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PDX>GrandCanyon>SLC>MT>PDX

1K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  strick909 
#1 · (Edited)
The first week of July I was notified by my boss that I could take the next couple of weeks off. Originally, I planned to use my vacation time overseas, but that immediately changed given this 5 day notice. I needed to act quickly and check something domestic off my bucket list. I had always wanted to do a moto trip down to the Grand Canyon and ride through Monument, Salt Flats, and Yellowstone. So in a few days I put together this moto/camping trip and made it happen. Just me, my 2012 Bonneville, and as minimal gear possible. I must say - I was a bit nervous since I would be riding 7-9hr days, with some days pushing 700+miles. Previously the largest ride I had done was less than 500miles round trip. However, I knew this was my only chance to do this trip, so there was no time for worry.


Day 1
I began my journey from Portland Oregon with intent to make it to Reno before sundown. This was my plan before a 4hr setback in Medford when I made an exit for In-N-Out, only to notice the elusive engine pressure light with a complete shutdown moments later. Nothing but the sound of metal on metal. First instinct - engine seized up. But due to nontraditional oil spray all the way up to my helmet, I had to at least replace the filter and add oil. After hours of scrambling around to part stores and calling mechanics, I was able to come up on a filter and a few quarts of oil. But of course, I didn't bring a filter wrench on the trip. After considering throwing it in the back of a U-Haul and calling it quits just 4hrs into my trip, I was able to get ahold of a mechanic that came through with a wrench. Bullet sized hole in oil filter. With the rare chance of my engine not being seized, I hit the lotto and within moments I was back in business. From there, smooth sailing through wildfire at arm’s length, eventually reaching the ponderosa mountain roads of Shasta, dodging deer as I cruised through the night making up lost time and ending just an hour from my day 1 destination. I originally intended to make it to Reno around 5 and ended up making it around 11pm. Smooth sailing from here!



Day 2
I began early, just outside of Reno and made my descent down from old growth country into the sagebrush tunnels of the Nevada high desert. I spent the morning putting around town checking out the gritty yet charming features of Reno. By afternoon I had decided to make my way toward Eastern Vegas. Of course, I made a wrong turn and ended up taking highway 80 all the way through Austin, NV reaching Ely, NV. I had never experienced Central Nevada before, and the words desolate and creepy are complete understatements. Between moments of wondering if I was going to have enough gas to reach the next small town that actually had a gas station, and desperately hoping to come up on cell service in case I did run out of gas - I was completely ridden with bad thoughts complete with goosebumps and hair sticking up on back. I just remember thinking that this is the last place I would ever want to break down. I remember wondering what would drive some of these people to live in the most desolate areas, 100 miles from anywhere with relentless 110-degree heat beating down on these decrepit shacks with no electricity? And what would they do if I broke down and had to knock on their door? I recall riding 80 miles along these stretches without seeing a single car. I would bet these people hadn't communicated with an outside soul in months. Would I be skinned alive? Then I started thinking about nuclear testing, and government conspiracy, and aliens. I just seemed certain that if something bad had happened, I wouldn't make it out alive. Anyway, I made it to Ely where I filled up with less than a quarter gallon left in the tank, and cut down 318 toward Vegas. At this point I had ditched my mesh gear and found it cooler to ride in a tank top that I soaked with water. It was 112 degrees F at one point, and I couldn't stop often enough for water breaks. I did randomly ride past the old Angel's brothel notable for the airplane crash. Really interesting story if you’re unfamiliar. I made it to Beatty (the gateway to Death Valley) by 7pm and decided to stay there for the night and have a beer at one of the unique/weird bars in town.



Day 3
Today's goal was to strictly make up lost time. I decided not to stop in Vegas, and to push forward toward The Grand Canyon. I did take a little break and rode across the Hoover Dam. Absolutely incredible structure. It's another sight I had never taken the time to see, and am glad I did. By the afternoon I was back on the road making my way toward the Arizona border. The desert transitioned from bland Nevada sand to rich Arizona clay with more trees, as I made my way across the border. What's a trip without isolated thunderstorms? In the afternoon I hit 5 isolated thunderstorms, causing me to stop and change in and out of rain gear for seemingly all day. The rain felt great. It was a break from the hot desert air. I brought some cheapo frogg toggs rain gear that worked just fine during the rainstorms, but was too hot outside the storms, so change was necessary yet inconvenient. Eventually I hit a larger storm which was set to last a while, so I pulled over to a rest stop to eat and wait it out. I accidentally layed down my bike and snapped off my shifter knob, so I had to learn to shift without it. I have since decided to keep it broken. I have gotten used to it and I think it will aid in theft prevention. After relearning to shift I was back on the road and in Grand Canyon territory. The Grand Canyon was the crux of this trip. It's obviously an epic wonder, and I have had many opportunities to see it - but I always wrote it off as an overhyped tourist trap. I'm not sure what happened, but earlier this year I decided I wanted to see it. As I parked at a lookout spot on south rim, I looked out over the endless canyon. There was hardly anyone in the park. There was a soft, steady wind, and an uncanny silence. I became so overwhelmed with the beauty, and being in the moment, that my eyes filled with water. Odds stacked against me, I had made it. I couldn't help staring for an hour, before making the decision to go find a camping spot in Kaibab National Forest on the edge of the park. I had been following freecampsites.net, and I was able to find a great free spot to camp for the night.



