Terry and Sandy (and their son Jack) were spending a long weekend at their property outside of McCloud in northern California so I rode up to join them for some fun on two wheels. All told it was 4 1/2 days of riding with most of that time being spent in the shadow/vicinity of Mount Shasta. The terrain was beautiful to say the least and I loved every one of the 1100+ miles that I rode between Friday and the end of day Tuesday.
Photos
It Hasta Be Shasta
Videos
Water Crossing on NF-31 (YouTube)
August 08, 2008: San Francisco > Red Bluff (Map)
The plan for day one was to leave work a bit early and make my way up to Red Bluff on I-5. Instead of slabbing it all the way there I added some smaller highways and roads, even a stretch of dirt into the mix. I left San Francisco via the Bay Bridge and I-80, enjoyed some lane splitting through commute traffic and eventually turned north on I-505. Shortly after that I broke off the interstate in favor of a frontage road, and then Highway 16 which took me through Esparto, Capay and other little towns before ending at Highway 20 east of Williams. From there I decided to leave the pavement for a little bit and took Bear Valley Road, a nice and easy gravel road, up to Lodoga, pausing along the way for a break and some photos. From there I took Sites Lodoga, then Maxwell Sites Roads out to Maxwell where I rejoined I-5 for the last leg up to Red Bluff where I spent the first night on the road in a hotel.
Bear Valley Road looking north
August 09, 2008: Red Bluff > McCloud > Tulelake > McCloud (Map)
Day two started off early as I wanted to get out of Red Bluff and on my way. I left the hotel and began riding east on Highway 36, a gorgeous ride with no traffic, winding my way into the hills until I reached Highway 89. I took Highway 89 north, eventually entering and riding through Lassen Volcanic National Park, what a gorgeous place it is! The ride wound up and over a pass, taking me by fumeroles, a few fantastic views, an alpine lake and meadow, then back down towards Highway 44. The entire ride I kept wishing I had more time, I was due to meet with Terry and Sandy by 10am or so and that left me precious little room in the schedule to truly enjoy Lassen. I shall return!
Just one of the incredible views riding through Lassen Volcanic National Park
After Lassen I took Highway 89 all the way up to McCloud, while the ride wasn’t particularly notable it was still well worth the effort. The ride brought me down out of Lassen and through some great farming and ranching territory. I eventually found myself pulling into McCloud to top of my gas tanks before riding out to meet Terry and Sandy at their property. They own a nice piece of land outside of McCloud and inside the Mount Shasta Forest, they live on a dirt road and have a well, generator and a seasonal trailer they remove in the winter. All told it makes for the perfect base camp for riding operations!
Not long after my arrival we were mounted up and on our way out to enjoy a great day of riding together. We left their property and began heading roughly north, first along NF-13 then later on NF-15, eventually we stopped at a gorgeous meadow to take in the scenery and chase a few tiny frogs. After the break we re-mounted the bikes for a short ride around Little Glass Mountain, then up to the top of Little Mount Hoffman to take in the view from a fire lookout station. The ride and the views were of course spectacular and we found ourselves all quite interested in the fact that you can actually book/rent the lookout as a place to stay!
Terry shows the tiny frog he managed to catch
Me, Sandy and Terry atop Little Mount Hoffman, Mount Shasta in the background
After our fire lookout pit stop we pushed on, staying on the dirt while riding past Medicine Lake, then on pavement and dirt on up to Lava Beds National Monument. We rode through Lava Beds, doing some extra traveling down memory lane along the way (for reference, see the very first photo album posted to this website). We passed through and on up to the town of Tulelake, a place that each of us found a tad depressing. Riding through town we saw mostly closed shops, a few run down buildings and luckily for us a burger joint where we ate some lunch. After lunch we took Highway 161 along the border between California and Oregon, past Klamath Lake and on to Highway 97. We then turned south on Highway 97, first passing through Dorris and then stopping for gas in Macdoel, the whole time the ride kind of sucked due to traffic, high winds and of course the hazy skies due to fires in the area.
