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What do you do when you find yourself torn between the multiple clubs you have joined and their respective calendars of activities. How do you make the choice between riding the dirtbike or paddling the kayak? When is a long weekend not long enough? How do you maximize fun in the minimum time frame? Answers to these and other questions in.... Multisport Madness!
The only way I could resolve my desire to do it all was simply to do it all. The San Francisco Northstars MC had scheduled a long weekend of dirt bike riding in the Pinenut Mountains near Minden, Nevada for Memorial weekend. I had scheduled some white water paddling on the South Fork of the American River for the weekend after. Somewhere in between I really should have been at home and going to work but I was jonesing to do some more exploration, camping and lake kayaking. So what the hell, I took the week off! Dirt's for Potatoes! Our worldly Dirt Stewart, Mr. Mike "Catfish" Chaplin, had scheduled a weekend in the Pinenuts way back in January. Having never been there before I had no idea what I was in for....all I knew was to bring the XR650R and lots of Ibuprophen. So I loaded up the van with all the toys and hit the road. Now right off the bat I have to say "Thanks" to our hosts, George and Barbara Gooding. These folks are saints to offer up their house and yard to a bunch of dirty bikers and their toys. There's nothing better at the end of the day than a good, hot, shower and Barbara didn't even flinch when we walked in the door, just pointed to the Master Bath shower and smiled. Wow! Ok, stepping back a bit, turnout for this ride was pretty sparse. Guess folks had other plans for the long weekend or they just weren't up to the long drive to Minden. Either way it was just Mike, Steve Martinez and myself who made the trek with Earl showing up later in the Taco Truck. It may have been the weather report too since there was rain and possibly snow on the way. Yeah right, snow?
Saturday morning dawned cool and dark. Dark? I unzipped my tent to find it covered with fresh snow. Holy Cow! It was absolutely gorgeous out. After a slow morning we finally donned our gear and hit the trail. Snow or no snow I was here to ride. Fortunately most of it was melted and gone by 10am. Our day was spent riding all over the Northern section of the Pinenuts. We hit jeep trails, power line roads, single track and pretty much everything else you could imagine. The views from up top were awesome and we barely got hit by any of the weather. I stopped to admire the light "corn" snow that was falling at one point but nothing was sticking to the ground. Steve did a great job of guiding our way up until he got stuck three quarters of the way up a deep sand hill. Ooops! Mike was smart and stayed at the top of the opposite hill. I rode down and looked for a way around and gave up. I managed to work my way through the sand back up to Mike. Steve had to muscle his bike around and ended up dropping down to the main road via one route while Mike and I chose another. Too funny! By the end of the day we had all covered a respectable 50 miles or so of mixed media trails and were ready to eat! Good thing Mike brought the tri-tip and I brought some links! Everyone else tossed in some salad, potatoes and dessert for a feast fit for a king! Earl out did himself once again for showing up with not one but two desserts. Dessert first was rather interesting too. Should'a been there to find out. That night I'm not sure if I passed out from fatigue for from the food coma but I slept like a log that night. Sunday was clear and beautiful. We chose to get an early start and make tracks for the Southern section of the mountains. This time we hit much the same kind of trail but with more emphasis on rocks, shale, pebbles, sand, boulders, marbles, and more rocks. Ok, so it wasn't quite that bad but it was tough going.
