After exiting the ATV trails we hit some very smooth and nicely groomed roads which ultimately led to Riggins ID on the Salmon River.
Since the sun was starting to set, I took advantage of the opportunity to take some photos!
After getting a big sandwich, beer and Ice for dinner in Riggins we back-tracked for free public camping on the Salmon River.
Boy was the water refreshing!
I was tucked into my sleeping bag for the night thinking all was well and drifting into sleep, when I heard a vehicle whiz by our tents, then BANG!!!
A massive BANG reverberated off the mountains, I thought it was a gun, cannon or industrial accident! Then the yelling began. Call 911!! Call 911!!
KC was still sitting at the picnic table when all this transpired and he saw the SUV run off the edge of the road and roll several times to be stopped by two trees finally resting on the passenger side. The occupants - two men and two naked women were crazy drunk.
We went to the scene where a fellow camper who was trained in military rescue got the situation under control.
Broken glass, blood and dirty underwear littered the site the following morning.
Here you can see the SUVs tracks where it left the road and rolled, and the two trees that kept the vehicle from rolling further.
It was freaking crazy.
The following morning we left for Burgdorf thinking how lucky we were that the SUV had not run over our tents the previous evening.
The ride along the Salmon River to this bridge was spectacular. I am surprised at how long a suspension bridge can be.
These switchbacks were one of the highlights of the entire trip.
AND THEN THERE WAS:
Once we arrived at Burgdorf Hot Spring and saw the naturally fed mineral hot springs, there was no way we were getting back on the bikes.
113 Degrees of bug bite soothing mineral water was just what the doctor ordered.
The large pool was like a really warm bath which got cooler as one went towards the end of it.
Since we were cabin guests the springs were available to us at all hours.
Cabin amenities were sparse in a very welcome way, no electricity, no running water and no communication with the outside world was just fine with us!
It felt good to take a day off just wandering around Burgdorf, playing with the camera and not thinking about much.
Oh!!! Before I forget.... we had a great encounter with 67 year old Rob, who bought his Guzzi new in 1970.
He's had it apart enough to massage it into a finely tuned machine. The moment I saw it I could tell it had been expertly maintained all it's life.
Not a single oil leak, not a single bolt head was rounded, everything in its place as it should be!
1100 miles in two days, at 70 mph. Perfect.
After our stay at Burgdorf our friend KC peeled off to head south towards Texas, and my brother and I decide to catch up with the main riding groups who were about a day ahead of us. This meant putting the "Dual" in Dual Sport and riding a couple hundred miles of pavement, and nice pavement it was!
We headed for the Reservoir Lake campground in the Beaverhead National Forest which is where the group would be camping that evening.
The sun was setting as we entered the National Forest and the well groomed roads allowed for good speed.
Needless to say it was getting hard to keep an eye on the road with all the scenery around us.
The roads go on forever! I was not accustomed to the uninterrupted length of the roads and was getting concerned about reaching the campsite by night fall.
CAMP!! Finally after hours and hours of dirt roads we arrived at 10:00 PM! The long stretch of road following the Bloody Dick River was a marathon event of riding. Some how we got a second wind of energy and ****** the torpedos, riding as fast as we could, while scanning for potential deer encounters on the road. I thought I was pretty bad-assed to have made it to camp, until I tried to park my KLR and promptly dropped it on its side. Shaking from the adrenalin, I need help picking it up.
It sure felt good to arrive and see all of our pals.
406Blues, good to meet you and make your acquaintance!
Here is an aerial view of our camping area that we were sooooooo happy to have arrived!
The morning after camping at Reservoir Lake, we had great breakfast! We kept the restaurant busy and it was nice to chat with Ulybrad and Wansfel at the table.
One of the most interesting bits of 19th century industrialization I've ever seen was the Charcoal Kilns of Canyon Creek.