Day 4
After cruising around south rim checking out other great viewpoints and shooting photos of the canyon, I decided to head over to Flagstaff. First impression, Northern Arizona is beautiful, and I can't wait to get back down there and do more riding and exploring. Flagstaff was a fun little town, but it wasn't long before I wanted to start my trek through Monument Valley. I made it to the entrance just before golden hour. The moment stood still as I slowly crept through the most incredible terrain I had ever experienced. Absolutely unreal this time of day. I strapped my gopro to my helmet and was in awe at every single formation that would come my way. The golden dusk bounced off the already glowing red rocks, as I found myself pulling over to take photos way too often. By the time I had come to my senses I had realized it was late, and I hadn't planned anywhere to camp. As it got dark, I made the decision to ride through the night, ultimately to Moab where I could stay in a hotel and clean up and get on the road early. I would have made it to my destination earlier than 1am if my phone hadn't went flying off its holder, only to go missing in the shadows of highway 191 between Monticello and Moab. Of course it had to happen, everything had been going too well between day 2 and now. After running up and down the strip with a headlamp for an hour, I eventually found it. I had never seen a more smashed screen in my life. Normally I could deal with this, however I was supposed to meet my old lady at a wedding in Montana in a couple days, and was waiting to hear the details. I continued to push through my frustration and through the rest of the night until I reached Moab at 1am.


Day 5
I continued past Arches National Park to highway 70 and then 89 all the way up to Salt Lake. By noon I had a new phone and did a little tour around the city visiting some favorite spots, before I made a run out to Bonneville Salt Flats. Triumph Bonneville in Bonneville salt flats, how appropriate. I decided not to play around on the salt flats too much, since salt and metal doesn't sit well with me, and I still had a long way to go. This is such a unique place. I was able to shoot a few rolls of film, as the storm clouds rolled in, and before you know it I was back on the road. I finished my ride around the lake exploring some of the smaller Utah/Nevada/Idaho towns, dodging the streaming tentacles of the octopus-like storms rolling in from the horizon, and stopping to take pictures when I could. I ended my day at a campsite somewhere around Pocatello, ID, where I had plenty of time to catch the sunset and not have to set up my campsite in the dark.


Day 6
I began my day in the heart of the glorious Idaho Countryscape as I wound through the cold sunrise among pastures and winding mountain roads. I followed endless rivers that I'll surely have to return to study with my flyrod. The ride through Lava Hot Springs into Jackson, Wyoming was a hell of a scenic ride. I made it to Jackson just in time for lunch and set out for Teton National Park shortly after. I have been wanting to check out the Tetons for a long time. I planned on camping here and exploring some more, but I shot plenty of film, and still had a lot of time left in the day. Realizing how close Yellowstone was, I had no choice but to continue. I caught old faithful, the acid pools, and followed the rivers. I cannot speak enough about how amazing these rivers are. The Madison especially. As an avid fly fisherman, it was like dangling a t-bone in front of a dog. Eventually I made my way out the west entrance and into Idaho. Something unusual happened. As the sun was setting, I'm riding along an endless pasture when I begin approaching what appears to be a big dog standing on the opposite side of a wire cattle fence at the edge of the pasture. However, as I got closer I realized this was no dog. This was a grey wolf. It didn't paid no acknowledgement to me as the sound from my dominator exhaust approached. It was focused - staring off into the evening sun in the distance, majestic as it sounds. Not sure what seeing a lone wolf means. It appeared to be contemplating life more so than watching prey in the distance. Anyway, it was bone chilling considering the camping spot I was heading to was less than half a mile down the road near Henry's Lake. Not only bear country but come to find out this is some of Idaho's most densely populated wolf country. That said the mosquitos were most prominent that night. Incredible free camping spot just outside of Yellowstone, that appeared to be a hotspot for RV campers that had been posted up for what seemed like extended periods of time. Everyone was friendly. I would recommend this spot to anyone.


