I’ve been waiting what seems like forever to do this route. We went to the Premiere in Sacramento and then I even went to the showing at my local KTM Dealer too!
In our text thread we had finally zero’d in an a date that would work for ‘most’ of us. On Friday, October 4th, 2024 Kyle would ride up from Monterey and meet me at Mike T’s house in Pleasanton. Charles would be getting a late start but meet us at camp at Wild Willy’s Hot Spring (Charles suggestion). Seth couldn’t get away that date but would meet us when we crossed over to the Western side of the Sierras.
START MILES: 22,093
DAY 0 – Home to Wild Willy’s
I call this Day 0 because this was a full day of just getting to the start. Kyle and I met up at Mike T’s house on time and we headed east. We zig zagged through the central valley on rural roads as Mike doesn’t like Freeways. I had forgotten to turn on my Garmin InReach until somewhere above Oakdale so that’s where my tracking starts.
We went up and over Patterson Pass into Tracy, Manteca, Ripon, Riverbank, Oakdale and finally up and over the pass on Hwy 108 then down Hwy 395 to Wild Willy’s. My guess is about a 275 miles day – almost all on pavement.
The Hot Springs had somewhat dispersed camping and because we were assuming Charles was going to make it, we picked one of the first campsites along the road. We headed down to the hot springs next as it was warm enough of a day still. The hot springs were small and au natural – not as in naked people, they just were not refined. You were sitting in a moss covered separation in the rocks on a bed of maybe gravel. It was a stark difference from Saline Springs – where they are tiled and cleaned daily with bleach.
Kyle and I found a spot, talked to a bunch of very nice people. I think a sea urchin bit my balls.
Charles sent a text saying that he had been caught up at work and might leave in the morning and catch up to us where he could. We then went back to camp, cooked a little dinner, sat around and talked for a bit and then tried to get some sleep. No fires allowed in this area.
The sunset and dusk was fabulous! I just love the desert!
The stars were out and the milky way was so bright. Kyle took both of these incredible shots.
CAMPGROUND RATING
Sleep at Wild Willy’s wasn’t the best. Cars coming down the gravel road at all hours of the night, people literally having the most mundane conversations just feet from our tent (at 4 am!) and so many other things. The Springs were hot, but that was about all – not my favorite. I’ll give them 2 stars. Although Kyle did say he saw one boob – so maybe it should be 2 1/2 stars – at best*
* admittedly, had we not chosen the very first campsite on the road thinking that would be best for a late arriving Charles, we could have gotten out and away from cars and annoying people.
WAIT, SO WHAT IS IT?
Just a side bar of sorts.
What is the preferred acronym or hashtag of the Northern California Backcountry Discovery Route? Seriously. The url of the page on their site is https://ridebdr.com/cabdr-north/ so would that suggest it should be called CABDRNorth? Oregon is ORBDR, Washington is WABDR, Colorado is COBDR… The marketing person in me wants there to be a rule, or a consensus, or at least a suggestion but there is nothing.
Hashtags started on Twitter back in the days when character counts really mattered (140 max) – so the shorter and more concise the better.
If we follow along with the other states and CA has their two routes, might I suggest that we use the common root of CABDR with an N or S at the beginning to denote the northern or southern routes? So we would have the SCABDR and the NCABDR, right?
Why not just NCBDR? -Maybe that would interfere with an upcoming BDR in North Carolina.
Right now on Instagram
- #CABDRNorth has 22 posts
- #NORCALBDR has 290 posts
- Yet, my excellent idea of #NCABDR has zero
I think that the organization should take the first step when they launch the routes and dictate what the preferred hashtag should be. Just my opinion.
DAY 1 – Mammoth to Bridgeport
Mike T and I woke up at our usual early times. It was cold but not too cold. We made coffee, breakfast and then packed up. It was a short 30 minutes to the start of the NOR CA BDR and my tracking says that we started right at 9:00 AM.