Terry cruising along Highway 161
After spending most of our day alone on back roads and the dirt we didn’t much care for the “crowds” on the pavement so after refueling we decided to head for Tenant along the way back to our base camp for the evening. That stretch of the ride was almost exclusively off-road and of course it was a lot of fun. Sure we had plenty of range cattle to dodge (when they’re along the road you slow down or stop, and give them the right of way!) and Sandy’s ABS kept acting up (rather, it wouldn’t disable), but no matter, the three of us had fun riding through the hills and choking on a bit of dust. We decided to pass right by camp and went straight into town for a prime rib dinner, a suitable reward after a long day of riding. After dinner we returned to camp to enjoy the evening sipping whiskey and talking about the day’s riding, eventually we all slipped off to bed for some deserved rest.
Me on my KTM riding on NF-6 south of Tenant
August 10, 2008: McCloud > Big Bend > Lakehead > McCloud (Map 1 / Map 2)
Day three started early, I awoke in my tent feeling refreshed and ready to ride some more, luckily Terry and Sandy were in the same mood and so before long we were fed, mounted and on the road. We made a quick stop in McCloud to top up on gas before heading south out of town on Squaw Valley Road, and twisty little road that wound its way down to the damn at the southern end of Lake McCloud. From the dam we continued south on an unnamed dirt road, stopping at a nearby camp ground to take a break along the McCloud River.
McCloud River, the water was ice cold and crystal clear
After our stop at the river we continued south on the unnamed dirt road, bound for the Iron Canyon Resevoir and then on to Big Bend. We rode along the dirt road, it was mostly easy graded stuff but we were occasionally treated to rougher roads and variable terrain along the way to keep it entertaining. We arrived in Big Bend and stopped in the town market’s parking lot to have a rest, the sun was out and it was a warm day and we were in need of some water and snacks.
Terry, me and Sandy stopped somewhere south of Lake McCloud
After our stop in Big Bend, we hit the pavement again heading south, eventually taking Highway 299 to Fenders Ferry Road. We turned on Fenders Ferry and within a few miles saw the sign we were looking for, “Pavement Ends”. We were soon on the dirt again and heading west, deeper and deeper into hills. The entire way we were on roads of varying quality, but the terrain was consistently fantastic. We dodged in and out of the sun and shadows, the shadows being just not quite enough to keep us cool. As we rode we took pit stops in the shade, drinking lots of water along the way, but always with big grins on good vibes.
Me stopped somewhere along Fenders Ferry Road
We continued on, and eventually started to realize that our plan of looping all the way back up to Lake McCloud in the dirt wasn’t going to happen. The afternoon had slowly been slipping away from us and Jack, Terry and Sandy’s son, was due to arrive in town with other friends/relatives. We made a change of plan and followed Fenders Ferry Road all the way to the McCloud arm of Lake Shasta, and specifically to the McCloud Bridge where we found some pavement, Gilman Road (note: Gilman Road from McCloud Bridge to Salt Creek is an incredible road, twisty and fun with a perfect surface!). We zipped our way along Gilman Road back to I-5 North so we could head back to McCloud. Once there we met up with Sandy’s sister and friends (staying separately in McCloud), picked up Jack and went out for some dinner. After dinner we once again returned to our camp to hang out for the night. A fire was built, stories were told and again whiskey was consumed - good times were had by all.
Terry and Sandy in the glow of the camp fire
August 11, 2008: McCloud > Mt. Shasta City > McCloud (Map 1 / Map 2 / Map 3)
Day four started a lot slower than the prior days, we all lounged around camp a bit longer, enjoying an actual breakfast unlike the days before. Eventually it was time for the guys to take off on a ride, it would be me, Terry and Terry’s son Jack, Sandy would hang back for this one. We mounted up and off we went, going east on Widow Springs across NF-31 and on towards Mount Shasta. Eventually the road turned to really soft dirt and Jack took a spill. He was unhurt, but he did decide that he’d had enough of that stuff and wanted to double-back another direction. We did just that, eventually taking a road-side break together before heading back to camp. It was a lot of fun to see Jack ride, he scoots along well, handled his crash and two other close calls (it is the dirt after all!) quite well, good job buddy!
Jack gives a thumbs up after his tumble
After the guys-only ride we returned to camp to have lunch and a visit from Sandy’s sister and friends (the ones who drove Jack up the day before). Once the visitors left we all suited up for another ride, this time Sandy was coming and Jack would ride with Terry as we were riding to Mount Shasta City. The plan was to get all the way there off-road so we once again rode back to NF-31 which we then took all the way into Mount Shasta City. Along the road our sense of “adventure” was nice and bloated when we were passed by a freakin’ Honda Civic driving the other direction! We were all actually a little surprised that he was out there and wonder whether he got out successfully or not. Oh well, it was a great little scoot with Mount Shasta looming above us. We dropped into Mount Shasta City for some ice cream, bought some fresh veggies for dinner at the farmer’s market and then we hopped on Highway 89 to make our way back to McCloud and our camp on Terry and Sandy’s property.
