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15 days
4050 km / 2531 miles
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This motorcycle trip in September/October
of 2024 was panned as a 2-week trip together with my
wife Jayne.
We didn't have an exact route planned and looked at the
map each night and picked a road towards the next
planned point.
For the second half of our trip we didn't have any plans
at all and were actually a little worried that it would
get boring. It did not, at all. We rode some new to us
roads in Nevada and Idaho, found some nice spots and
enjoyed this part of the trip at least as much as the
first part.
We went on this trip 3-4 weeks later than we usually do
our Fall motorcycle trip. The reason we went so late is
that we were tired of the heat and wildfire smoke. While
it got cold at night, it was the right decision and
we'll likely stick to it going forward.
We rode our motorcycles from Portland, Oregon south and
then east to Christmas Valley. We went further east
through the high deserts of eastern Oregon,
briefly dipping into Nevada, before going north to the Pillars
of Rome and to Leslie Gulch. Further east
through Idaho until we rode south to Jarbidge (not
Jarbridge). Then further south to the Ruby Mountains
in Nevada. From there we rode north again past Boise to
fancy McCall. And on into Oregon to Hells Canyon
and west towards home.
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The best time for such a trip is
probably late September. We still had temperatures in
the upper 80's and even 95 in Nevada, but also some very
cold nights, so don't do this with just a summer
sleeping bag. If you go in Spring you will likely have
similar temperatures, while summer is way too hot.
The road conditions are generally good. Some of
the unpaved road we took will be a mud bath if not
impassable after a rain.
In terms of safety wild animals are probably the
greatest thread (besides other drivers). Not only bears
can be dangerous, but mountain lions and even
raccoons can be dangerous. I always leave my food
in locked aluminum
panniers when camping.
Some people in the remote areas want to stay away from
other people and may be armed. If you respect "No
Trespassing" signs you should be okay.Also keep your
political views for yourself. |
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| Before every extended motorcycle
trip a good checkup of the bikes is important.
For this trip I got us new rear tires,
especially since quite a few dirt and gravel
roads were planned. |
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| The first night of the trip we
camped at the Lava Flow Campground. It's
a tiny, primitive campground (5 sites) at Davis
Lake in the Willamette National Forest and
offers great views of the lake, the surrounding
mountains and of course a lava flow. The ride
down from the road is a bit sandy, but doable. |
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| We headed east on the Oregon
Outback Scenic Byway, which actually is not that
scenic. Then turned off towards Christmas
Valley, which is a very sad, rundown attempt of
a town. From there we went further east and took
Hwy 395 south past the Alkaline Lake
to Lakeview. |
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| From Lakeview we went a little
further east and then up the mountain to Mud
Creek Campground. It's nice, windy road up
and the primitive and free campground is great.
There even is a water pump, but we used the
water only for washing dishes, there were just
too many cows around to trust the water. |
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