We found our way up to the top of the range and admired the view from Mount Sigel. Here's Steve posing at the edge of the world... We dropped back down into the valley and then right back up again. We found amazing Aspen forests, huge patches of bike-eating snow and more. It was a gas! By the end of the day we found ourselves in a rats nest of single track trails. It was great fun chasing each other around the riding area catching air on little bumps and brake sliding into the corners. Whoo hoo! In the end we managed to log over 100 miles of riding and were starving to death by the time we hit George and Barbs. Good thing they have casinos near by. Good thing those casinos have cheap buffets! Thanks to Mike we all ate like kings! He treated us all to dinner and we ate our money's worth and then some. Yum! Monday saw Earl disappear into the desert, Steve zooming back to California and Mike and I heading for the hills. This time we slowed down a touch and used our maps and GPS to find our way to the desired trails. We found a much easier way up the mountain and a more direct route home. We also managed to avoid a lot of the rocks and spent more time in the tasty single track. Another 75 miles went under our tires and yet another fabulous meal was consumed at the Gooding household. I can't say enough about our wonderful hosts and their generosity. I will definitely be paying them a visit again soon. Lakes are for Loonies! Leaving Minden I chose to wander on up and take Highway 50 over the hill. I had lost the license plate to my XR somewhere out in the desert and figured I should stop at the DMV to pick another one up. On my way to the DMV I found a lake. Along that lake was a state park. That state park had lake access and an ideal spot to launch a sea kayak. Cool! I put in at Cave Rock park and did a short paddle north along the east shore of Lake Tahoe. Conditions were perfect and the scenery incredible! I had a hard time concentrating on what I was doing because I kept getting distracted by the snowy mountains off in the distance and the beautiful blue water beneath me. I made it about 3 miles down the shoreline before turning back. It felt good to stretch my arms and shoulders out after all the abuse they'd taken on the bike. Returning to the park I took time out to lunch and absorb some sun. The rangerette was nice enough to stop and chat and query me about my paddle. Nice folks these Nevadan's. After a typical visit to the DMV (wait an hour or more in line, pay them money, wait for them to figure out what you need and then wait some more) I finally got back on the road and made tracks for Loon Lake.
I arrived late in the afternoon and found the perfect campsite right on the edge of the lake. I setup my tent, setup my cooking area, hooked up my hammock and then propped myself up in my easy chair. Now this is the life! Wednesday morning found me gearing up for a paddle on the lake. The air temp was nice so I chose to forgo my paddling jacket and rash guard but the water temp ensured my using my wetsuit. Fresh snow-melt is not much colder than fresh snow. Brrrr! I enjoyed a casual paddle clockwise around the lake following the contours of the shoreline on a relatively windless day. The water clarity was much like Tahoe's with just as much granite and snow as the big lake but without the traffic and people. There were two other boats on the lake with guys fishing (which means they were really just sitting there in the sun drinking beer) and no one in sight along the shoreline. By the time I reached the northeast end of the lake the wind had come up slightly so I had to work a bit to come back. It was still pretty relaxed especially compared with my usual paddles on SF Bay and I made it back early in the afternoon. As I approached my campsite I spied an interesting occupant to the tree next to my tent. A very large bald eagle. He was soon replaced with another one who chased the first one off. Wild! That evening I enjoyed a campsite meal, watched the sun slowly sink into the west and enjoyed some quality reading time. Not sure if it was the paddling that made me turn in early or the beer but not long after sunset I was buzzing like a bee...
Runnin'' the Rubicon A point of interest at the dam at Loon Lake is a trailhead for the Rubicon Trail. This is one of the toughest off-road trails in California and possibly the entire country! I decided it was high time I tried a bit of it since the last time was back in the mid 90's! I unloaded my XR, geared up and hit the trail. The Rubicon is all about granite. Huge open bowls that offer gobs of traction as well as tight jeep paths with rocks and giant steps that make mere mortals break down and sob. I had a blast wheelying up some of the large granite faces and then snaking my way down into soggy little watering holes. The XR is blessed with gobs of torque which in turn makes it easy to get out of difficult predicaments. The only drawback is that this bike weighs a ton compared to most off-road bikes these days. I had my hands full working my way through the technical stuff. Once through the introduction to the trail I found myself out on a vast expanse of granite. It was incredible. For as far as I could see there was granite slab with seams, steps, and rocks tossed in. I watched a couple of guys in jeeps negotiate a steep climb right up and past me. Very cool! I then covered that same ground in a fraction of the time using my agility and torque to hop right on over the rocks. Working my way to the top of the granite bowl I found myself looking across an arm of Loon Lake. What a gorgeous sight! Some day I plan to come by and use the bike to get me out here so I can camp unmolested by others. Unless of course they come out on their bikes or jeeps.
