My uncle that was into bikes all his life passed away a few months ago. It was decided to spread his ashes where we spread my dad's ashes a couple years ago in Michigan. Seemed like a perfect excuse for the big ride on the CRF I've been wanting to do. And some time off fell into the place. So on May 1st I packed the gear on my little CRF250L and took off east from Sandy Oregon to go meet up with family in Michigan. Crossed into Washington and took highway 14 east and then cut up to Starbuck, WA on 124. There I found a decent camp near the dam on the Snake River. On the way to the first camp. Train rolling by in the night across the Snake River. Up before sunrise and the first official morning coffee of the trip. After that I got on hwy 12 and took that through Idaho. Awesome ride from Kooskia, ID to Lolo, MT. Went north and got on 200. Went up a little ways and bailed up into the national forest and found an okay spot to camp. the end of a road and there were lots of ticks. The next day it was back on 200 up to Great Falls. From there I hopped on 87 up to Havre. There I grabbed some supplies and headed over to the Fresno Reservoir. This was the first awesome camp. A primitive and free BLM campground on the west side of it about in the middle. I was the only person in the whole place. My camp spot had two fire pits, one of which was under water. Camped pretty much right on a gravely beach. Next day I was on the road that would take me most of the way. Hwy 2. I have a bit of a love hate with 2. On one hand there is hardly anyone else on it. On the other there can be some nasty wind and long boring parts. But there is no one on it, get the crampbuster adjusted just right and cruise. Did get to run some of "Old US 2" though. Narrow and gravel. Perfect for Model-T's and CRF's. Went all the way to Williston that day. Looked into a few campgrounds. All closed until the holiday weekend. Decided to just start checking city parks. Now it is dark and I'm blasting down 2 hoping to not be eating venison that night. Swing into Stanley North Dakota. Find a cop. He sets me up in a little park they have for camping. Right under a street light about 50' away from train tracks that had a freight train blasting by about every half hour all night. Well at least there was a shower. Took off in the morning and more hwy 2. On into Minnesota and to the Chippewa NF. There I found another sweet little dispersed campground all to myself on Six Mile Lake. And then back on 2. (This is a pattern, it has ended though, for now) Got to Duluth and knew there would be some city traffic. Very hot and my jacket does not vent all that well. With the dumping of the riding pants for jeans a few states back now off went the jacket to get through town. That turned into going a ways out of town and through Wisconsin with it off. That is now sunburned arms..... Well I've done worse, and they are already calming down. So into Michigan on 2 and then M28 to Bruce Crossing. Then a short hop to Kenton where I picked up some of that gravel I mentioned and now I'm sitting in the rain that just stopped in my tent in a campground that had a sign basically saying that the forest service has abandoned it. But they are not restricting access. And I overheard two hunters saying they saw a pack of wolves in the area today when I was in the local store. Sleeping by train tracks and abandoned campgrounds with wolves. This ride has been pretty awesome so far. And now something is scratching at my tent (I think it is just a frog trying to hop up on it) And something big is walking around just outside camp that I can hear. I'll be sleeping with the bear spray tonight.
Okay. Added photos to the first post and on to more now. Gonna start with a slight rewind. the ghost town of Garnet in Montana. Was a long ride through the snow in some spots to get to it. Nobody but one BLM officer was there. (Sorry about this, the editing would have been a pain to put it in the right spot) Okay back to Michigan. After camp near Bruce Crossing I headed for the bridge. I'll admit I was a bit nervous about it. Long bridge, Might be windy, might get stuck on the 4 miles of steel grating lane (Didn't on the way down, did on the way up). Well there were flashing warning signs for high winds and RVs and trucks should be careful. It was not too bad though. Parked and looking at the Mackinac Bridge. It is bigger than it looks. Crossed the bridge and then on down to the property my dad left me. 9.99 acres in Waters, MI. the taxes are cheap and he had it all set up nice with a nice fire pit on a hill in the middle and such so I'm keeping it as my base camp when I visit MI. The trailer he put up there is a rodent motel now though.... Felt like a selfie at the property. Then one of my "things". Lighting up camps with LEDs. We all gotta have a hobby. After staying a few days at the property I headed down to visit family and such further south. Got a few pics of the traveling and such. Tried to stay well away from main highways. Missing luggage is because I left some stuff at a relative's house at one point and just went light to couch hop and such. The day came for the reason I made the trek. Spreading my uncle's ashes. Same place my dad's were spread and my grandparents on my dad's side. Flows out to the Great Lakes. Was a spot my dad had picked not for him but for my grandparents. When the time came it seemed right for him as well. And my uncle. Tanks are pretty cool. At a VFW in Westland, MI. I actually have a picture of my 4x4 parked by it as well from another trip. Then the wander back up to the property. To be continued........
