Adventure begins where plans fail... Cloudcroft, NM. Aug 2012

[Tourmeister]

Originally Posted by MotoTex

The road labeled on your graphic as Water Canyon used to be on the map as Telephone Canyon road. No idea why the change was made.

It's easy to see how it could be considered part of Willie White, but in my (admittedly addled) mind WW will always end at the intersection of 5008 (Wills) and T113 (Telephone).

Oh, were you talking about the name of the road or the trail? I have seen many names for the road. The only name I have seen for the trail is Willie White. The numbers are confusing because they show a T5008, which is called Wills Canyon trail and then they also show 5008 for the actual road where we started the East side of the trail

While there I bought the trail guide book at the ranger station. The maps and naming in it are consistent with this:

http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_...rdb5292126.pdf

the Forest Service website maps/descriptions, and the big fold out map they sell as well. So if anyone is going up there, they should be able to find the trails they want without too much trouble unless maybe they are calling it by an old name.

I wonder if there might have been a move to clean up all the names and make them consistent in the not too distant past?

You can call the trail Ray,
you can call the trail Jay, . . . .
as long as I can find my way
to a green chili cheeseburger,
it's all okay.

Roger would agree with that wholeheartedly!

[MotoTex]

Originally Posted by Tourmeister

Oh, were you talking about the name of the road or the trail?

Both! ha ha

Because the trailhead was on Telephone Canyon road that is what I called the trail. I don't think it was ever on a map that way.

I've tried to get used to referencing the number designations, but the names are the ones I remember easiest.

Originally Posted by Tourmeister

I wonder if there might have been a move to clean up all the names and make them consistent in the not too distant past?

Gotta use those federal funds for something, right?

Over the past couple of decades I've seen a few inexplicable trail and road name changes out there.

My personal "hardest climb" in the Lincoln was once called 90G, but is now labeled something else (T1??), and has been designated off limits to motor vehicles. It runs between West Side road and the Rim Trail, and is located at a particularly steep area between T235 and Sunspot. Though I have cleared it on an RMX, DR350S and my DRZ over the years, part of me is happy that it is no longer available to ride up.

[Johnf3]

Originally Posted by MotoTex

My personal "hardest climb" in the Lincoln was once called 90G, but is now labeled something else (T1??), and has been designated off limits to motor vehicles. It runs between West Side road and the Rim Trail, and is located at a particularly steep area between T235 and Sunspot. Though I have cleared it on an RMX, DR350S and my DRZ over the years, part of me is happy that it is no longer available to ride up.

That is what we always called San Andreas. T125. It is not on the map anymore but...no comment.

[fossil]

Whew! Amazing to see what they call moderate difficulity. I like Richards rating system better than theirs. Leaving Saturday for my first trip there and being long in years probably increased my chances returning home whole by about 80%. Had about 15 routes mapped out to which half are now in folder Lincoln Forest (not in this lifetime). Outstanding report! Looking forward to more.

[MotoTex]

Originally Posted by Johnf3

That is what we always called San Andreas. T125. It is not on the map anymore but...no comment.

Wink wink, nudge, nudge, say no more . . .

[wanabeguru]

Wow, Scott! Amazing report/pictures. Thanks for taking a "blacktop only[now thinking of DS]" rider along.

[Tourmeister]

Originally Posted by wanabeguru

Wow, Scott! Amazing report/pictures. Thanks for taking a "blacktop only[now thinking of DS]" rider along.

Not done yet. Still have to finish this day and I have five more days to go!

[Jbay]

thought that spot we came out looked familiar, this was coming from trail 5008

[Jbay]

[John Dirt]

LMAO

[Tourmeister]

So we reach the Sunspot Highway and head South. It feels good to get moving and have some serious air flowing through my jacket. I am soaked with sweat, right down to the soles of my boots. You might not think it, but trail riding is hard work... at least for my old out of shape body There is so much air moving through the jacket I actually feel a bit chilled for the first few minutes until the dry air starts to dry out my skin and shirt. Then the air just feels really good, kind of like that feeling in the morning when your sheets are juuuuust the right temperature and getting out of bed is the LAST thing in the world you want to do!

No time for sleeping now. This highway is smoooth and twisty! Now, I have no idea what the highway department folks were thinking when they put up speed limit signs, but... If you want a good idea of what eternal damnation might be like this is it. Imagine being on a superb road and no matter how hard you twist the throttle, your bike will only run 30 mph... The curves are perfectly banked, the sight lines clear, the pavement smooth yet loaded with grip, the sky clear and blue, the sun shining down on everything, you have a bike that handles great with loads of power... PERFECT! Except... you can only go 30 mph

Fortunately, I was not spending eternity on this road and we were pushing a HARD 30 mph... I quickly settle into my groove and the miles just start sliding by one after the other with a silky smoothness like that first chug of caffeine in the morning, making me feel really alive and in that happy place. The last few curves tighten up real good and bring us into Timberon, a small "town" at the end of the highway.