Stopped somewhere along NF-31 to take a break and enjoy the view
By the time we’d gotten back to camp it was already 5:30pm in the afternoon, but Terry and I weren’t done for the day. With Sandy’s blessing, he and I took off for one more ride together. For the third time that day we made our way back to NF-31 and turned the only direction we’d yet to travel, right (we’d gone straight through with Jack in the morning, and to the left with Sandy a bit later). Now that it was just the two of us we were scooting along nicely, enjoying a faster pace on generally good dirt roads. Eventually we came across a bit of a surprise, a stream blocking our way that was running quite high and fast, and that had a lot of large, loose rocks strewn about. At first Terry and I turned back hoping to find an easier crossing elsewhere, but then we stopped and decided to man-up and give it a go! We went back and successfully got our bikes across, going through cold, knee deep water. We giggled with joy at our success!
Me standing in the stream we had to cross
After our water crossing fun we continued on NF-31 until Military Pass Road and NF-19 which we took all the way back to some pavement on NF-13 (all those National Forest roads!). It was another fun stretch of dirt that saw us picking up the pace quite a bit, then slowing down again as it was nearing “deer:30″, the time of day when deer and range cattle are out and about, often in or near the road. After a short break at the intersection with NF-13 we spotted another fire lookout in the distance and wanted to ride to it. We continued east, not exactly sure how to get there and soon decided we weren’t going to find it in a timely fashion. We doubled back and returned to the property after what seemed like a fast two hour ride. That night we enjoyed our first at-camp dinner of the weekend, cheeseburgers off the grill, mine with bacon (mmmmmmm, bacon).
August 12, 2008: McCloud >San Francisco (Map)
Day five, the worst of the lot. I woke up early, I was plenty well rested, it was just a bummer morning as I knew that I’d soon have to hit the road and head home. I took my time packing up my tent and other belongings after we’d had some breakfast (Cheerios and bananas, with coffee). I tried to linger about but soon that drive to get going hit, I had at least 300 miles to get home, more if I wanted to avoid any major highways or interstates. By 11am I was fed, packed and mounted up for the ride home, I fired up the KTM and hit the road.
A parting photo as I leave the Mount Shasta Forest
The ride home was nice enough, although mostly unremarkable. I left heading west on Highway 89 so I could get on I-5 South. I rode I-5 a long way, experiencing the most remarkable part of my ride home: losing the lid to my right side case! As I neared Redding, in my mirror I noticed something flapping in the wind on my right. I turned my head and discovered that the side case lid was gone and my stuff was in danger of flying out. I pulled over, realized the loses were likely minimal and managed to repack things in a secure way. I back-tracked roughly 15 miles to see if I could find the lid but struck out, it either fell off even further back or I just wasn’t able to spot it. Either way I pressed on, a little (ok a lot) pissed off at myself for not securing the lid well enough.
I took I-5 south all the way to Williams where I began heading west towards Clear Lake on Highway 20. I had hoped that the ride would be a fun blast along Highway 20, but those hopes were dashed by a 20 minute wait for construction in the 100 degree heat (and full gear). Yay. We were eventually let through and I rode in the ensuing line of cars until turning south on Highway 53. Highway 53 was also busy with traffic and it too featured a nice delay due to construction. Yay squared. Finally I found myself on Highway 29 where I thoroughly enjoyed the twisty ride up and over the hills before dropping down in Calistoga. From there I took Calistoga Road into Santa Rosa (with a brief tour of Rincon Valley where I grew up), Highway 12 out to Sonoma and then Highways 121 and 37 to get out to Highway 101 south. The final leg of the ride was to take Highway 101 south, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and returning home to my apartment in San Francisco.
My bike after safely returning me home to San Francisco
The ride had covered 4 1/2 days and over 1100 miles, I was dirty and tired, yet somehow ready for more. Oh well, next time… Thanks to Terry, Sandy and Jack for a great weekend!
Ming at the croquet fields, the cache was hidden somewhere in the photo
Ming signs the cache log book
Ming putting the cache back in its hiding spot
Me signing the cache log with a view over SF’s Sunset and Richmond Districts
