Every year a group of us guys get a chance to leave work, family, and worries behind for a day and kick it with a number of other dudes needing a getaway and guy-time (that's what my wifey calls it...). We find a remote location so's not to upset the locals and set up our town of tents, trailers, and mobile homes. The point is to let loose and not think too much about anything except where the next beer is coming from and how long it will be until cookie calls for for chowtime. In the past, there may have been a lot of fire...and jumping of flames...and even a little shooting. This year proved to be a little more tame than the few I've been to, which I attribute to the maturity increasing due to a bit of aging as well as the addition of of ankle-biters and better-halves to our lives.
We all arrived Friday night, set up camp, and mowed down on burgers and brats for dinner. I would like to throw an 'atta-boy' out to Shawn, the camp cook. He's a staple of this event and makes the experience even better with the amazing food he prepares. A full man is a happy man... It was also great of him to bring the first night's entertainment. His son, who is a freshman Engineering student attending WSU, just happened to be a little lippy that first night and found himself being taped up by the fire. I had just missed it by heading to bed earlier, but also hear tell he managed to kick his own ass by tripping over a log and kissing mother earth...hard. The scar I saw on his face the next morning would prove this is not just rumor.
Okay, let's get to the pics... Andrew knows the area pretty well so he lead us up Arid Peak trail.
The first section revealed a pretty good little creek crossing that proved to be a bit of a challenge. Kurt managed to find the only boulder under the water and dumped it, and the technical rocky exit managed to get a number of riders snotted up. The wetter the rocks got the trickier it became. Hobbit Scotty (picture explanation to follow) had to turn back due to a faulty clutch, and ended up breaking a chain on the main road. We all felt for him, but it's a damn good thing he ended up turning back. This would have been brutal getting a bike out of without a chain. The rest of the ride to the peak was quite a climb with tight switchbacks and steep technical sections that required a recipe of momentum and 'hold on tight!'. I have NEVER had the trusty 200 spew coolant, but it did on this climb. I wasn't the only one though...there were quite a few of us on 'team steam' during the climb...
This is what some of the trail looked like...this is the kind of trail I really enjoy. Not too rocky and pretty to boot. I mean, don't that look great? Aside from the major dust we were eating all day this was as good as it got...
This is gnarly. Rocky, steep, and with nowhere to fall but to the right. The whole time I was trying not to look to the left which was steep and without foliage to break a fall. See that large pointy rock that says 'no way, buddy'? Yeah, I hit that damn thing straight on, unexpectedly popped a wheelie, and went exactly where I shouldn't have been looking. A quick hop off the bike managed to keep the bike a few feet down the hill and me only a few meters further. Five minutes later Jesse rolled back down to find a tired Phil on the trail again and gasping for air. I made it though...I always do...
...and it was well worth it. What a view. The fires around the area made these shots hazy...you'll see the haze in all the landscape pics.
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| Yes, there's a trail here...see on the left? |
At the peak, we found ourselves in what can only be described as a damned boulder field. Jackson went down hard here and managed to loose his fancy gas-cap breather tube thingy, so he was dipping his netheregions in gas most of the way down...
Well, this is the nicest part of the ride...the exit. That little sign to the left states that this trail is a 'one-way only' trail. You do NOT....nay, you CANNOT go UP this trail! It is too steep, with step-ups that are just too big to make it up. It was brutal enough coming DOWN the trail.
I have found that there are two types of trails for me: Check-off trails and nice trails. Nice trails are pretty self-explanatory. Check-off trails are the ones that I can say 'been there, done that, got the T-shirt' and will never do again. I can seriously say Arid Peak is a Check-Off trail. I didn't get the T-shirt but that's okay...
Here's the GPS details of the loop we did:
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| 3100 feet in 5 miles up, 3100 feet in 4 miles down |
Back at camp the beer was cold and the sammiches were great. I was pooped and was ready to call it a day, but then word was spreading about a ride up to She-foot and I managed to convince myself I had it in me for one more ride. Unfortunately, we went up 'Long Liz' - the same tight 'Check-off' trail I had done last year with Jason which had some of the tightest switchbacks I've seen. This year was no exception, except the first section had been groomed the day before which left two inches of fine dust powder.
It's a good climb, but again...what a view. Again, a few of us were part of 'team steam' up this trail. We continued on to meet up with the rest of the B-course jokers at the Shefoot lookout...
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| Frank, me, Kymn, and Jason taking in the sights |
The riding had taken it out of me and I was ready to crash, so instead of going down 'Big Dick' (that's the trail name, for reals) I went back on the road with Kymn, Frank, Scotty, and Russ. I'm glad I did too, or I wouldn't have seen this view...
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| Nice pic, Kymn |
Here are the GPS details of the Shefoot ride:
So now for some honorable mentions....
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| Trail Boss 'B Course' |
This is Kymn 'B-Course Trail Boss'. For those who don't know, dirt riding is typically split into three levels: A, B, and C. A-course consists of single track, B-course is mainly 2-track and dirt roads, and C-course is dirt-roads and highway. We don't screw around with that C-crap, but Kymn is a badass b-course man...
This dude givin' the stank eye is Jason...he pretty much puts together this shindig. Getting Cookie to cook for us, doing the shoppin', and setting location...he's the man. Thanks Jason! He also brought his dad on this trip. It really explained a lot...
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| Ummmmm |
I don't know what to say, except this is Scotty. He's a goofy little dude that just so happens to look a bit like a hobbit here, so I thought it deserved a spot!
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| B-course boys: Darth Frank, Ray, (Ryan's Ukranian friend who's name escapes me right now), and Russ |
It wouldn't be a real man camp without a few shenanigans.... sticker for Franks truck...
Jason's dad and Kurt, the only guys in camp with long hair...Kurt got the shnazzy nose and glasses from the 'grab bag' that evening. Jessee was really gettin' after those cheeze puffs...I'm pretty sure he ate the majority of them.
A noteworthy shout-out to Jason's dad...what can I say...I think he surprised us all and told us some stories that we will unfortunately never forget!
Until next year...
