After 2 years of postponing all travel to the US due to the travel restriction it was again time to ride.
My bike had been parked in Arizona for a long time and I knew that there is a lot of things to be done.
The travel was interesting. Not many people on the flight from Europe. Many documents printed and closely checked. Mask during the entire travel time required, you know the drill.
But I made it and was looking forward to a good time.
Day 1 (18.March)
After prepping the bike for several days and an extensive test ride I was ready to head to Yuma the southern starting point of the California Back Country Discovery Route (CABDR).
The BDR starts in town where I refuel the bike in the heat. 36,6 deg C (97,88 deg F) in March!
Ok it is already afternoon but I’m still surprised about this temperature.
The road is nicely graded and made that even passenger cars can drive on it.
This is true all the way to the Picacho Campground which is my destination for today. The campground is nicely situated on the Colorado River.
I settle in for the night next to a big rock hill and make use of the nice hot shower after a short walk around. There are donkey poop remaining left everywhere but never saw one.
The Stars come out as soon as the sun went down.
Day 2 (19th March)
Early in the morning I used the phantastic sunrise to hike up one of the rocky hills to get an overview.
After so much exercise 😉 I deserve a coffee and do some route studying.
Shortly after leaving the campground I came across the sign stating that the road condition is all wheel drive only.
Foreshadow of things to come.
The landscape is very colorful and despite the dry appearance you can see many riverbeds.
Also the Colorado river comes into view several times.
After several miles of nice gravel road, the track turns onto the Indian Pass Road, which is basically a riverbed with very deep gravel.
The picture shows the easy part of it, as I didn’t stop where it was very deep. My concern of not getting starting again was greater than the wish of taking a picture.
Finally I came to the Indian Pass which is a rocky road climbing out of the valley. Once the top was reached, the road is a fast flowing gravel road.
In the desert are interesting plants with colorful blossom to see
Soon I reach a paved road which leads to Hwy 78. The BDR follows that towards Blythe and then makes a sharp turn onto the Milpitas Wash. That looks like another riverbed with deep gravel, but it is closed anyway. I check my maps if I can find a local detour but have no luck. So I ride towards Blythe and around the Palo Verde Mountains Wilderness Area on the north side via Paola Verde to rejoin the BDR.
Blythe looks like an agriculture center. Just north of town is the historical site of ‘Blythe Intaglios’.
Here you can find some interesting geoglyphs. Each one is fenced in for protection.
The BDR makes a loop into a little valley with great landscape. This is a more difficult track. Especially the northern part which is running through a river bed with big rocks.
After a short ride on Hwy 95 I turn on to the ‘Old Blythe Vidal Rd’ which is a interesting gravel single lane road cutting across the desert between the Riverside Mountain Wilderness and the Rice Valley Wilderness.
It must have been a passenger car suitable road one day, but I don’t think it is now. There is the rest of an old car next to the road. Hm, shall I swap and take it for a ride?
Again a short run on pavement (Hwy 62) is passing the famous ‘Shoe Station’ before entering the Heart of the Mojave.
The route runs at the beginning a bit along a railway track. There is something wrong here.
I underestimated the distance to the next civilization outpost and ended up camping in the middle of nowhere right next to the trail.
The sunset was fantastic.
Day 3 (20th March)
The sunrise was in no way inferior to yesterday’s spectacle.
Had some visitors before continuing on the trail.
Made it finally back to tarmac which is an old section of the Route 66. This part is officially closed but aside the lack of traffic nothing gave me that hint.
Found it out later when I came across the closed sign from the ‘wrong’ side before I reached the Desert Oasis.
A short ride later, I turned back on gravel and heading across the Mojave National Reserve. The landscape various a lot although all is desert. It is filled with interesting plants and rocks.
Many times I ride through extensive areas filled with Joshua trees.
I have a great time and enjoy the riding a lot until I have to cross the railway. That by itself is nothing special if the crossing would not have been block by a parked train.
I explored the rail track to either side but couldn’t get across.
About an hour later the train moved and I can continue on the trail.
