A Dog's Tale: Canyoneering Ringpin Canyon

Nov. 2018. Narrated by Wyatt, transcribed by Doug.I'm only 7 months old and didn't really understand the term"canyoneering."To me it sounded like all the other fun stuff we do when we go out adventuring. To be honest I didn't really understand "adventuring" either.

So after my people finally finished whatever they were doing putting stuff in the camper (this was my 4th camper trip already so I knew great things were ahead and had learned to equate camper with fun!) I jumped in the back seat of the truck and off we went.

Two days later when I woke my people up, (I'm always up first!) they started pulling all that stuff they had put in the camper back out and laying it out on the rocks! I didn't care, I chased the sticks they threw. They put a harness on me and then they put on what they kept calling backpacks. They were a little like my harness but a lot bigger. It's pretty fun leaning what all this stuff is. We all started hiking back up the road but very soon turned off into a wash.The ground was very rough and my people kept checking my paws. I don't know why, I was fine! Mom said she brought the booties, but I'm glad they didn't put those on me. I don't really like them that much. We continued up over a ridge and then down into a wash. It was fun in the wash because I could run around at will.

But all that soon changed! The wash started getting narrower with high walls on both sides. I came to a spot that was too steep and too high to climb or jump down so I ran back to my people. They told me "Time to drop in Wyatt!" Dad just handed me down that first step but it wasn't long before we came to a BIG drop! They pulled the leg loops out of my harness and put them on me, then tied me to a rope that was attached to some more stuff on the wall. They spent a lot of time taking out ropes and rigging up some kind of silly stuff, but the next thing I knew Mom was attached to a rope and dropping over the edge of the cliff. My eyes got real big and I just sat there! Dad did some more adjustments and then came and got me and unclipped my harness from one rope and into this rope! I didn't know what was going to happen but then I was just lifted up and over the edge I went! I was scared at first but the harness holding me calmed me right down. I think Dad was lowering me because I could see Mom and I was getting lower and closer to the ground. Mom had some rope in her hands too and I think she was pulling me out away from the wall so my feet wouldn't drag. Before I could even process it all I was on the ground and Mom was petting me and saying how good I was. I just knew I was happy to be down.

We continued down the canyon and they had to help me climb down with the rope a couple more times. I was always really happy to climb down to Dad. I had to rappel a couple more times too but it was all ok because I felt like a pro now. Where ever I could I ran ahead to check what was coming up. Finally I ran ahead and there was no more canyon! We came out onto a river. Oh good! I wanted to chase sticks in the water now. My people pulled out their rafts and blew them up. I knew what these were because I rode around in them when I was just a puppy. It was fun riding in Mom's raft again but it wasn't that long. We got out at another canyon and after mom and dad packed away the rafts, started walking up. This one was pretty wide and easy so I got to run all around. I came across this really big bug but decided to leave it alone. It was really weird though because after walking for a little while, there was our camper! How'd that happen? My people were really excited and telling me congratulations for doing my first technical canyon. It was fun! Look at the video they made, I'm a star!

A Couple of O'nighters. Bikepacking the Pine Nuts.

Nov 2018. Posted by Doug.
1st route was 45 mi. and 5307' elevation gain involving some strenous hike-a-bike over an 8000 ft ridge.

The top

The CCC built this as a drift fence in the 30's to separate the Mason Valley and Carson Valley (grazing district) ranges. Built with rock due to the scarcity of Juniper trees at this high elevation. It is built right on the crest of the range and nick named "the Chinese Wall."

Wonderful spring

The End

2nd route was 53 mi with 5427 gain but all ridable.

Top of Sunrise Pass

Still The End

Utah - One Weather Window

Oct 2018. Doug, Joannie, Kirk, Wyatt. 

The weather was not cooperative. Flooding rains hit Utah the week we were there but we managed to take advantage of the one good weather window we had. The running joke was that the arch had more weather windows than we had. Colonnade Arch, aka 5 Hole Arch.

Posted by Doug.

FYI - Bizz Johnson Trail

Shuttle options

#notburningman. A Trail Of Trash, Backroads And Flat Tires.

Burning Man. I don't normally rant. Pretty disappointed by all the so-called Bohemian lifestyle wanna-bes. As the saying goes, "Perception is 9/10's of reality." My perception is for the most part you're a bunch of self indulgent wankers. Semitruck trailer after trailer of your garbage left behind. Backhoes on the roadside pullouts scooping up the garbage you dumped if you were "thoughtful" enough to take it off the playa. Buisness owners paying out of their pockets when you overflowed their dumpsters and left mountains of garbage, all because you are too ignorant to take care your own mess. Yes I know cleanup crews are part of the festival, but on the roadside and private buisnesses? And, yes I know it's not everyone, see how that works?

Moving on...
We passed through Gerlach NV and headed out rt. 34. Flat #1 occured not too far from the Lund Petrified forest. Ok, it happens, the road has tons of sharp obsidian making up the road bed. Onward. We camped for the night at the old Denio springs cattle camp. Being a desert traveler via bicycle I'm always interested in the springs. The spring was still flowing well. Filed under 'good to know.'

Our original intention was to do a short bikepacking trip covering much of the same ground as I'd done in the spring. But now with no spare tire we instead limped out to Alturas where I managed to pick up a used tire at no cost using my warranty at Les Schwaub.

From there we moved up to Oregon camping for the night up on the Winter Rim, part of the Oregon Timber Trail bikepacking route. I wasn't carrying any routing information for this section so we didn't know exactly where we were in relation to the route. Never the less we still got out the bikes and rode a little dirt road where Wyatt had a great time running free and alongside as we rode.

We worked our way up to the trailhead for the McKenzie Rivers "Blue Pool." I had ridden the McKenzie River Trail in July as part of my Oregon bikepacking trip and from those pictures Joannie wanted to see it too. So Wyatt got to do his first trail as we hiked the 4 miles round trip to the pool and back.

Campground below Santiam Pass

On the trail to Tamolitch Pool

Tamolitch Pool the "Blue Pool" on the McKenzie

Heading out into the volcanic lava lands of central Oregon traveling some VERY obscure dirt roads we cut down from hwy 20 to hwy 31 via Pine Mtn observatory and the bit nerve wracking road coming down off the south side. It wasn't truly bad but it was rough enough and narrow enough with significant exposure to never be sure if we were going to make it down, or would have to somehow turn around. Down off the mountain on much better roads now we headed south past China Hat and Sand Springs until until once again turning off on very obscure pumice roads. Never the less we managed to navigate our way south and came out at "Hole In The Ground." Spent the night up on Winter Rim again.

We dropped down into Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge still intending to do our bikepacking route. Again the obsidian cut a (brand new!) tire and we flatted. After changing the tire we camped for the night at the Massacre cabin and the next morning headed back to Alturas for another tire. Because the flatted tire was basically new we got another (different!) tire for the $35 price difference.

Flat #2

Giving up on the bikepacking we dropped down to Susanville and broke out the bikes and Wyatt's doggy trailer to ride the Biz Johnson trail. It was very easy, fun and scenic traveling the old railroad bed next to the river. Wyatt got to jump in the water chasing sticks along the way.

Going through one of the tunnels

After that we headed up into the mountains above hwy 395 and found a beautiful spot to camp. We traveled the dirt roads up there all the way back out to 395. I had never been up there and it was far nicer and more extensive than I had thought. After coming down to the hwy it was just a relatively short drive home. Another trip finished and Wyatt's first big road trip. But not without another flat...