Day 7-9
Up early to head to Missoula. Rather uneventful day, since it was mostly business. The morning sun was golden but cold. I had to layer up with almost ever piece of clothing I had brought. By noon it was in the high 90's again, and the quiet Idaho pastures quickly turned into epic Montana highway as I stretched across 90E, eventually making my way into Missoula where I would stay for 3 days. There were lots of nice roads outside of Missoula, and I highly recommend taking a cruise along the Blackfoot River on highway 200. Classic mountain roads strewn with cool little towns. The Bonny performed exceptionally well on a steep 5mile gravel road from town up to Snowbowl, where the wedding reception took place. Stock tires and all. No loose nuts or bolts, no spills, and didn't lay the bike down once. Proud of myself.

Day 10
I broke down again. Early in the AM I was back on the road and was doing fine for hours between Missoula and Coeur D'Alene. Suddenly, my bike shut off. I tried to turn it back on. Nothing. It's aircooled, did it overheat? Did the oil spill out? Did it finally decide to blow up after the first day's event? I wasn't sure what it was. There wasn't an optimal amount of oil in the bike, but it seemed fine. There was an unusual ticking coming from what seemed like the fuel injection, but I wasn't sure. I figured I was done, and I'd have to pay a few hundred to get it towed back to Portland. I had AAA on the phone getting ready to send a tow out, when suddenly, I figured I’d give it another shot. Boom, fired right up. Cancelled the tow and was back on the road. These mountain highways between Missoula and Idaho are no joke. Fast winding highways through mountain cutouts and old growth. You can almost smell the huckleberries fermenting as you're zipping along. Eventually I made it to I84 and finished my ride from Eastern Oregon through the Columbia River Gorge. I caught up with 3 Harley guys and we road for hours. This stretch is windy, but it's top tier scenery. I've ridden this stretch before and it was the perfect way to end a trip. Bike performed well the rest of the trip.

This was an incredibly life changing trip, I recommend everyone do something like this. I covered 3800 miles in 8 days, and was taught countless, invaluable lessons about motorcycles, camping, preparation, spontaneity, and myself. It taught me a lot about allocation of focus in stressful situations, and specific details about contingencies and foresight. These are the most valuable typse of lessons that can only be learned through experience. I'll get back to that another time. If anyone thinks something like this requires extended time, thoughts, and resources - my thought is, I did this with less than 5days planning, and overcame tremendous obstacles on the road and still made it happen. Just do it. I wish I focused less on all the riding gear I hardly used, and more on preparation for life without phone service (which ended up being most of the time). Especially in Rural Nevada and Utah. I began with the mentality “it’s better to have and not need than to need and not have.” This is often a helpful mindset in life, but for trips like this – sometimes less is more, and sometimes problem solving and finding a workaround is what makes a trip. I also wish I focused on having a different water system that held more water and kept it cold, so I didn't have to stop as much. Camelbacks just mean easier access to hot water. I'm glad I brought a tent and didn't exclusively hammock camp, like I originally intended to - because I did face rain at the Grand Canyon at night. Investing in better rain gear would have been beneficial as well. I packed light, I used cheapo saddlebags that I bought off amazon for $30. They held a lot more than expected and performed flawlessly. I had a waterproof backpack that I bungeed to the seat that held camping gear, ultimately I still feel like I could have packed lighter. Most of all, I wish I figured out a more comfort based system. I bought foam asspads from Walmart that helped a lot. They seemed more comfortable than the gel pads sold in shops, but every day I was completely uncomfortable and constantly having to shift weight from dealing lower back, tailbone, and ass pain. I know there are better ways to circumvent this, I'll just have to do some experimenting. I wish that was my primary focus. When doing a trip like this you will constantly deal with a level of uncomfort. That was part of my reason for doing this on such a minimalistic level - to put myself through that valuable zone of uncomfort and pain. The stinging of the desert sand, the relentless heat, and the long hours of riding, hunger, and thirst can change your priorities in life, even if just for a week. Putting yourself through that challenge will give you a sense of reward and accomplishment. But I should have had a more comfortable seating arrangement.

I typed this in one sitting roughly 2 months after the trip, so I'm sure more details will come to me soon. I'll try to update. I took lots of photos, and am still waiting to develop them, so I'll try and add those as well - follow me jake_quain on instagram where I’ll be posting regularly. I tried to be thorough while keeping this concise, but if anyone has questions about gear used, camping gear or spots, planning, routes, etc. - I would be happy to answer. I'm surprised by the lack of info I found in relation to this route/ trip beforehand. I feel like it should be a common trip for the west coast. I wanted to share my experience and thoughts for anyone that might take this trip, or cross similar routes.
 
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