The area is filled with old mines and the BDR runs by some of them.
The rocky road turns into deep sand. Luckily this difficult part is not too long and the remaining road down the mountain to Interstate 15 is easy.
I follow the interstate into the town of Blythe for fuel. On the outskirt are interesting versions of Solar Powerplants.
Blythe is a gambling town and filled with tourists. It takes me a long time to get fuel and I feel uneasy with so many people and I’m happy to leave. The route runs up the mountain passing more mines and following often power lines.
I hoped to see the colosseum mine but access is closed, so I push on. Once the power line roads are left behind the riding is easy and fast.
At the Tecopa Pass the BDR leaves the paved road and even it is quite late in the day I decide to stay on the main route and not take the easy bypass. I also hope to find a place to camp.
Part of this section is difficult with deep gravel.
I couldn’t find any nice spot to camp and continued to Tecopa.
This is a strange town with hot springs. They try to sell you the place with words like Spa, but the town is run down.
I pitch my tent at one of the campgrounds next to the main road. The Spa turns out to be a single room with open showers, one basin with hot water and toilets where the door is replaced with half a curtain.
As the sun sets the wind picks up and I had to retrieve into the tent early.
Day 4 (21st March)
In the morning it is great weather again. I leave town on pavement and head towards the south end of the Death Valley. Vegetation is minimal but now and then are flowers to be found between all the rocks and sand.
The landscape is becoming surreal, at least for me who is not really used to the desert. You can see sand dunes and rock formation in various colors everywhere.
The entrance sign into the Death Valley National Park has seen better days.
This just shows that this part of the park is not so much traveled.
Before I reach the first sand dunes, there is a hint posted.
The road to the sand dunes is closed but I still enjoy the view from not to far away.
I use the nice temperatures in the morning for a quick breakfast during this stop. Could have been worse!
The route runs more or less straight north into the NP. And I was surprised when I found a water crossing.
The valley that I’m following is wide open and you only notice that it descends when watching the GPS.
Only Sometimes the view allows you to judge the dropping in elevation.
As I approach my next fuel stop at furnace creek the rock formations and the colorful landscape is great to see and I enjoy this very much.
Unfortunately 4 miles before the gas station I ran out of fuel. But no problem, I just pull out the Rotopax and make it afterwards easy to the visitor center to buy the NP Pass and refuel the bike.
My destination today is Panamint Springs where the Noops Rally happens every year. This time I have the luck that I will be in the area when the rally is on.
But before I go there, I want to continue on the BDR and ride through the famous Titus Canyon.
Along the route are often old mines to see where the fortune seekers where digging into the rocky canyon sides.
The further west you get in the canyon the more narrow it becomes. This is definitely a highlight to visit in the Death Valley NP if you are traveling with an off-road capable vehicle.
After leaving the Titus Canyon I turn south instead of going north towards the Ubehebe Crater. The following days are filled with a relaxing and great time at the noobs rally.
There is much more to explore than the normal touristic Sightseeing of the Death Valley NP. As an example, would you think there is a pond with koi or a waterfall in the Death Valley?
I had a great time before I continued on the BDR some days later.
Day 5 (26th March)
The first destination of the day is the Ubehebe Crater. But also the ride to that attraction is great although paved. Scotty’s Castle access was closed.
At the Crater you need to make a short hike. So best is to do this in the morning when you’re on a motorbike.
From the crater onwards the road is unpaved and there is a warning posted that only high clearance 4×4 are recommended and that there is no cellphone service available.
Towing would be expensive!
The first stretch to Teakettle Junction is fast and easy.
Past this, the road becomes more challenging with spots of deep sand. But it is well worth the struggle to reach the Race Track where rocks wander on the flat surface.
The place was busy with 4×4. Still on the flats I was almost alone.
The moving rocks are an very interesting phenomenon.
Next challenge on the BDR is the Lippincott Pass.
This is a very rocky stretch and with the step drop off on the side no joke.
Once I reached the bottom of the pass, the road was again a fast and easy ride.