All packed up, we rode into the town of Mammoth for gas and to start the #NCABDR (see how easy that is?). We pulled into a gas station and as I was pulling my gloves off when suddenly I couldn’t straighten the pointer finger on my left hand. It was solidly bent in a 90 degree angle. I showed the guys and after a few minutes it relaxed and functioned normally – phew!
Looking it up on Google, the Mayo Clinic says…
Trigger finger happens when the tendon that controls that finger can’t glide smoothly in the sheath that surrounds it. This may occur if part of the tendon sheath becomes swollen or if a small lump forms on the tendon. The condition is most common in women over the age of 50. You may be at higher risk of trigger finger if you have diabetes, low thyroid function or rheumatoid arthritis.
So apparently I am now a 50+ year old diabetic woman with arthritis.
Why did it happen? I’ll go with factor #1, Bob!
Gassed up we headed up the hill to the Minaret Vista (9,265’) where we took a quick picture. As we were leaving there looked to be another group of bikes that was pulling as we were leaving. They were larger bikes and we were going to do all the hard sections so I didn’t think we would see them again.
Starting back down the hill we turned left onto the first hard section. It really wasn’t hard, just gravel two track with deeply cut grooves from side by sides. The hard part is that Mammoth had closed off a bunch of these trails so we had to figure out a way around as best we could. I had ridden a bunch of these trails with Tomm back on a trip to Moab a few years earlier.
Obsidian Dome / Mound
Near Hwy 395 we turned west and headed up alongside Obsidian Dome. I’ve been trying to get more into vertical video mainly for IG. Here’s a short version with Kyle.
Once to the top we circled around the dome and back across Hwy 395 on Bald Mountain Road hitting the next hard section (Old Railroad) that led up to Hwy 120 and Mono Mills. The gravel / sand along here was deep.
I got a text from Charles who said he was waiting for us at the end of the sand pit we were in.
And just like that a few minutes later we were all together! Well, the four of us.
We took a quick break in the shade and then started on the two track that comes close to the lake. It’s a big gravel road in some parts, a little two track trail in others. It also had the deepest water crossing on the route.
We all made it through, just some of us were a a little drier than the others.
From there it was up to the ghost town of Bodie where there’s really supposed to be real ghosts. We decided that the day was getting late (it was 2:30 PM) and the sun was getting low behind the sierras. We skipped touring the town and climbed up and out of the valley towards our night’s destination of Bridgeport.
Mike T and Charles had zoomed ahead and Kyle and I were riding together. The landscapes here were just amazing and vast. There was some weather coming in and we had a few sprinkles here and there. If you squint your eyes you can see that faint little trail we came down in the top left.
Somehow Mike T and Charles got too far ahead and we lost sight of them. We ended up catching them when they realized and pulled off to wait for us. Back in a group we all headed into the Town of Bridgeport.
There was no organized campsites in Bridgeport so we headed just a few miles out of town and found an abandoned and bermed up fire road that led away from the freeway and found a decent place to camp near a small stream.
Getting to camp was not without incident.
But once there – we were good!
Unlike camping at Wild Willy’s there would be no chance of people talking just outside of our tents. We made camp and then decided to head into Bridgeport for dinner. We found a place called Jollys – a little walk up with a few picnic tables and had a good meal. Double Bacon Cheeseburger and Fries. We stopped at a gas station on the way out of town and picked up a few ‘camp’ beers.
CAMPGROUND RATING
Absolutely Fabulous! I really dig camping in the wild when it works out like this. This was a small little trail that looked like it used to be a forest service road. From the road it looked like this and we bushwacked the bikes up to the left (green arrow):
Just around the corner we came across a flat section that was perfect for a couple of tents.
On Gaia it even looks like it’s a service road.
No fires allowed in the area at the time. If not we could have built a rager with all the wood laying around. There was a little sound from the highway from big trucks but not at all bad. We could have pushed it in deeper up the hill and found quieter if we liked. The ground was soft with tons of pine needles and so I think we all had an excellent night sleep.