Now Timberon is an interesting place. I think most of the home owners here live somewhere else most of the time. There is a golf course here and a post office. Sometimes there is a place or two where you can eat and maybe buy some gas. But if you count on those things being here, you might be in for a surprise. On our last trip, we sort of happened upon a place to eat that turned out pretty good and just happened to be open that day. "Normal" business hours here are anything but normal. We found gas then too, but had to go inside to get a key on a stick, kind of like how some gas stations put the bathroom keys on big boards. Except... it was the key to the gas pumps! I guess they have drive off issues out here too

Well, I can't remember how to find the place where we had lunch last time we were here. The other guys are behind me a ways so I pull over into a parking lot of what looks like a closed down store. When I see the guys coming, I happen to spin around and look the other direction...

And they're open!!


What luck! I swing the bike around and park. Sure enough, this place is now a "Deli" and we can get lunch. Inside is a nice young couple and their son. The "kitchen" is a corner of the room with one of those stainless steel metal food serving cabinets with the glass over the front so you don't hack all over the food. Drinks are in a small dorm fridge on the floor behind the food cabinet. At this point I am wondering what we might be in for, but I keep the faith. There have been too many times on trips like this where the best food has come from the strangest places! I place my order and head back out to the front porch to enjoy a swing, the cool breeze, some shade, and some company...



This guy is BEYOND friendly! No sooner than I plop my weary bones on the bench swing, he leaps up and sits down right next to me, his tail wagging so hard it's about to beat me to death. I give him some good ear scratching and he just leans in for more. But... like any dog, no matter how well behaved and sweet it is, his breath smells like he just returned from lunch at the cat box Sooo... I send him on his way when I can't take any more. He just hops down and relaxes at my feet, thrilled to have someone to share the porch with.

The young boy comes out, sword in his belt and gun in hand. Sound effects issue from his mouth and he is deep into some exciting adventure. I remember those days. Every tree house was a rocket ship, command bunker, sailing ship, secret lab, a kingly palace, and much much more. Every creek was a raging river to be explored. I had my share of swords, guns, and conquered foes. He makes me reflect for a moment more... I was blessed with a fantastic childhood. We had no riches or abundance of toys that other kids could envy, just loving parents committed to our security and creating a safe place for us to explore our imaginations. It doesn't take much to make kids happy, love and security. Not every kid gets that kind of foundation on which to build the rest of their lives. I watch the boy for a bit longer and wonder where he might be in 15, 20, 30, 40 years...? Will he still be off running around having adventures like I am today, or will he be struggling with baggage from his childhood? He looks like he's off to a good start. I offer a silent prayer asking God to watch over and bless this kid, to protect the innocence of his heart, so that he might be grow up to live a life full of strong healthy relationships, something this world needs a LOT more of...

The view from my front porch seat


Lunch is soon ready and I join Roger and James inside. I got the "small" version of their subway style sandwich. It's huge. Roger is already sizing up his large size sandwich and no doubt it will be gone in very short order. The man can pack it away! As he put it, "I'm kind of like a food camel, eating what I can when I can because you never know when you might not get the next meal" So far, I've never seem him meet a meal he didn't like The sandwich is actually really good and totally hits the spot!

After lunch we start pondering where we might go next. The day is still young and we have many hours of riding left to do. Roger wants to try to find the way out of the Northeast corner of town. The maps show a road heading out that direction. We tried coming in that way on our last visit out here but found nothing but a locked gate at the end of a "road" that did not look like it had seen ANY kind of traffic in a long time. So this time we'll try it from the other end... because... well... we just HAVE to know! So after a little bit of conferring with the local folks, we head out.

The roads in town are all gravel, except the main drag. We pass by the fire/rescue department, loop around what looks like the town airfield and head down a gravel road... and miss a turn. I spin back around and we chug up a steep hill of loose chunky gravel. I turn right, climb a hill, drop down the other side, go left up another long steep hill... and it's a dead end. Apparently the GPS map and reality don't agree on where there are roads in this town. So we go back to the top of that first hill where I turned right. It was a tee so I head across to the far side of the tee, as if we had gone left originally, go right up another hill and then the road starts to get kind of fun! It loses its "grid" orientation and starts to just follow the terrain up and down, around the hills, through some washes, and just as I am settling into a nice post lunch groove...

I think they mean it...


Well... Looking at the map, this is obviously the right road. It shows as NF-160 on some maps. I guess there is just no getting through as there do not seem to be any other roads in this area that cut through. It's a shame too,, because it would lead directly to a great riding area. As it is now, we either have to loop WAY back around West and then North before cutting back East to the area, or we have to loop WAY South, then East and come back up to the North near Pinon before cutting back West into the area. Maybe someday I need to see if I can find out who owns this and see if I can convince them to let us cut through if we call ahead and promise to stick to the road and close gates...