Back up at the property I decided to grab a pack of sausages and get some use out of the swing out grill my dad built into the firepit. Hung out at the property for a few days again and did laundry and such in town. Then headed back up to that big ass bridge. This time there was zero wind. But repainting meant they had the outer lanes closed. So I got to ride that 4 miles of steel grating. Was not too bad actually. Made my way up through the UP. Ended up getting a room in Marquette and made my plan. The next day I would head up to Copper Harbor and out to the very tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula and find a most awesome camp spot. The UP is awesome. Just about every highway has a snowmobile/atv trail that runs along side it. Guess which one I chose when I could? hehe That is until I had a nasty wreck trying to sneak by a washout at speed my hand still has not recovered from and it blew my fork seals and bent my handlebars. Still rode the CRF home though, and it did it well. Old Quincy Mine ruins near Houghton. At the advice of a local rider I took a loop through Gay, MI. Was some nice roads to ride. and I got to see THE Gay Bar. Next to the city limits sign there was another sign that said to please stop stealing the city name sign. Finally arrived at the end of the road so to speak. After this it was 7.5 miles of primitive road that took an hour to cover. But the camp spot that is as far north as you can ride/drive in MI was worth it. Now we fast forward a bit. There was lots of riding but not much pic wise. Pretty much just tried to stick to the northern shore as much as I could all the way to Wisconsin. Wish I would have taken more picture breaks as the U.P. is beautiful. Guess I was just too busy enjoying it to save a bit to share. Found a lodge called Black River Lodge that charged me $10 for a pretty awesome camp spot that they had a pile of firewood sitting at. Bonus. To be continued.....
So US 2, US 2, US 2. Since I was on a bike I had to straighten the triple clamp on (rides straight as an arrow now though). and my thumb was all jacked up and I could not even push the starter button with it I just kinda made miles. hit up a camp spot at Six Mile Lake again. Camped in a little campground in Rugby, ND. Then made a stop in Minot, ND to find a Co-Op ATM (Love my credit union, most other CUs can be used like they are my own all over the country) and check out the Scandinavian Heritage Park. They have a full sized hand carved replica of a 700 or so year old Viking church there. After that it was on to Glasgow Montana. Just ended up getting a room there. In a very stuck in the 70's motel room...... Should have got a pic. Was still nice though, but that carpet...... and TV that was deeper than it was wide. hehe Did ride a nice road and rescue a turtle from the middle of the road though. Hopefully it still wanted to go int he direction it was facing. Since that is the side i put it on. Then moved on to Great Falls, MT. There I decided that paying out the nose for a KOA was gonna be the thing to do. $40 to set up my tent?! but it was actually really nice. And I had an ADV neighbor (Actually I don't think he is on here, but his GF is). Had a nice Tenere thumper. The next morning I met up with Tewster2 for breakfast. Had a good chat and checked out each others setups. I didn't end up getting a decent pic but he has some in his ride report "Tiny Bike To Alaska 2016" It is always near the top and you should check it out. http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/tiny-bike-to-alaska-2016.1143158/ Headed out from Great Falls. And headed back to Lolo, MT. Got some food and supplies and hopped on hwy 12 for Kooskia. Found a camp spot about halfway and got rained on. Hey it happened so little on the trip that it was fine. And that leaves us with the last pic i took on the trip. Guess as I got back into home turf I stopped getting the camera out at all.... A snail in my last camp. So after that camp I headed into Kooskia and got some breakfast in the form of a burrito at the gas station (I eat well while traveling....) Then the big crazy decision. I got an early enough start that I just ended up riding all the way home to Sandy Oregon. But I did finish it off right. Even though it was cold and looked rainy I went over Lolo Pass from Hood river to Zig Zag rather than around Mt. Hood via hwy 35. Lolo Pass was the first area I started my forest adventures and camping years ago. Figured it right that i finish off my biggest adventure yet with the place it all started. So that is about it. Gotta work on the bike and rebuild the forks after the wreck. Gotta let this thumb heal a bit. Then back on the bike for whatever the next adventure is.
So I can't seem to get youtube to not put some pixels somewhere. So here is the vid. Starts off crossing the bridge at Hood River, OR into Washington. Roads to camp in WA. Hwy 12 in Idaho. the two track to "Tick Camp" in Montana. Then on to the property in Michigan and everything after that is stuff in Michigan to the camp spot at the tip of the Keweenaw peninsula, including the crossing back north on the Mackinac Bridge and then my crash trying to sneak around a washout. The last paved footage is of old Hwy 30 just east of Hood River, OR. Skips big areas of the country but I didn't have the GoPro on while on US 2. Every time I watch it I get to re-live the trip a little.
