Spring in Death Valley - Jim Smith

Well, once again it appears that no one in CA2Q has been doing any riding, or at least they haven't ridden and written it up so, I'll enlighten you all with my ride with the Pashnit'rs into Death Valley ; February 21, 22, 23, 24. Reading and participating in on line forums is a fun way to gain knowledge and view different perspectives on a large variety of subjects. I enjoy reading and participating in several Motorcycle forums, one of which is www.pashnit.com . I know most all of the readers of this newsletter are very familiar with pashnit, but if you are not, it is a premier Motorcycling site that documents California Roads. The forum is a place where folks share ride experiences, photo's, and make plans for future group rides. This is how I discovered that a large group of Southern California riders were getting together in Bakersfield and riding over Walker Pass , via Trona and into Death Valley . I've only been on a few non GWRRA Group rides before and figured ‘what the heck, it should be fun', so I signed up to ride along with them. I'm planning a very long ride this summer and am planning on camping as often as I can, so I really wanted to check out my camping ability – and comfort before committing to 40 days of it this summer. This ride seemed like a perfect time to do just that.

I rode down on the 20 th and spent the night in Bakersfield at the Best Western, had another excellent meal at Buck Owens' Crystal Palace , turned in early and slept soundly in my king sized bed. We were to meet up at the Cheveron station at the corner of 178 and Kern Canyon Road at 9:00. I got there at 8:40 and was the second bike there. By 9:00 there were about 20 of us. I had expected us to split into smaller groups, but nope – we all rode together up the Kern Canyon . Luckily there was very little traffic, and the ride was quite spirited. Matt, the organizer, insisted during the very brief ride meeting that we were all grown up and were to ‘ride our own ride' – which we did. The ride up the canyon and into Lake Isabella was pretty quick and quite cool. Cool enough that I was glad I had my Gerbings on. As we wound our way over Walker Pass it spit a little bit of snow at us, but not enough to be of any concern. The peaks all had a light dusting of the white stuff, and an occasional patch alongside the road. We arrived in Ridgecrest about 11:15 and met the rest of the group, we were now well over 30 bikes. After the short stop in Ridgecrest we headed out toward Trona. With that many bikes it felt a bit like I was in a parade. We certainly got some looks from the townspeople as we negotiated our way out of town. The funny thing is that when we got to Trona the gas station guy didn't even bat an eye as we all lined up to fill our tanks. Must be an everyday happening! The ride into the Panamint Valley was really beautiful; I wish we could have stopped to enjoy the view, but, these riders were much more interested in blasting through the curves. We did stop finally at the Death Valley Sign for a photo op, it was a pretty amazing site seeing that many bikes crowded around that sign. We finally turned right onto 190 and headed into Stovepipe Wells. The restaurant at Stovepipe was packed so we decided to go onto Furnace Creek and get checked in and eat there. While the rest of the folks were standing in line for food I went to the Campgrounds and got checked in and then found my campsite.

By the time I had the tent set up (20 Minutes), the air mattress blown up (10 minutes), sleeping bag unrolled and pillow placed I was too late for lunch. Oh well. As I pulled back into the Furnace Creek Parking lot they were pulling out and heading to Badwater. I followed. After the obligatory group photo at the Badwater Sign I said my farewells to the folks explaining that I had my own agenda for the rest of the weekend. I departed Badwater and rode back to Furnace Creek and grabbed some dinner then went to the general store and picked up some Ice and Firewood. Once back at the Campsite the sun quickly set and the temperature cooled equally as quickly. It was then that I discovered that I had neglected to pack matches, or a lighter, nor did I remember to bring my hatchet to make kindling, so, no fire for me tonight. I crawled into my sleeping bag at 8:30 and tried to sleep. I don't recall when I finally did fall asleep, but I do know that 6:00 AM rolled around awfully fast.

Sunday morning got me up and out early. The first stop of the day was Zabriski Point followed by the Ubehebe crater, where I did manage to hike up to the top and view the “little hebe creater”. I was very impressed with the views on the hike up to the top, and someday want to take the hike completely around the crater, which, I understand takes a little more than an hour to do. I can say that just getting up to the top in full riding gear was quite a challenge. The cool morning air sure helped keeping me cooled down from the exertion.

Riding back to camp I thought about making a visit to Rhyolyte again, but decided against it, instead I rode up to Dantes View. By the time I got up there (I had to stop for some lunch), it was late mid afternoon and the lighting was really spectacular. You could actually see the Amargosa River (It has been raining there the last couple of weeks). Pretty amazing! I'm glad I made the ride to the top. Next stop was the Artist Drive . This road was just opened after being closed for over a week because of flood damage. Not too many people were up there, I'm guessing becauseby this time the clouds had moved in and the resulting light was pretty poor, but I decided to take a few shots anyway. The day closed with me back at the Ranch for yet another hamburger followed by a fire in my fire pit. Yes, I did stop by the General Store and picked up some paper and a lighter and managed to gather enough small kindling that getting the fire started was a breeze. I crawled into my sleeping bag about 10:00 and promptly fell asleep.

Monday I was up early and packing up the camp. I discovered that my new tent, while very spacious, is a major pain to fold and roll up . It took nearly an hour to break the camp down and get it all loaded back into the trailer. I'm hoping I can figure out a way to get that done faster, as taking a whole hour each day of my upcoming 40 days of camping can put a real crimp in my planning. Today I was leaving the valley and heading South, through the Mojave National Preserve and into Amboy, and eventually into Twentynine Palms. Badwater road eventually turns into 178 at the edge of the park and eventually intersects with 127 just a mile north of Shoshone. Eventually 127 will lead me into Baker where I stopped long enough for some overpriced gas, and some equally overpriced food at the Mad Greek's.

I had never ridden through the Mojave National Preserve before and now that I've done it once can say two things about it – one is that it's the most direct way from Death Valley into Twentynine Palms and the second is that there is no reason other than reason number one to ride through this road again. The little burg of Amboy sports a gas station with restrooms, a motel straight out of the early 60's, and a coffee shop that does not appear to have a kitchen attached to it (But hey, maybe there was a door that I missed… somewhere). Sights in the area?? The Amboy Crater, and the largest naturally occurring calcium chloride deposits in the states. I arrived in Twentynine Palms in the early afternoon and checked into the Best Western.. Camping those two days in Death Valley without shower facilities made taking one my first order of business upon getting into my room. I got cleaned up and walked 1 ¼ miles down to the Rib Co. for some desert BarBQue. Good stuff, ½ rack of house rub ribs, 2 sides and a beer, all for about 23 bucks. Yeah, it's a little pricey, but where else is there to go?

Tuesday I made my annual sojourn through Joshua Tree National Park. This time I took a bit more time that I usually do in the Northern end of the park. I've been fascinated with the way some of these trees have weathered fires that ravaged the park in the 90's. Some trees survived, but are naked of the shaggy bark, while others didn't fare so well, and still others are new growth. Lynda and I watched a tv show after I got back about Joshua Trees. I never knew why they grew the way they do – with all of the limbs going all different directions. Seems that there is boring beetle that is one of the culprits. The other interesting thing I didn't realize about this park was that fallen trees house the world's smallest reptile – the Desert Night Lizard. By early afternoon I was on the road again, heading home. I made it to Bakersfield by late afternoon and decided to stay the night yet again at the Best Western. I made it home by 2:00 on Wednesday – after a 1200 mile desert adventure.

Note - à As the newsletter editor I am ALWAYS looking for content we can share with our membership and readers, Please, if you take a ride, won't you take a couple of minutes and document it for us? Pictures and words are all good J