Nothing to do now but turn around... and have some FUN on the way back into town!

[Gotta work... More later]

[Tourmeister]

So once we get back into town I pull over next to the fire house. The bike is idling kind of fast and is hard starting. I've been fiddling with the idle speed and idle screw trying to the the bottom end air/fuel just right with the jetting for the altitude here. It seems if I get one thing right, the other goes off. So either it starts okay and idles bad or idles good but starts hard. It is also popping like CRAZY when I come of the gas at all. I describe it to Roger and he makes a few suggestions, I tweak here and there. It fires up without any trouble and idles pretty good. So we're off again.

The plan now is to do the big loop wayyy around to the West back up the Sunspot Highway, then cut back East and generally make our way over toward Weed to look for gas and maybe a late afternoon ice cream... I can't help myself We head North on the Sunspot and once again I slip into the smooth groove almost letting the sound of my exhaust pooping and growling through the corners hypnotize me. I don't think I'd be able to control myself if I had street tires on this bike... as if the knobbies really help keep me in check

We reach Scott Able road and turn East. This is a nice wide and well maintained gravel road that runs through a beautiful narrow valley or "canyon" as they seem fond of calling everything in this area The riding is easy but I forget about taking pictures because I get totally lost in the rhythm of the ride, the feel of the air, and the scenery. Scott Able is not real long, dead ending into FR 64 at the point where I think it becomes Agua Chiquita, which runs Northeast all the way up to Weed. We turn right and start following Agua Chiquita and it is more of the same nice riding.

A few more miles down the road we come to an intersection and I stop to wait for the others to catch up with me. We've been spacing out a bit because of the dust, which isn't too bad. I'm still kind of itching for some riding slightly more technical than these nice graded roads. I check with the others to see if they are up for some more exploring instead of just blasting down the easy road. As always with Roger, "I'm game!" So we turn South on Weed Road and then cut back to the Northeast on what shows to be CR-D007.

CR-D007 is still a road and not a trail, but it is basically a two track road of dirt/rocks with grass down the center. It starts out with a nice short climb, rising a few hundred feet to a small ridge and then drops back down to the East, following a dry creek and just wandering along the base of a short ridge line to our North. I'm really enjoying this road, just plodding along at a relaxed pace. I come around the side of a hill and see...



For a moment I think we might have to turn around, but then I notice the lack of a lock and that little yellow sign, "Please close the gate". That is usually a pretty good indicator that this is just a pasture boundary that lacks a cattle guard and we can pass without any problems. You can also see what the road is like, which is typical for most of the length of this road.

Could you custom order a nicer day!?


The road continues on down through the valley, a little better maintained on this side of the gate. I guess the ranchers come from this side to get to the pasture on the other side and rarely drive all the way through.

A little on further down the road, looking back to the West


A catch pond for when the valley actually has water flowing through it


It doesn't exactly make me want to go for a swim...


We soon come to an intersection that looks familiar... Did we come this way before... I don't remember a gate if we did Of course my memory leaves a bit to be desired sometimes We have arrived a Hughes Canyon Rd. When Roger pulls up I motion to see if he wants to head Northwest back up through the canyon, "I'm game". It's kind of like asking him if his dinner was any good So off we go...

I am not sure when the fires came through the area, but it looked like this when we were here in May 2010.


It might be a little bit greener now than it was then, last time two deer cut across in front of me right here.




I really enjoy Hughes Canyon. The road has a lot of elevation changes and there is nothing out here except mountains, new growth and cows. We do have to watch for the cows. Sometimes they are standing right in the road, but other times they hide behind the bushes waiting to scare the moo out of you! I've learned to watch for those bushes with tails...

At the end of the canyon, the road makes a sharp bend back to the Northeast as it climbs out of the canyon up onto the ridge above. There is an intersection here where we could cut back East on Seep Canyon road but I decide to head West instead, remembering this section of road as being quite fun. It makes the short run across the ridge and then starts down the far side. This section is more like a wide ATV trail that a road. I suspect folks might get up in here in their jeeps/trucks every now and then, but it would be slow going for them. There are a lot of rocks embedded in the ground and it is bumpy. The mountainside slips away pretty quick from the edge of the road, so putting a wheel off the edge would not be good. There are also a LOT of those big erosion berms all the way down to the bottom of the mountain. They're fun on a bike, but would get real old real fast in a truck.

We soon reach the bottom and turn back North on Agua Chiquita road. Time to just run it on into town. Shortly after we start down the road it becomes nicely paved. This is a really fun stretch of road. It twists and winds up and down pretty quick, following the valley all the way back East to Weed. We never made it over here on our previous trip so I really have no idea what I am looking for. I just remember reading something about Green Chili Cheeseburgers at the Weed Cafe. It's not a real big town... so it can't be to hard to find... and it's not. It would appear that the cafe is THE place to eat in town, as in the ONLY place to eat in town, hehe.