Fatigue and hunger finally took it's toll and I returned to camp slightly satiated for my thirst for granite. I will definitely be coming back for more and soon! As I ate my lunch I noticed a darkening of the sky and the sound of thunder in the distance. I decided on short notice that it was time to move on. I had enjoyed myself immensely up here but there was still more to see and do. So off to the river I went. Whitewater Wonder The South Fork of the American River is one of the most visited rivers in the state and for good reason. The rapids here go from mild to wild! I had invited some friends up for a day or two on the river. I had been jonesing all spring to go play on the river and had my first taste just a couple of weeks prior. I was ready for more and I found the perfect spot to call home base. Camp Lotus. My first day on the river was pretty mild. I hadn't found anyone to come join me for a Friday paddle so I chose to go solo. I put in by the bridge where Highway 49 crosses the river. I floated down a mile or so to a small surf wave located out in front of Lotus Park. I spent the better part of 3 hours playing on this wave getting a better feel for my boat and slowly working on my boat handling skills. It was great! A couple of folks joined me that afternoon and I soon found plenty of good conversation as well as some nice pointers on boat control. You meet the nicest people... I finally turned downstream and took a conservative line back down to Camp Lotus. After drying off and resting I jumped on the motorcycle and rode back up to retrieve my van. The rest of the day was spent absorbed in a book, listening to the local goose honk for treats and enjoying the warm breeze blowing up river. Saturday dawned much the same as Friday. I spent a lazy morning reading and then set off for my play spot. This time not only did I work on the wave but I chose to practice eddy hopping up the river. It was fun to find the eddy, hop in, paddle to the top and then ferry over to the next one and then repeat. I was able to work my way up about a 1/4 mile or so and then turn and ride the current back down. A good workout and again more good practice. I also learned a new trick today. Playing on the wave my bow kept digging into the pour over. Soon I found that I could plow the bow right in and stand the boat upright. Whoo hoo! I wasn't quite to the point of taking that trick to the next level but it was damn fun! Again I turned down river and floated back to camp to rest up and enjoy my afternoon. I did go for a short ride on the XR and also indulged myself at a nice restaurant at the crossroads. Dinner was a delicious filet mignon with a humongous baked potato and a silly fru fru drink. What an indulgence but it was worth every bite. At camp I settled in for a relaxing evening chatting with some other campers and readying myself for a serious run on Sunday. C to G One of my favorite runs to make on the South Fork is Coloma to Greenwood. It's not terribly difficult as river runs go but it scenic, offers plenty of play spots and has good eddies in case you make a mistake. I had previously made arrangements for some of the Class II Kayakers group to join me as well as some of my other paddling buddies. This would be some folks first trip down the river this year. Cool! Jerry and June, the newly-weds showed up with several others in tow. Jerry was taking a crew down "The Gorge" today after dropping June off at Greenwood. I was invited but at this point in my trip I was ready to head home and I knew if I stayed to play it would be a very long drive home with tons of traffic. Live to paddle another day I say. The Gorge can wait. All told there were nine of us on the river that day. We had a blast paddling down the river stopping to savor some surfing holes and bouncing through the haystacks. As is typical with me I made a mistake mid-rapid somewhere past the bridge and found myself screwing up my roll. After a couple of failed attempts, some water up the nose and a brain freeze from the cold water I bailed. Fortunately I was able to eddy out ok and with some effort get my boat back. It was a dumb move and I was more embarrassed than anything. Still, I learn from my mistakes and move on. Further down the river in some fairly big waves I attempted to surf one and went over. My combat roll was perfect and I came up with an aggressive move right into the rest of the wave train. What a great feeling to do it right! Jerry cheered me on which made it even better. Love it when that happens! We finally pulled up to Greenwood with smiles all around. My buddy Lee decided to make a full day of it and joined the group going down the gorge. Brooke and I wandered back up, drove back to Coloma so he could get his car and return home. Meanwhile June set off to Salmon Falls to retrieve the gang when they finished the gorge run. Another perfect day on the river. I managed to drag myself home by 5:30pm. I had enjoyed myself immensely and somewhere over the previous week lost in great deal of stress and strain from work and home life. I was now relaxed and ready to return to the real world. Thanks to Catfish for setting up the Minden ride and thanks to the Class II folks and Jerry's group for joining me on the river. What a great time! See you next adventure! Craig The Photo Section The South Fork of the American Steve Martinez' pictures from the Pinenuts Google Earth view of the Pinenuts Google Earth view of Loon Lake Google Earth view of the river
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