If you need it, the GPS Coordinates are 38.289343, -119.306468
DAY 2 – Bridgeport to Bear Valley
We woke up in the morning – breakfast, coffee, packed up and then headed back out to the freeway. No, I did not drop the bike again. Look at me putting those TwinPegs to work!
Back on the bike, full of gas, we were back on the trail. We quickly turned off of the paved highway and started on the next section
SWEETWATER LOOP / MT. PATTERSON (HARD)
This section climbed and climbed and along the way we found many wonderful places to camp. It was the start of deer hunting season and we saw quite a few people out there. It’s the beginning of fall and the colors were amazing.
Even though we were climbing and climbing, I was amazed that there were some pretty water crossings along the way too!
Suddenly it seemed, we were out of the Aspens and at the start to the big Mt Patterson Hill Climb and let me say that it is every bit intimidating as the pictures and video make it out to be. It’s just an endless pile of shale and rocks and goes up and up and up.
Once at the top we took pictures and then tried to sign the book. The ammo can had no book, just a stack of post it notes that someone probably left and it was filled too. Luckily I had brought a small spiral note pad and so I donated it as the next book. The four of us filled the first page, packed up and headed down the hill.
It was Charles that pushed us to do this and it was breathtaking to say the least. I highly recommend it! Don’t skip it!
Once we were all down the hill….
It was on towards CARTWHEEL HILL.
Don’t worry where it is… You’ll know it when you get there. This short little section is the price you pay for that epic climb up Mt. Patterson.
From the bottom it looks like this:
That gravel looking path isn’t gravel but very large rocks. And that path isn’t flat down the fall line. It’s very much angled and while you are trying your hardest to stay in the dirt (left of the path in the picture) the angle will keep sucking you towards the rocks. Once you are in the rocks, you are pretty much stuck doing the hard enduro thing over these mini boulders to the bottom. That’s exactly what happened to me. You can see there’s a side by side track to either side – that would be the best way down. Cartwheel Hill is no joke.
From there it was back to Hwy 395, North just a bit to Hwy 89, up and over to (Ebbetts Pass) and down Hwy 4 into Bear Valley.
Pulling in to Bear Valley we stopped at the first store/gas station. We heard there was a pizza place in town but we would have to wait a few hours for it to open so we headed down the road, found a nice campsite and set up the tents.
Then we went back to Bear Valley for Pizza. Amazingly, we found the place closed. The only food in ‘town’ was in the general store where we met Patricia. She had recently taken over the pizza place, the pub and the general store but this being the off season – she couldn’t find enough staff for some nights. She did have a microwave and plenty of items in the freezer. I chose a couple packs of frozen enchiladas and a beer. She had just a few tables to sit at and since we were the only people in town there was no problem.
After dinner, we headed back to camp. We were able to set up a good campfire and we sat around talking for a while. I did buy an extra ‘camp’ beer at the general store.
Another great night camping!
CAMPGROUND RATING
We were on the BDR route, just down from Bear Valley and it was somewhat of a large staging area for hunters and side by sides. There were a handful of spots in a circle. It was nice that we were in the trees. Campsites had a single picnic table for each – but most were broken. No bear boxes, no pit toilets, but then again no fees so that was good.
The only fire ring was out in the center of the circle and we took full advantage of it. Plenty of wood laying around. Pine needles for tent sites made for great sleeping. It was off season and so we had a very quiet night. No water – at least that we saw. The road in was dusty gravel washboard that we could see had a high probability of oncoming traffic. You could see the flat tracking SxS tracks going around corners. This was a solid 4 stars once you got to camp.
GPS Coordinates are 38.44223, -120.14677
DAY 3 – Bear Valley to French Meadows Reservoir
Since we had found a campsite along the trail (horse gulch campground), we were very quick in the morning to get back on it. My tracking suggests it was around 8:00 in the morning. I have traveled extensively in this area and I love the forest roads.
The first item up on the list was the potential road closure and long work around. I had it in my trail notes
When we got to the turn, we saw no closures so we thought let’s give it a try.