Alas!! We are too late! It seems they close at 3:00pm and it is now 3:20pm No ice cream for me.

James is crying his eyes out in disappointment


Hmmm... Now what...?

James is gonna need gas for his 350. Roger and I are probably fine as we have larger tanks and can see that we have plenty of gas remaining. Roger suggests we run up Hwy 24 and 130 to Mayhill. There is a gas station there that is just pumps, pay with credit card only, and no store at all. If that is not open then we can just run back West on US 82 to Cloudcroft and call it an early day. Sounds like a plan and I like a good plan... So off we go.

24 is a very nicely paved highway running mostly North/South in this area. With my low gearing I only run about 55-60 mph as anything more really means revving out the bike and cranking up the vibes. So I just settle down and enjoy soaking in the feeling of being out here in the mountains and woods on such a beautiful day. I feel really sorry for people that never manage to break out of their daily grind to experience a place like this. I am also extremely grateful that I am able to.

The highway crests at a place called Denny Hill and then makes a pretty fast drop down the Northern side of a ridge where it meets Hwy 130.



You can see the remnants of a not to distant fire here on the right


We drop down to 130 and start the run up to Mayhill. There we find the gas station and James tops off his bike. 86 Octane only. While he's taking care of business I check the GPS to see where else we might ride. This late in the day I'm looking for more of the easy stuff and not the really technical stuff. It's our first of six days of riding and there's no point trying to do it all the first day. Besides, James is really wanting to ride the Rim Trail tomorrow, so we need to stay fresh for that. Looking at the map I spot Sixteen Springs Road, which I know is gravel and runs East/West roughly parallel to US 82. I figure we can run up to that, then run it back West to town and start thinking about dinner... Just East of Mayhill is Carr Gap Road, which looks REAL squiggly on the map. I have a vague recollection of maybe riding this road last time we were out here but I can't recall for sure if it was this one or another in the area. Whatever... It looks like fun so off we go!

I miss the turn...

We get turned around and headed up the right road, which starts out REALLY wash boarded right away. It is wide and covered in that white gravel that makes the road look pretty, but makes the bike feel like it is rolling around on ball bearings! I know there are some folks that have the confidence to really ride the front end of the bike through loose corners while hammering the throttle to make the back end hook up to finish the corners. I am not one of those people. Maybe it comes from starting my dirt career late in life and on a BMW R1150GS, which by the way likes to tuck the front end if you really push it into corners on loose stuff. It seems much of my time riding on the dirt is a kind of Jekyll and Hyde thing. Jekyll is telling me, "Go slow and easy, no need to hurry and get yourself and your bike broken". Hyde is screaming, "Go faster, get on the gas, what the heck are you waiting for!?" It can make for some interesting moments depending on which is shouting louder and which I happen to be listening to in the instant...

Carr Gap road is actually a really fun road. It winds up through the forest, passing many great places to camp. Eventually the gravel thins out a bit and is not so bad. Either that or Jekyll has won the day and I've kind of kicked back to just enjoy the ride. We reach Sixteen Springs and turn West heading on up into Sixteen Springs canyon. Eventually this will hit Hwy 244 and we can run that back into Cloudcroft, but I want to stay off the pavement. Near the end of the canyon I check the GPS and see a road running Southwest, coming out on US 82 not too far from town.

The road is Bell Canyon Road. It is good old dirt, not too wide, and covered with trees. The sunlight comes down through the tree branches in long shafts. It climbs up and over the end of a ridge. On the down side I am cruising along nicely when I spy a LONG mud puddle ahead that pretty well covers the entire road, leaving no good way to get around it. Hmmm... I know from experience that just blasting on in can get real ugly, but I also know that if you lose your momentum halfway through... well... things can get real ugly I slow down, drop into second, stand up and get my weight a little back and head in on the right side.

Things start out pretty good. I shift my weight a little further back to let the front end find its way through the ruts I can't see under the surface of the murky brown water. I can see the tops of a few of them just barely breaking the surface and try to keep away from them. I feed in more throttle as the bike tries to slow from the drag of the mud. Water is splashing up on my legs and making a mess. More throttle... steady as she goes... almost there... almost... there...

Adrenalin is a funny thing. Some people can't get enough of it. They will do the nuttiest and most crazy things imaginable to get their "high". Now, I am all for a good buzz, don't get me wrong. However, my dislike of lingering pain generally exceeds my desire for a momentary buzz. I should add that my dislike of being coated in nasty mud and water is pretty close to my dislike for lingering pain. I'm guessing the part of my brain in charge of reflexes tends to agree with that rational part that dislikes pain and being really dirty. As I near the far side of the puddle, having traveled maybe 50-60 feet so far, the back end suddenly breaks loose in a big way and starts looking for a new place to be since it is obviously not happy with where it is now...

