Gnats, Knobbies, Bolts, Bullets & Boulders, The Thrashing of Best Laid Plans
Sunday, 5/20
The
fun begins…
Morning came and
the sun began to rise, along with John. That's good
enough for me, so I got up too. The morning was cool, and we loaded our
bikes. I went and made an attempt to get Scott up, but that didn't work
too well 
Scott eventually
rose, and we got a later start than I had hoped. I was
a little concerned about the heat of the day, but continued with the
planned route. We turned south into the state land that held our first
dirt for the day, and is the gateway to a desert paradise.
Entrance
to the State Trust Land. Yes, the flag means artilary fire, but
the dates on the board said we were safe...
The
1st pass where things begin to get scenic and interesting…
Once in Box
Canyon, we were having so much fun racing through the
canyon wash that I totally missed the turn into Martinez Canyon. I came
upon an inexperienced driver and his wife in nearly-stuck 4wd SUV
trying to negotiate some eroded bedrock. I parked the bike and advised
him that if he was having trouble here, he going to have real trouble
further up the trail, unless his wife was up for some serious rock
stacking 
.
He finally got turned around and we were on our way. After some more
fun I began to exit the canyon and recognized the trail changing back
into a road, soon realizing that we had gone too far. I had missed my
landmark, an old adobe casita, and had blown past our turn. How could I
have missed it? It’s a very obvious landmark… I watched for it on the
way back and still never saw it; I guess it must have been overgrown by
the surrounding palo verde trees. I saw my turn regardless, and we
headed into Martinez Canyon. I eventually turned south on the “Coke
Oven Trail”. Do note that I added this trail to the route at Scott’s
request .
This is where I
knew the challenges would begin for Scott, although I
didn’t recall the challenges being this consistent (my apologies to
Scott 
). I knew there was nothing on the following trails he wasn’t capable
of without a little help, but had I remembered there being this much of
it, and had I known we’d be on the trail this late in the day at 100
degree temps, I’d have omitted it from the route.
From
the beginning of the Coke Oven trail
John,
then Scott on one of the climbs
Break
time. That’s Scott laying down… early sign of what was to come…
After some hard
work getting Scott’s bike through the first third of
the trail, we found ourselves in serious need of a shade, water and
food break. After the extended break we continued to make our way to
the coke ovens, until I, after sitting at the top of a particularly
long and technical hill for some time, realized that there might be an
issue, and I didn’t hear motors. I made my way back down the trail on
foot to find John and Scott struggling with Scott’s bike. After a few
failed attempts to get the KLR up the hill, we decided it was time for
a break, as we were all experiencing heat exhaustion and serious
fatigue.
While sitting in
the weak shade of a palo verde tree, a jeep convoy
appears over a hill. We wait as they approach, and I ask the lead
jeeper if he’d give the KLR a tow to the top. He agreed, and 2 of his
comrades and I struggled to negotiate the bike over the ledges and
rough terrain as the Jeep whined to the top of the hill. It was against
my better judgment to help in my condition, but I felt like I needed
to, which resulted in more extreme exhaustion once at the top. The
female passenger in the lead jeep offered me a cold bottle of water,
which I sucked down in seconds while I waited for Scott, who was
getting an air conditioned ride up, to arrive. Scott sat in the Jeep
for some time, and John was getting antsy to keep moving toward the
nearby river. John decided to move on (I thought to the coke ovens),
and we would meet up once Scott was ready.
Scott and I
finally got rolling and arrived at the ovens, only to
discover that John was nowhere to be found. This could be a very bad
thing; with the countless trails out here, one wrong turn could lead to
one seriously lost rider. We opted to stay put, as from a hill, we and
the ovens are easily seen, and if we go looking for John while he finds
the ovens without us waiting there… well I’m sure you can see the
problem.
While Scott and
I are resting in the shade, I keep hearing 4-stroke
single sounds. Eventually we both look up to see John at the top of a
hill, and overwhelmed with relief. He made his was down and around, and
after a rest we decided to skip the Battle Axe trail and headed to a
water crossing that I once did to see if it was fordable.
Scott
resting at the Coke Ovens
Approaching
the river
We arrived at
the crossing to find a muddy, swollen river. Some quad
riders were sitting on the other side drinking beer when I rode up and
dismounted. Scott and John arrived shortly behind and I guess they
figured out that we were contemplating crossing, because one of the
guys hopped on his big 4WD quad and plunged into the river to show off
his quad-squiding skills (or lack of common sense). He struggled each
way, and on his second return-crossing he lost momentum and bogged due
to his excessive tire-spinning. The right-rear tire began to dig as the
strong current began to lift the front of the quad, sending him bailing
off to save the fat-tired cycle. Scott and I chuckled as we struggled
to stand in the knee-deep side of our bank.
We opted to turn
around and ride the Battle axe trail out. We knew
there was a long, steep, technical decent that John had already
negotiated, so we headed down, and met at a point near the river where
we decided to camp instead, as it was getting late. So much for globe
by noon 
.
The
camp at the river
John
with his purifier pump. That thing was a lifesaver.
Click here for Day 3...