in filth and like the shell shocked extras from a disaster movie. The festival had finished and we managed 2 beers and a Jameson before getting kicked out for smuggling in a half Bt or Wild Turkey we bought in Big Bear. Basically fear and loathing in the desert.
Proper fucked today....