One VERY clear thought BURSTS into my consciousness from somewhere down below...

"NO #%^!@&* WAY AM I GOING DOWN IN THIS!!

Instinctively I yank on the bike and feed in a fist full of throttle while shifting my weight to stay on top of everything. The bike kicks and bucks as the rear slides around and the front starts bouncing from side to side in the ruts. Somehow the rear grabs something mostly solid down below and shoots me forward, the bike reaching the end of the water and treading once again on solid ground. My heart is pounding and I am elated NOT to be covered in goo of questionable composition... I slow to watch for Roger and James. I think Roger must have been watching me because he takes a little different line and just comes right on through, slow and steady. James does likewise. I should have gotten out the camera. That would have surely spooked one of them into doing something worthy of a good shot

We run the rest of the road down to the highway and cruise on into town. We park the bikes and pop open a cold beer. It's been a great day of riding. James wants to know what I have planned tomorrow. He REALLY wants to ride the Rim Trail Roger is of course up for it, so why not? We clean up and go grab dinner, then call it an early evening.

Later while hanging out in my hotel room, I get a call from Phil "Toe Jam". He has a home out here and he and his wife are here for a few months. I'd been in touch with him before leaving town and am hoping we might hook up with him to do some riding. I mention our plans to ride the Rim Trail but it seems his sister in Mississippi wants him to fly down there to help her prepare for hurricane Issac, which is now threatening the Gulf Coast. So he won't get to ride with us but would like to meet us. I tell him we'll try to swing by sometime before noon if we can. It just kind of depends on how fast we run the Rim Trail.

I call it another early evening and hit the sack.

[jimhaleyscomet]

Scott your reports are killing me! One of these trips I am going to make!

Jim

[CeeBee]

Great report Scott! I catch my heart racing as I read the knarly parts. Can't wait for more

[GBC]

way cool I wont to go

[Tourmeister]

Monday morning arrives bright and early. I did not sleep real well for some reason. Roger tells me he's having all kinds of weird dreams unlike his normal dreams. I don't recall dreaming much at all, which is very unusual for me. I spent most of the night waking up and trying to fall back asleep for no particular reason. Frustrating to say the least...

I gear up and head down to the bikes. Roger and James are getting ready. Today we head for the Rim Trail. I really have no idea what to expect. I don't really have much in the way of single track riding experience. Even the roughest stuff I have ever done has always been two track, or wide enough single track that it could be two track. I've never really developed a lot of confidence with lofting the front end over big roots, rocks, and downed trees. But what the heck, there's always gotta be that first time... right?

It is very cool again. The hummingbirds are buzzing all around us. They are thick in this area and everyone has feeders out for them. The sound of their chirping and buzzing is pretty much non stop, reminding me the ever present and virtually constant background noise of car alarms going off during the few years I lived in Los Angeles. I decide on the two layered shirt approach again, but opt to leave off the rain suit pants. I might be cold getting to the trail, but once there I know I will be hot in no time at all, especially if it is more challenging than what we rode yesterday.

We head down the Sunspot Highway again. I am not exactly sure where the trail head is located so I'm watching for signs along the side of the road. Soon we find a small parking lot. Off to one side there is a closed gate about the width of a gate you'd see in someone's chain link fence to their back yard. Not being real sure if this is actually it, we take a closer look. There is a big lever to operate the latch. Roger gets it open and we pull the bikes through, then make sure it is closed. The path in front of me is narrow, rocky, and rooted. The terrain is steep to either side, making the task of turning around very difficult. Nothing to do now but press on.

The sign at the start of the Northern end of the trail


Roger takes the lead, I slot into the middle, and James brings up the rear


I has been said, and I think rightly so, that to be a good dirt rider, you have to be committed. That is not to say you should be committed because you are crazy and ought to be locked up, but that you are willing to believe that as unlikely as it may seem, if you just get on the gas and point the bike in the right direction it will generally get you from here to there. What you have to put out of your mind is all the potential alternate outcomes from that vision of success. When you are five, you don't generally have commitment issues. First, you aren't old enough to have developed a manly fear of commitment Second, it never even enters your head that you might not succeed, no matter how improbable the success of your plan may actually be. We've all been there as kids... sitting on our bicycle at the top of the highest hill in town, staring down the drop of death with all our friends standing around egging us on, "DO IT! DO IT! I triple dog dare you!!" And you do it, because there is no alternative! Thank goodness no one had video cameras when I was a kid. There's no telling what insanity we might have attempted!?