"The Historic Canyon Creek Charcoal Kilns
Michael Ryan
Beaverhead National Forest
What have charcoal kilns and the production of charcoal to do with Forest Service history? An honest answer has to be—not very much. Not very much if you are looking for a direct historical linkage between mining history as it unfolded in Canyon Creek and the early forest reserves or the later national forests. However, the mining history in Canyon Creek, and the role played by charcoal production in that history, provide a background or context for understanding the kinds of use early forest reserve officers and later Forest Service officers were expected to bring under control and management in the late nineteenth and very early twentieth centuries. Canyon Creek represents just one of many possible examples of free access or free use of forest resources taken as a right by industrial, agricultural, and individual interests throughout the West during the nineteenth century.
Other prominent local examples of nineteenth century industrial use of public resources are numerous in both the timber and livestock industries. However, the mining industry in Montana was the first, most important, and arguably the largest user of natural resources in southwestern Montana. Timber and water were critical to the development of any ore body. Mining companies exploited these resources freely without regard to conservation or compensation to anyone but owners or stockholders..."
From:
http://www.foresthistory.org/Publications/Books/Origins_National_Forests/sec9.htm
We continued riding towards our next pre-determined camping spot and had a great time getting there.
RDS Member UlyBrad :ricky
We stayed at the Bike Camp in Twin Bridges which is a really wonderful free facility for bicyclists passing through town, donations are accepted.
" “Bill” in the note is William White, the man who had the vision to create Bike Camp in Twin Bridges, Montana. It is one of the kind in the country. A purpose built structure for touring cyclists that includes a bathroom, shower, sink, repair stand, reference books and safe haven from mosquitoes. When we passed through there last year, we ran into Bill by pure luck in a coffee shop/curios store on the main drag. We spent the afternoon talking about how Bike Camp came about. He had been seeing touring cyclists passing through but not stopping in Twin Bridges. In his words, “it was like watching gold flow down the river.” He wanted to give them a a reason to stop in town so he lobbied and pulled money together (a lot of it was from his own coffers) and created Bike Camp...."
From:
http://pathlesspedaled.com/2012/07/remembering-bill-white-founder-of-bike-camp-in-twin-bridges-montana
Easy Rider stopped in as well, we saw him days ago on the road and I must say he has style and fortitude.
I keep thinking he must be European.
Back to the dirt we go, into the Gravelly Range and Black Butte!
Riggins offered some cool water and cold beer for the long hot day, after we came off the hot mountain side....caked in some nasty black road dust!
[move][/move]
Little did we know the waters were infested with Toe Sharks....
Heading out along the Salmon river, on some fantastic old bridges......getting ready for the highlight of the trip, a fantastic climb up to Burgdorf!
As we head up, countless switch backs await us....and room only for one car on this narrow road!
Next we make it to the fantastic hot springs....we did about 50 miles that day and it was about 11 AM....once we took a dip it was DECIDED! WE STAY!
Plus there was some nice eye candy about the springs, that did our road weary souls some good to see, since we only had our own mugs to look at for several days...
Ahh, dunk right in!
Gnarly Dude!
After we said a tearful good by to KC, we make some time as the sun sets to catch up with the BOM Crew.....this was some of the most intense riding I have done, trying to beat the sun....and race in on a few rays of remaining sun light....
Felt great to catch up with the BOM crew finally!
I have a feeling horses don't go hungry in Montana, unless this hay is sold to dairy farms. Nonetheless, it sure makes for awesome photos and aromas!
"The Gravelly Range Road Backcountry Drive is very different from most mountain routes in Montana. Usually, most scenic drives in the mountains climb to cross a pass and then travel through a scenic valley or parallel the base of the mountains. What distinguishes the Gravelly Range Road Backcountry Drive from most other drives is that the route travels for over thirty miles across a high-elevation plateau. As this plateau consists of primarily of high-altitude meadows, with scattered forests, the views of the Gravelly Range and other nearby mountain ranges seemingly never end." FROM:
http://www.bigskyfishing.com/scenic-drives/gravelly-range.php
The Gravelly Range was my favorite part of the BOM, it was the BOMB!
The long curvey climbs were my favorite and the lack of other vehicles was quite nice.
Black Butte at 10,000 ft was the pinnacle of the ride for me, and everything else before it was still awesome!
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