I decided to stay another night in Panamint Spring which is not too far away and tackle the climb to the Cerro Gordo Mine the next day when I’m rested.
Day 6 (27th March)
The climb to the mine from the east is officially a road but it is at the same time a river bed.
Especially on the bottom part is the gravel very deep and there is no stopping for me.
So more view backwards.
During the rally I have been told that there is a road from the Mine to the remains of the Salt Tram.
This was a cable car running from one valley across the mountains into the next valley, build mainly from wood. A wooden cable car system is a must see for an Austrian coming from a skiing area.
Note that this is not part of the BDR.
The ride to it was a bit confusing as there are several tracks to different mines and I was also very caution not to ride down where I would struggle to get back up. I also have been warned that the trail becomes very hardcore at some point.
Most of the track was level but had also very steep up and downs and a lot off camber as well. Still granted vast views.
In the circle you can see the road.
It was tough but I made it to the summit station of the Salt Tram. What a struggle this must have been to build.
Back to the Cerro Gordo Mine to rejoin the BDR and follow the well maintained road down into the Owens Valley and onto Lone Pine.
You can visit the Cerro Gordo Mine buildings and explore the history with a guide if one of the volunteers is available.
West of Lone Pine are the Alabama Hills which have been used for many Western Movie.
The weather takes a turn to the worse with heavy wind and a dramatic drop in temperature.
I still want to ride through this interesting landscape.
I follow the BDR north but didn’t take any more pictures as the wind was blowing sand around and it got really cold. Where the route crosses the Hwy 395 I bailed and went on the search for a campground.
I settled in where the route is crossing again back to the left side of the highway.
The Taboose Creek campground is nicely situated and has a row of trees along the creek providing some protection from the cold wind. I pitch the tent on a spot where I would not likely affected by a storm. My concern was that heavy rain could rise the water level to a flooding.
The cloud where spectacular and thankfully it didn’t rain at all.
Day 7 (28th March)
The morning was even colder. The clouds where still hanging at the mountains. I hesitated what to do next as going further north would mean even more colder temperatures.
So I decided to run the section of the BDR backwards which I skipped yesterday again towards Lone Pine and then decide further.
I made it up to the Reward Mine where you can ride into the mine. The last part up to it is in a quite bad condition.
As I reached again the Hwy 395 and I felt so cold, that the decision to quit for the day was easy to make.
I rode to Lone Pine and searched for a hotel. One Motel wanted extra money to the advertised one because it was still early. Weird business model, the room is empty and no additional work necessary, so why extra money?
So I decided not to take it and went to the Dow Hotel where a lot of the Movie Star have stayed before.
The room is not the biggest or the most modern one, but it was clean, warm and had a lot charm.
Later I strolled through town and had a mediocre dinner before I retreated to my room.
Day 8 (29th March)
In the morning the weather is great and the temperatures are up a bit although the mountains are covered with snow. So no more excuses.
Today’s plan is to finish the BDR. First I ride the Hwy 359 all the way to Aberdeen where the BDR is crossing the highway. The route runs up on the westside of the valley and gets rocky and narrow.
Close to the top I met another BDR rider on a heavy loaded KTM. We stopped and exchanged what will come ahead of each other route. He told me that the hard section is still snowed in.
So I will ride the standard route to the end.
The ride down the hill to Big Pine was easy.
Along the BDR are many large antennas which are part of the Owens Valley Radio Observatory.
The rest of the ride was fast gravel and wide views. In a small cut in the landscape revealed some rock paintings.
The Chidago Canyon Petroglyphs are right next to the route. There are more in the area.
There is an interesting road routing selection on the way to Benton.
Benton has some Hot Springs and a lot of history. I can imagine that this is a nice place if the weather would be a bit more accommodating.
So that was it. BDR finished, me being cold and still needed to find a place to stay for the night. My plan was to ride on Hwy 6 to Tonopah and then ride the lower part of the NVBDR south.
Man was it a cold ride and once I reached Tonopah, I just gave up and despite the strange vibe of the town, I booked a motel and fled into a warm room.
FINISH
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