Well, I got started on this dirt thing kind of late. I can easily imagine all sorts of painful and destructive alternative outcomes besides just getting from here to there. So I developed commitment issues, just ask Beth. It took me almost six years to snap to the fact that I should have married her about 5-1/2 years before I did Riding has been much the same way for me. When I finally do commit, I usually succeed in what I am trying to do. Then I wonder why I ever hesitated Then there are those times where I don't truly commit myself... I kind of go in halfhearted and not real sure about my vision of the outcome. As might be expected, the result is not always pretty...

If you find a map of the trail, right near the start of the Northern end you will see a nice tight hairpin in the trail. I'm guessing we are maybe five minutes into the riding when I see this turn. The approach is pretty steep, as is the climb out. There are abundant rocks in the switchback. If there is one thing I have really struggled with in my limited off road riding experience it is TIGHT turns and maintaining my momentum through them. Sure enough, I get about two thirds of the way through the switch back and lose my momentum. I get my left foot down to stabilize the bike, but when I try to get back on the gas to roll the rear tire over a big rock, my foot comes off the ground and before I know it, the bike is coming over. I step off an let it go down gently... Now I am wondering what I may have gotten myself into...

Roger has a knack for knowing when to stop to make sure everyone gets through a section. He just needs to learn to get his camera out faster Not only does the light weight of the KTM mean the bike goes down softer/easier and with less trauma to me and the bike, but it also means I can get it picked up much easier and faster, with less trauma to my knees and back James waits patiently for me to get out of the way, then I grab my camera... just in case...

The trail goes down behind Roger, between him and that tree


Looking up the trail from the switchback


We spend a little time climbing and then the trail turns to the West and gets really narrow. It seems to be following a section of the ridge that juts out perpendicular to the main ridge. No doubt there is a technical geographical term for this, but it eludes me at present. The bushes really close in and are banging and scraping on the bars and hand guards.

No turning around here...


James... "What's the hold up!?"


Nice and rocky


Roger taking in the view on a spectacularly beautiful day!


The trail continues out to the end of the ridge projection, then doubles back on itself following the South side of the projection back to the main ridge. As it does, it drops down a bit, running more along the slope of the side of the projection rather than up on top of it. Somewhere in here my brain decides to get with the program and my whole body starts to relax and just go with the flow. I can feel the tension just sort of ooze out the bottom of my worn old dirt boots. Hopefully, James doesn't ride through it and get any on him Roger settles into a nice rhythm and I try to just keep him in sight without riding faster than I can process.

Back on the main ridge, the trail narrows down again.


James coming up behind us, the climb was pretty rough and steep




A good portion of the trail is not too bad. I think this is what helps me finally relax. It is a bit more narrow than what I am used to riding, so there is less margin for error, but when we are not bouncing off rocks and roots, it is basically just damp soil with the occasional rock/root and not to steep. However, there are short sections of climbs and descents that can be a little challenging. I just stand on the pegs and focus on keeping my weight neutral so the bike stays balanced. I keep a steady throttle climbing up and engine brake for most of the descents, picking my line to be as smooth as possible.

The first of a few downed trees


Now I know there are people that can pull up to a tree like that one above and just hop their bike right on over it without even hesitating. I have watched videos of those folks doing that kind of thing, but I am not one of those people. Nor am I real inclined to test the waters when I am on a remote trail. Roger, being of a similar mindset favoring caution over bravado stops so we can just lift the bikes over. A botched ride over could easily end up with a bike sliding down the hill side, then a LOT more huffing and puffing to get it back to the trail.

Interlude for pretty flower by the trail No clue what it is


So back to that tree... James grabs a rock and starts trying to chip his way through the tree. His rock breaks. He sees reason and we start lifting the bikes over one by one

James heads back for his KTM 350


James and Roger catching their breath. It doesn't take much exertion up here to make us winded


The view from the other side of the log


The trail starts a nice long climb. It is not real rocky in this section, mostly just the dark soil, but there are a LOT of big nasty roots. Trying to hit all of them perpendicular is almost impossible. I try to aim for "crotches" where the tire hits a V shape so it can't slide one way or the other. Other times I am just hanging on for dear life because my aim is not so good. That is when the bike really saves my bacon rather than slapping me on the ground. One aspect of the KTM that has REALLY blown me away is the difference in suspension compared to the non adjustable stuff on the KLR. It is amazing how much easier good suspension makes it to ride stuff like this without killing yourself and the bike. I think mine is still a bit harsher than I would like for the damping because I still get a pretty good jolt in the arms sometimes. Either that or I need to learn to blip the gas a bit better to lighten the front end before an impact.

James working his way up though a deeply rutted and rooted section


A relatively nice and clean section going on up the hill


The trail keeps climbing for what seems like forever but which I am sure is only a few minutes. My forearms arms are starting to burn a bit from hanging on and not keeping my weight forward and neutral. That is something I really have to work on because I find myself keeping my weight back and then having to pull up with my arms. Basically I am making more work for myself I come around a curve in the hill and see that the trail gets real steep right as it climbs out onto a level area. Roger is waiting at the top. I gas to the top, relieved to be stopping for a break.

