Sunday, February 2, 2014

Snotgun Creek OHV

According to the Oregonian: Seventy-five percent of the state is in severe drought, with another 24 percent in moderate drought and about 1 percent in extreme drought, according the U.S. Drought Monitor.

I beg to differ, as the mud and slime we experienced yesterday definitely proves otherwise.


Polar Bear offered to haul me and our bikes out to Shotgun Creek OHV area for an afternoon of trail riding. 

 I'd never been to Shotgun Creek and despite hearing conflicting stories of the trails I decided to give it a go. 


http://mypubliclands.tumblr.com/post/48787124528/shotgun-creek-the-shotgun-ohv-trail-system-and

One of the stories I have heard from a very experienced KLR650 rider and friend is that they call it Snotgun Creek for a reason, it is slicker than snot. I've also heard from coworkers that it is quite technical and I've heard mutterings of a rock garden.  We did not attempt this.




http://mypubliclands.tumblr.com/post/48787124528/shotgun-creek-the-shotgun-ohv-trail-system-and


Well then... Never Let Fear and Common Sense Stand in Your Way (NLF&CSSIYW!)


We unloaded the bikes and I proceeded to watch Andy disassemble his bike trying to track down an elusive spark issue. Evidently it was a faulty kill switch button, so with a snip of the wires it wasn't long before we were gearing up and off in search of some trails. 


We parked at the lower Crooked Staging Area under Andy's advisement that it is easier to roll a disabled bike downhill than it is to push it uphill back to the truck. That doesn't bode well, does it? We headed up an easy green run; much like ski mountain runs, offroad trails are designated by levels of difficulty from green to blue to black. Trail 26 starts off green then turns into Trail 22 which is a blue trail or "moderately difficult".


This is not my video, I found it online, but it is of the trail we took from the staging area. 




Thanks and recognition to liv2day00 for the youtube video! 

With a dualsport bike on DOT tires in February, I was definitely "broadening" my experience level.  As the trail transitioned from 26 to 22 and green to blue, the grade also transitioned from an easy climb to a much more challenging endeavor. The mud is a reddish, pottery clay consistency and the trail is heavily rutted which grabs your front wheel preventing you from maintaining any control of your bike whatsoever.

Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way as my front wheel climbed out of a rut then was pulled right back in, throwing me to the ground in an instant. As I hit the ground on my left side, something in my chest popped. Ahhh yes, that familiar feeling of an old injury from remodeling where I suspect I pulled a chest muscle or ligament. I picked up the XT, took a deep breath, assessed that nothing was broken... with me or the bike and proceeded up the hill to find Andy waiting. With both of us dropping our bikes once more on the way up, we stopped at a clearing to catch our breath. 

That's some slippery shit! Getting old sucks!

Making our way up to the road, we followed it back down to the truck for a bit of a break then decided to take the easy road up to the upper staging area or the new Cascade View OHV Complex. I didn't have my lovely, and photogenic photographer with me to take photos so I found these online.


http://www.riderplanet-usa.com/atv/trails/info/oregon_02547/ride_16f9.htm

http://www.riderplanet-usa.com/atv/trails/info/oregon_02547/ride_16f9.htm

I did manage to snap a couple of photos of Andy practicing what he learned last weekend from Jordan Szoke.




The sun was dropping so we rode back down to the truck. I did encourage Andy to try something stupid but I suspect he was nearly as sore as I was at the end of the day.





"Thanks for driving Andy!"




16 comments:

  1. If you aren't sore - then you didn't have fun (you haven't seen old yet!)

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    Replies
    1. If fun is measured in pain, then I must have had a great time.
      Wait?!
      Why does this statement remind me of drinking with Rogey?

      Delete
  2. ohhh.. it was a good time... I set all my gear in the bathtub and had to clean all off with a scrub brush before I could even think about putting it in the washer.. We'll see how it comes out. Yep, used the I-Drive app, the I-Kick app, the I-Crash app, and the I-Hurt app. Its all good though...I need more practice. You should check out this video as it has the lower section of 26 that was a steep and twisty... Those videos don't show how steep it really is.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxTRRpzDRY8

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought you did great for your first time out on the trials bike, I'm sure it is much more difficult than it looks. Had I not been kicked in the ribs, I would have taken your offer to try it. Although, I'm in no hurry to ride Snotgun Creek again.

      Delete
  3. I hope the injuries aren't too bad though it seems like it didn't really matter. That rock garden is really the trail?

    BTW, with this color combination Blogger fails as the mobile version is white text on a very light grey background when reading on a phone.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My personal nurse took very good care of me Sunday, I'm doing much better today. We didn't go up to the rock garden as it is more a Jeep or 4x4 trail.
      I fixed the mobile version for you. Thanks for letting me know.

      Delete
  4. Looks like you had quite the workout. Not sure I could handle that terrain. Too much snot.

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    Replies
    1. Way too much snot, just have to wait for it to dry out.

      Delete
  5. Troubadour:

    That's too hard core for me, even on a Mountain Bike. Hope you get better soon . . . Did you really ride your bike up that trail of rocks ?

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We rode our bikes up the muddy trails, we didn't check out the rocks... maybe next time.

      Delete
  6. You're a better man than I Brad, that rock garden looked nasty!

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  7. Yikes! All I could see we're the trees waiting to catch me as I would undoubtedly have bitten the mud far more than you. I hope that old injury is okay. I was really hoping for an after shot. You guys had to have been muddy! Glad you had fun!

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    Replies
    1. The guys on quads, beside us in the staging area, were covered in mud. They are much more stable in the mud than we bike riders are, I'll recover in a couple weeks and get better pics next time out.

      Delete
  8. An old modeling injury? I thought you looked familiar! What?

    Nice photos of a cool little ride.

    And you're right, GOS*, as CSN&Y have stated in many of their songs.

    * Getting Old Sux.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Dan, I guess I should clarify that it was a home remodeling project. However, I could definitely used a remodel myself as I am still sore a week later.

      Delete

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