Well I can't really find a good close up of the bike. But I'll use this pic at the Montana border on the Lolo Pass that is not by my house. Luggage/accessories and what I had in it, what I took. Lets start from the front. OBR ADV Gear fender bag, had a front tube in that. OBR ADV Gear Grip Mitts. Those were awesome when it got cold or rainy. Very rarely did I have to switch from the Aerostitch elk skin roper gloves to my winter gloves. Had my GPS mounted on a Ram mount, SPOT clipped to the cross bar on the handlebars and just resting below the speedometer. Power port with 3 USB ports to power/charge things while riding. Moose Utility ATV tank panniers. I kept my small heavy things up here to help balance the bike. Too roll, chain lube, tire pump, stove fuel. Some other odds and ends. Wolfman Enduro Tank bag. Had my camera, a cloth for cleaning my face shield and other such things in here. Also ran a couple USB cables into it to charge the phone and lantern batteries while riding. Moving to the back, starting from the bottom. OBR ADV Gear Adventure Soft panniers. Love these. The right side was all clothes. Bagged by day in gallon ziplocks. the left side had my old surplus gas mask bag I use for personal care items, bear spray, knife, camp odds and ends. Bottom bag on the rack Dirt Bagz Flat top bag. That had an old blanket and my tent in it. Also usually my pillow. (More on all that later, I'm deleting that bag in the future) I had three tarps with me and really didn't use all of them. I had a small one that fits under the tent perfectly, I'll continue to use that. I had a little bigger one to cover the bike in camp when it rained so I didn't have to drag everything into the tent. then a bigger one to hang out under. I never used that one except once and didn't need to just did because I had it. I'll be deleting that for sure. On top of that was a score. A Bilt Explorer Dry Bag from Cycle Gear. Say what you will about Bilt brand stuff. But for $50 on sale it worked flawlessly. And has its own straps to secure it to the bike. I got the middle size. That bag had my sleeping bag, air mattress, some sweatshirts for around the fire, an MRE in case of emergency, my water purifier and some other odds and ends like a bunch of paracord and such for the tarps. All that has it's own straps to hold it down but then I added a bungee net and some cords across it all for more security and to clip things to it hillbilly style. Clipped to the back is my Goal Zero solar panel with battery pack. Mixed feelings on this. It was awesome when I was at the property in MI. I left things charging while I ran into town and such. But most of the trip it was redundant and most of the way home I actually packed it away. I had my little 12,000mah backup battery for charging my phone and such always charged in the tank bag. And that proved to be enough for in camp charging and such. Hanging off the back was my camera tripod, a Sven Saw (awesome moto camping folding bow saw), my "Kitchen Sink" folding bucket, and a Nalgene bottle that fits my purifier perfectly. I carried most my water in a Camelback but kept that filled out of rivers and such using the bottle and purifier. Oh. And the old racks from my Dirt Bagz panniers I left on. They provided good support for things and a place to put my cable lock and the third leg stand for tire changing I made out of an old telescopic cane. And yes the CRF has a breakable rear subframe. Before the trip I welded extra supports in. Was kind of a pain taking the whole bike apart to do it but worth it for piece of mind, didn't really get pics though..... So what I'd do differently if I did it again. Take less clothes, or take lighter options. I took 3 changes of shirt, underwear, socks. Might still take all the socks/underwear, but a shirt or two less. Might also say screw it and not take the spare pair of jeans. Or look into lighter weight pants. Though admittedly I only wore my riding pants in the cold and rain, so jeans were at least something more than nothing.... I just don't have the budget for fancy high tech clothing, jeans and t-shirt is just how it is with me. Ditch the 3rd tarp, two came in handy, one was just extra bulk to deal with. If I know there is no rain and ground surfaces are gonna be good no tarps or just the under tent one. Leave the solar panel at home. Unless there is a basecamp so to speak, then it is kinda nice to have it charging things in camp. Ditch the blanket. Out of habit I've always taken that old indian blanket with me camping. Time to stop. My bag is way warm enough and I've snow camped in it. Ditch the camp pillow. It is useless. Do want to get an inflatable one though. Smaller packed, actually has some support in use. Ditch that 2nd sweatshirt. With that I can ditch the flat top bag, move the tent into the dry bag and just have the dry bag with my sleeping bag in a dry compression bag on the back. Simpler. And on shorter rides with less need for spare clothing and such ditch the tank panniers and move that stuff to the back. They hit my knees. For tires I ran a Shinko 705 on the rear and a Shinko 244 on the front. Lasted the whole trip which was 6,194 miles. Liked that combo, felt pretty balanced in the dirt and on pavement.
What an amazing trip...I've got big plans for the ol' CRF250L. You've just given me more inspiration!
The reason for the trip was a sad one for sure, but what a great set of memories of the event, the photos and video are excellent, thanks for sharing ( I must plan a road trip here in the UK )
Thanks for sharing your story and the great pics. I'll be referring back to this as I get more into taking trips. My condolences on your loss. Hope the trip helped bring some closure.
Very nice write up, good pictures also. I've run lots of the same roads from the UP to the coast but on my ST 1300, just getting back into dualsport riding.
Just came acrossed your write-up and LOVE it..... Fairly new to this bike, nice to see it put thru the paces,,, well done!!! Thanx for the post,,,, fun huh? )