James making that last run to the top


And he pops out onto FR 636... which doesn't show on my maps


The trail continues up the hill... the road looks inviting at this point... But we have come to ride the trail!


But first an extended break is in order...


I take this opportunity to shed my jacket and outer shirt. It is amazing how refreshing it is just to remove my helmet for a few minutes. The liner is totally soaked. My shirt is soaked. The insides of my jacket are soaked. I don't think there's a sweat pore on my body that is not working overtime!! While standing around I mention to Roger that I still feel like I am just getting banged a bit on the front end. Soooo....

Time for some trail side adjustments


I am still learning the ins and outs of how to interpret what the bike is doing and translating that into changes in the bike setup that make the ride better. Roger seems to be able to decipher my descriptions and make changes for me that push things in the right direction. He made some changes on the trip out to Big Bend Ranch & State Park last year right after I bought the bike that just made an amazing difference. Now I am down to the tweaking stage... but then... do we ever really get out of the tweaking stage? I really need to go through the bike and check the front/rear sag, then see where I am in the damper range and find out if I might need to make changes to adjust the whole range. Right now I think I am real close to the soft end of the range with little adjustment left and it still feels just a tad harsh to my delicate sensibilities

Cooled off somewhat and the bike setup changed, we set off again. There's nothing quite like the feeling of putting on your sweaty jacket and helmet... We start up the side of the hill, the track narrow and rocky. It climbs and twists and eventually we reach another intersection. The trails and roads are actually pretty well labeled out here, but they don't always show up on the maps. I can find Karr Canyon FR 634, but not 636

Just keep following the arrows and all is good...


A nice section of the trail


Yeah, I take pics of all the signs so I can remember where I've been... ideally...


I've no idea what this sign was for


"Are we stopping for a break??"


There are a lot of places where riders can bail off the trail if needed. I don't think we ever go more than a mile or so without seeing some kind of sign indicating a road or trail head nearby. This is reassuring. So we press on.

Roger stops to admire the view on a relatively level spot after a good stretch of REALLY narrow and rocky trail with a very steep drop off to one side. When I pull up behind him I realize I have a death grip on my bars. I was TOTALLY focused on NOT going off line! In some places the trail was literally about 8" wide, steep, off camber and still had rocks and roots on it. A tire off the edge here would not be pretty. Even if the bike did not go way down the hill, the rider might!

The view


Roger - You can see the steepness of the hillside here pretty well


A wider section where I am able to hop off the left side of the bike onto the hill - no place for the right foot to be put down when the bike is upright.






The ride-able line is about 8-12" wide here


Have to stay off the roots or slide to the down side and the gravel on the other side is real soft at the edge...


Roger asks me how the changes to the suspension are working. It is a definitely improvement. the jolting is gone for all but the biggest of hits to the front end. I am now much better able to just run over whatever might be in my way, which makes picking lines MUCH easier!! We wait for a bit, expecting to hear James coming, but after about five minutes still nothing. I start wandering back up the trail... slowly...

I get maybe a few hundred feet when I hear the sound of James's bike.


I confirm that all is well. He just stopped to take a break after that last real pucker factor section. He's also been having issues with the bike stalling on him at lower speeds in mid climb. That's not something I'd want to be dealing with in that last section where there was no place to put a foot down if things started going over away from the up side of the hill.

While James is stopped I hear barking... Hikers and their dogs maybe? I sure hope there aren't many wild packs out here, but you never know. It sounds like it is coming from up the trail where Roger is still waiting. James takes off and I start the walk back.

A section of the trail where we can "relax"




The sign back by my bike


James


So the barking is two small terrier looking dogs. I see them come running past Roger and heading for me. They didn't maul him so they must be tame. About the time they reach me I see an older gentleman coming around the bend in the trail nearer to Roger. The dogs give me a good barking and sniffing, refuse my ear scratching attempts, and run back to their owner. So far, this guy is the only person we've seen out here. Meeting up with other bikes going the opposite direction could be a challenge to get past each other.

We get moving after another good rest. I find that while I am getting winded, I seem to recover faster today than yesterday. After heavy exertion, I am usually back to a resting heart rate and breathing in about five minutes. So our pace is to ride about 15 minutes, rest for five or so, rinse and repeat as necessary, occasionally going a little longer between breaks.