We ended up going down a dirt two track for about a mile and then came to a single sign from Sierra Pacific (they own most all of the trees in the Sierras) saying the road was closed due to fire danger. We thought about it, but decided to be good citizens so we backtracked to the paved temporary bypass.
It wasn’t the worst thing. We connected with Hwy 88 and head up for maybe 10 miles before getting back on to trails and heading up to Leek Springs Lookout.
LEEK SPRINGS LOOKOUT
Elevation 7,621
It was an easy climb up but the views were amazing.
This is a working lookout. We talked to the guy that was there for a while. He said he wasn’t the usual caretaker as the woman who was generally there had called in sick. It’s pretty much self contained.
We got back on the trail and headed up to Kyburz (the end of Section 3) looking to meet up with our #5 – Seth. So far we had matched the Sections with the Days completing Section 1 on Day 1, Section 2 on Day 2, but today we were on the move. I suggested a great campground at French Meadows Reservoir as our stopping point.
We had a quick bite to eat at Kyburz gas station then got a text from Seth that he was waiting for us just up the road.
Leaving Hwy 88 we head up up a trail that was part of the historic Pony Express Trail. In a short time we hit pavement again, turning up Ice House Road. It has a lot of turns and the road was recently repaved. We came around a corner and there was Seth – so he joined right in.
It was also here that I started to notice that I seemed to be having a little clutch slippage. I’d gas it coming out of some of the turns and it just wasn’t hooking up as I would have liked.
We stopped at Uncle Toms Cabin. It’s featured in the video and so the guys wanted to see it. I’ve been there a few times before. As a side note I keep hearing that the NORCALBDR includes part of the Rubicon – that’s not at all true. We were in the general vicinity, but it terminates miles away at Loon Lake just off this map. I’ve ridden a moto on part of that. It’s not bike friendly.
There was nobody at Uncle Toms – not a single sole. We stopped for a break and did take a few pictures. Does it warrant a full album of pics? Not at all but we seemed to take quite a few.
Back on the bikes again we headed up towards Hell Hole and French Meadows Reservoirs. I had ridden this road quite a few times and thought I knew right where we were going. Amazingly the route took a turn that I didn’t know about and we were treated to some great views up above Hell Hole before descending down into French Meadows. Thank you BDR for the surprise!
In French Meadows we found the campsite empty except for the RV of the Camp Host and even he wasn’t there. I think we all made it down into the water
I have camped here quite a few times and I’ve never seen it empty. It was the end of a great day of riding and we took advantage of it.
The sunset was so dramatic, this picture doesn’t come close to doing it justice.
We had a great fire too! There’s a lot of grey hair in that pic.
CAMPGROUND RATING
I have stayed at this campground (or the one across the lake) quite a few times. It’s one of my favorites. Even when it’s been busy it’s always been quiet. There’s usually a camp host, nice picnic tables, fire rings, firewood on the ground, water and pit toilets, and for the first time this trip – bear boxes!
Site 49 at the main campground is the one you want. You’ll have an excellent view of the setting sun on the lake. If the main campground is taken, the other side has Lewis Campground and it’s very nice too!
As I said earlier, we were the only one’s there that night and there wasn’t even a camp host.
GPS Coordinates are 39.11402, -120.42475
DAY 4 – French Meadows to ?
Spoiler Alert: For me it was “French Meadows to Home”. Kyle came with me, while the others continued on the trail.
In the morning it was up to Soda Springs via Mosquito Ridge – another of the trails I had done quite a few times before. I had told everyone about my clutch slipping and so I was watching it closely and going slow. I thought I could certainly make it to Soda Springs.
I love this pic that Mike took of Charles. Elbows up and on the gas. You can see the speed in his posture.
Meanwhile I was nursing the clutch more and more. I was starting to think I might not make it to town.
Long story short, I did make it into town. We stopped at a store and had a brisket sandwich that the counter person swore was a sell out every time they had it. It was just mid at best.
