What did you do on or to your other bike part 2

[Cormanus]

Spectacular pdedse. I love some of the mountains in your part of the world. And the lakes and rivers.

[the Ferret]

Agree with Cormanus.

Wife and I are tentatively headed to Crater Lake in near future by car.

[rdprdp01]

Just returned from a 3 day / 2 night visit to Diamond Lake area, about 20 miles north of Crater Lake, Thielsen campground (blue X).


A long-time friend / riding buddy spends summers in Eureka, CA and we've been trying to get together for a ride so that he could show me his new '24 DR-Z400.  He asked me to put together a ride somewhere in the middle for both of us, and I chose Diamond Lake kinda blindly.  Arrived Wednesday afternoon and thankfully there were still a few sites available for 2 nights.  Since my friend wasn't going to arrive till nearly dark, I had the chance to scope things out a bit beforehand. 

Mt. Thielsen from the campground


Diamond Lake Resort / general store area; our campground on the opposite shoreline


North of the lake off hiway 138, forest service road "Cinnamon Butte Lookout" sounded promising


The burned areas...


...reminded me vaguely of a forest fire in this area, and sure enough, just over a year ago: 


I tested just a few miles of OHV trails.  Is there a name for the 2-3" powdery, thick dust that dominates these trails?  It was "interesting" on my still stock tires.



After breakfast yesterday, we set out for forest service roads that link Toketee and Lemolo lakes.  After 15 some files of riding together, we decided to split up and test out different routes and then meet up at Lemolo.  I tried a couple of promising side roads...


...but they devolved into lifting tree branches and riding under...a few times ok, but it soon became pointless.


No matter, it was fun to explore new-to-me areas.  Lemolo Lake dam area...




When we met up again, my friend Jeff told me that there was an interesting trail that he found and asked if I didn't want to try it out...


How can one say no to that?  After climbing Dread and Terror, we wanted to see what else might be in store for us.  We navigated a 12" downed tree trunk and the trail was quickly becoming overgrown, but still passable.
  
"Action" video of Jeff: 
https://i.imgur.com/c72I7jf.mp4

Me, trying to keep up: 
https://i.imgur.com/MUMVVTp.mp4

He said he saw me filming, and tried half-heartedly to do a quick wheelie...nope!
https://i.imgur.com/yNONavR.mp4

Such a fun area


Spent the afternoon in a local pizza shop while a storm blew through, and then went searching for the Umpqua hot springs to soak awhile.  A dip in the cold and fast moving waters of the North Umpqua River quickly revived me.  


Fading light, a good riding day


Jeff had never been to Crater Lake, so that was on the early morning menu.  His first view...


We passed through the entry but nobody was working there yet, so we didn't even have to pay the $25 fee for the views.




Jeff and I had our helmets on and ear protectors in as we were talking.  Some sweet ol' lady told Jeff to use his "indoor voice" as we were apparently being too loud so we could hear each other.  




Made it back to the Diamond Lake area and finished our riding time by exploring one of the OHV lanes.  This one wasn't so powdery and provided a beautiful hour of pure joy.  


By 11:30am he was on his way home as he had lots of work waiting for him, and I made it back to Gresham by 5pm.

At one point riding away from Crater Lake, we switched bikes for about 15 miles.  He said my DR650 felt like riding a cadillac after being on his 400.  Has the DR650 ever been compared to a caddy?

I find the “indoor voice” comment hilarious! I also find it endearing that the lady that shared it with you comes from a generation where you delivered a rebuke kindly and with civility.

[peterbaron]

Pdedse, how did you tow your boat, if I see no trailer hitch attached to your bike...?  

[pdedse]

Pdedse, how did you tow your boat, if I see no trailer hitch attached to your bike...?  

Darn, I guess I forgot to take a picture of that set-up, but it looked something like this...



: )

As I've gotten older, tent camping has become more of a challenge; particularly how to pack enough items so that sleeping is not a miserable experience.   I have good aluminum side cases for the DR650 and while they hold quite a bit, you still are limited for space.  From a different, 5-day trip, all loaded down, ready to camp where ever:


I typically do a circular route, packing / repacking each day, but I suppose I've grown wary of that.  So now it's pack anything and everything I want into the pickup, head for a spot where I stay put, and then radiate from there to do day rides.  In this case, my friend did the same in his pickup.  

I mention all this, because when I saw boats on Diamond Lake, and that our campsite actually had a boat ramp...hmmm, I thought...I could have trailered my '17 boat here and we could have floated / fished along with the riding.  It's a thought I'm going to entertain for the future.

[SportsterDoc]

Pdedse, how did you tow your boat, if I see no trailer hitch attached to your bike...?  

That is a good question, Peter, but what I really want to know is how did pdedse get those campground folding chairs into his top case??!

When I lived in Las Vegas and hiked Lee Canyon or Corn Creek Springs, I wanted a backpack chair, but the only ones I found were steel and rather heavy.

pdedse:  thank you for sharing.  Been maybe 4 decades since I saw Crater Lake.

[pdedse]

Agree with Cormanus.

Wife and I are tentatively headed to Crater Lake in near future by car.

I hope it works for you for it's a beautiful area; should you decide to include the Portland area coming or going...feel free to stop by, kick your shoes off...maybe you even throw your riding gloves in the car, you know...just in case.

Crater Lake...if you can avoid the weekends and go as early as possible in the morning, I think you'll find the experience more pleasant.  I mean, traffic isn't terrible--I've been there 3 or 4 times at different times of the day--but late morning to late afternoon I remember there being lots more traffic than what I saw yesterday at 730-930am.

---

... what I really want to know is how did pdedse get those campground folding chairs into his top case??!

When I lived in Las Vegas and hiked Lee Canyon or Corn Creek Springs, I wanted a backpack chair, but the only ones I found were steel and rather heavy.

pdedse:  thank you for sharing.  Been maybe 4 decades since I saw Crater Lake.

Pick-up!  When I do go camping using the DR650, the aluminum side cases are easily removed.  Set on the ground, they work well as both a chair and a mini table.  I always ride with seat pads strapped to my motorcycles, so I remove the pad and place on top of the side case and that works decently for a camping seat...and I don't have to pack (or buy!) anything extra.

[SportsterDoc]

Very resourceful!

---

Many years ago Sears had a sale on 3 man tents.
One went to daughter #3 and the other just last month to daughter #2...unused.
Last time I remember tent camping was when son was about 12 (he is 44 now).
He stayed in a tent and I outside in a cot on Cuddeback Dry Lake with a full moon.
Much easier to exit the sleeping bag from the cot!
Amazing how many critters crawl around at night!!

[misterprofessionality]

A short little moment that was filmed by the guy we were riding with during last Saturdays ride in Tennessee.  The pure drama of the back of this bike I think is what makes it so attractive to everybody. 
https://youtube.com/shorts/wfFgYnEhccU?s...H-wNSCQrfm

We did one last run in the Tennessee Foothills to prepare for the end of this months big event.  I'm still wondering if I should just bring this as my Rally bike .

[the Ferret]

Wont play for me