Looking down what I just came up, washed out, loose and steeper than it looks of course

James approaches steep switch back on the Rim Trail - YouTube

James approaches steep switch back on the Rim Trail - YouTube

James stalls on climb out of switchback on Rim Trail - YouTube

James stalls on climb out of switchback on Rim Trail - YouTube

When James gets to the top he looks over at me, "Everyone is always yelling 'get on the gas!' at me!" We were doing that to him at the Big Bend Ranch &State Park ride last year when he was on his big XR650L and was chugging up some nasty climbs. One thing Roger mentioned to me that I've been working on today is slipping the clutch to keep the engine revving when I start to lose my momentum so that I don't bog and stall. It's hard though because the clutch engagement range on the lever is pretty narrow. If I have the engine revved up and accidentally feed in too much clutch, my bike will start trying to pick up the front end and it can start a real bucking bronco motion. It's one more reason for me to get better at keeping my weight over the bars so I am not holding up my body weight with my arms and can exercise finer control of the levers. Sooo much to think about while riding!

James makes it on up to the top


Not much further up the trail we come to another downed tree. Once again we decide to lift the bikes over rather than trying to ride over it. It is not real difficult, but man it makes us winded! Thank God I am not riding that heavy KLR!!

Taking a rest after lifting Roger's and my bike over

Rim Trail log crossing - YouTube

Rim Trail log crossing - YouTube

You can hear me hollering at them to watch the shifter lever. I thought they were about to lay the bike over before the lever was on the far side of the tree and then try to drag the bike, possibly damaging the shifter. No worries though. They get it over without any problems and after another rest we are on our way.

The rest of the trail is just a continuous mix of up and down, winding back and forth, soft dirt sections and nasty rocky sections. We run a pretty good way and I break into a straight section where I can see Roger at the bottom of the hill in a clearing. I break out of the tree cover and the road is just below. I know from experience not to let my guard down and think, "I've made it!," until the kickstand is intentionally on the ground. It is FAR too easy to have a lapse in focus with mere feet to go that results in a face plant

James coming down that last little rocky stretch before the road


We stop here to get our bearings. James has a Forest Service map and I compare that to my GPS map. We are on Karr Canyon Rd., not 636, but on 634. This road runs from the Sunspot Highway back NW over to US 82 and is a wide well maintained gravel road.

The trail picks up on the far side of the road. Apparently this is where the trail originally ended and where they continued some time after the first trail was made


That section of trail behind the sign is essentially a wash, where the water comes running down off the hill, carrying away all the loose sand and leaving behind big rocks resting in the V shape of the trail. Right after it vanishes behind that bush it starts climbing steeper and curving back to the left around the side of the hill.

We just came from the left, behind James's bike. That road across the way dead ends into a primitive camping are. Karr Canyon Rd., runs left right (Sunspot Highway to the right).


Looking East toward the Sunspot Highway


Roger takes point again and we head up the side of the mountain. Lots and lots of rocks here. However, it does not last long. As soon as we round the mountain and come down the other side, the trail dumps us out onto FR 64D, also known as Alamo Rd. The map shows Alamo Lookout tower being at the end of this road and that sounds like it might be a cool stop over/break spot. So we head West, passing various camp sites, and some RVs that look like they have just be parked and left here. As we near the end of the road, there is actually a campground with numerous sites. There is also a locked gate It seems that there is a great deal of super secret data acquisition equipment here for the White Sands Missile Range and they don't want people like us playing around it.

We poke around the camp area looking for the continuation of the Rim Trail, but it seems that it is back the other direction from where we came out onto this road. James mentions that he is out of water. I'm thinking maybe we could find water at one of the camp sites. Nothing doing... Not wanting to venture into more of the trail with James out of water, we just start heading back East toward the main highway. It is getting close to noon and we can just head on down to Timberon to find lunch/water and then do some more riding after that.

As we near the highway, the road bends left and drops sharply. Just below the road to my right is a big red barn looking house. Hey!! That's Phil's place! As we come on around the corner I notice that there are people sitting on the front porch. Maybe he's still home and has not left for his Sister's place in Mississippi yet? So I pull in and we find Phil and his Wife sitting on their porch enjoying a nice afternoon snack in the company of what seems like 50-60 hummingbirds!! We make the introductions and ask if he can top off James's Camel-Bak, which he graciously does. I grab a seat and break out some peanut butter crackers and granola bars. Apparently Phil decided his sister expecting him to fly down to Mississippi wasn't the best idea and it would make more sense for her to board up and head this way to avoid the storm. Since he is not leaving town, we make plans to do a ride with him tomorrow on the big bikes. He has a KTM 990 Super Enduro. After a nice break and visit, we decide to head back to the trail and try to finish it off.

[time to go home, more tomorrow ]

[wanabeguru]

great report!

[Gravel Guy]

[The Bruce]

[_RG_]

This is just the way we saw it too...fourth day, we're all feeling it and it just flows. Down right spiritual it is...

"Somewhere in here my brain decides to get with the program and my whole body starts to relax and just go with the flow. I can feel the tension just sort of ooze out the bottom of my worn old dirt boots."

Enjoying the ride!