Kyle was having arm pump issues and was thinking about heading home. He wasn’t going the full way with us anyway. Kyle and I rode into Truckee to Truckee Powersports Supply to get a little bit of clutch fluid and see if we could fix it. If that didn’t help we could both head home. We bled it but that didn’t help.
I texted Tomm about my clutch and he asked if he should come up with the trailer. I said yes that would be great. I also said that I would start heading down Hwy 80 towards him as far as I could go and shorten the trip.
I had Kyle as my wing man and the worst thing that would happen is that we’d be stuck for a few hours on the side of the road waiting. As luck would have it we made it all the way to Auburn! We pulled off and stopped at a Pie place called Ikedas that’s been a roadside Icon for years. I remember Ernie liked to stop there. Kyle and I had a burger and fries while we waited.
Tomm pulled up with the Sprinter and Trailer. We loaded everything and headed back home. On the way I had the idea to create a shirt and came up with Tomm’s BDR Rescue and Recovery Service.
This was Tuesday, October 8th, 2024 and I was just 5 days in to the trip. Mike T, Charles and Seth continued on the route doing Verdi Peak and camping at Weber Lake (down Henness Pass) but that’s their story, not mine.
Other Spoiler Alert: Seth headed back home the following day as scheduled – that was all he had time for. Mike T and Charles went on to finish the entire route! Great Job Guys!
At home we took off my side cover and carefully dismantled the clutch pack. I was running a Rekluse Manual (not auto) Clutch which had almost double the discs. We found that the outer discs were perfectly fine and the inner discs (ones in the center of the stack) were worn down to nothing. I looked it up and I had 8,586 miles on the clutch.
Here’s what the outer discs looked like. You can see there’s a nice friction pad there.
And here’s what the inner friction pads (as in center of the stack) looked like. My camera chose to focus on the vise but you can see there’s absolutely no ridge of friction pad left.
I called Rekluse directly and talked to Tony. I told them what we were seeing. Unprompted, he asked if I had been lugging it? Kind of a weird question, right? He said they found that if you lug the bike a lot it starves the inner friction discs of oil and then this could happen. He said they like to say “Lugging is for Losers!“. He sent me an email with pricing for what I might need to get the bike back together.
I loved the clutch when it was working. The thing is, I lug it a lot. I am always riding sweep and so I’m always going to be going as slow as the slowest guy – always. For that reason I decided to go back to stock.
I ordered all new parts and had them in a few days. I put the bike back together and it’s was working great again!
Oh, no. Wait! I forgot that in changing the oil I stripped out one of my oil filter bolts.
It was always weak and I shuddered every time I tightened it – this time it let go.
I ordered a Helicoil overnight from Amazon. It’s an M5 Bolt. I tried my local hardware store and they had ZERO helicoils. It’s amazing what Amazon brings to the table.
I drilled out the old being careful not to drill too deep. Charles apparently made that mistake and warned me.
Next, I inserted the Helicoil with red lock tight and let that set overnight. While I was in there I figured the other bolt was weak too so I did that one as well.
Now, the bike was back to running!
ENDING MILES: 22,972
Started at 22,093 so that means I traveled 879 miles on this leg of the trip. I also looked at the cost of gas for this and it was $98.54 for just gas. We did not stay in any motels and as luck would have it we didn’t have to pay for camping at the three places we camped. We did buy a bunch of meals along the way though. Not counting the travel time to and from, I’m going to say I spent 3.5 days on the BDR so far…
He's an avid hockey fan, rides a mountain bike, sometimes rides a road bike, has a few motorcycles (he had a really fast one, had a big cool orange one, rode a really slow one, and is currently building a perfect "BDR Weapon"). If that isn't enough, he makes cheese and sourdough bread, loves strong beer and good red wine, and poorly plays the Mandolin.
- PRE LAB2V Prep - November 11, 2024
- The NORCAL BDR (part 3) - October 29, 2024
- The NORCAL BDR (part 2) - October 21, 2024