Off-Road Ranger I
Looking back on it now I think "cabin fever" might've put better judgement in a backseat to looking for an adventure when I decided to pack up the bike this weekend & head north into the forest... before spring's even started... but oh well it was a hell of a challenge & good fun in the end!
Here getting my BMW 650 Sertao packed up:
Video of setting it up to head out, new parts & mods, gear etc: LINK
Struggled thru thick mud, slushy snow, & glass-like ice as soon as I pulled onto the seasonal roads & trails:
They had enough shade to keep considerably more of that evil white stuff that the tarmac was free of by now:
Without knowing it at the time... I was about to channel all the bailing-without-breaking skills I developed jumping steel-ramps & riding the forests & dunes on atv's a while back:
What a wild ride I went thru after the snow coverage started! Lost count how many times I went down, bumped trees, stalled out, & was bucked right up & off the seat into the snow. Somehow managed to escape too much damage to the bike or myself, but when the hills started I was progressing at maybe a tenth of a MPH:
After it was starting to look like making my original destination wasn't happening before dark, I had to yield.... called it quits on the riding to get camp started with the sun already setting behind the trees:
The forest floor, and everything else for that matter, was absolutely soaked from the big temperature swing. So I was very happy I managed to get a fire started with natural materials & a ferro rod. Still had to build a platform up to keep it sinking into a puddle while I started the steak, all to the tune of owls overhead hooting back 'n forth:
I don't know what it is about fire... but without it crackling away nearby, the multiple coyote calls in the distance & local black bear sightings I was cautioned about would be WAY more worrying:
Was already starting to feel all the offs & crashes from the previous day's ride in when I woke up, & the air dropping from 60F to 18F thru the night put the morning in that odd frozen haze:
Revived the campfire so I could get some heat in my veins & food in my gut. Coffee, bacon, & corned beef hash was on the menu:
I always do my best to leave no trace, especially so when I'm wild/improvised camping. Here overlooking my camp after I cleaned & packed up, ready for ice skating the frozen trails on my way back out:
Might look like still water but that is an inch of ice over top, not the best without studded tires:
Was becoming clear that the whole ride out was going to be like this, every bit of muck & slush on the ride in was now brick solid in these 20F temps:
The tire ruts & bumps felt like a person riding on my bars & soccer kicking my front tire every few yards. Hair raising to say the least:
As the sun rose, so did the temps in the mud & ice. Instead of scooting uncontrollably over top or going off trail to avoid, now the front tire would roll a few inches & crash thru the top layer into the frigid soup beneath:
Finally the snow & ice cover started to clear a bit as I neared the dirt road access:
Never been so happy to see a regular ole dirt road when the trail came to an end:
Hard work but good a time!
Only got home long enough to pull the packs off & head straight to work...
...so I'll get more posted up in the next few days, along with an edit of the ~140GB of video I took along the way from Grand Rapids all the way up to the north end of the Manistee National Forest. Tried some new methods & a new camera, here's hoping it's not all wasted 1's and 0's on the cards!
Here getting my BMW 650 Sertao packed up:
Video of setting it up to head out, new parts & mods, gear etc: LINK
Struggled thru thick mud, slushy snow, & glass-like ice as soon as I pulled onto the seasonal roads & trails:
They had enough shade to keep considerably more of that evil white stuff that the tarmac was free of by now:
Without knowing it at the time... I was about to channel all the bailing-without-breaking skills I developed jumping steel-ramps & riding the forests & dunes on atv's a while back:
What a wild ride I went thru after the snow coverage started! Lost count how many times I went down, bumped trees, stalled out, & was bucked right up & off the seat into the snow. Somehow managed to escape too much damage to the bike or myself, but when the hills started I was progressing at maybe a tenth of a MPH:
After it was starting to look like making my original destination wasn't happening before dark, I had to yield.... called it quits on the riding to get camp started with the sun already setting behind the trees:
The forest floor, and everything else for that matter, was absolutely soaked from the big temperature swing. So I was very happy I managed to get a fire started with natural materials & a ferro rod. Still had to build a platform up to keep it sinking into a puddle while I started the steak, all to the tune of owls overhead hooting back 'n forth:
I don't know what it is about fire... but without it crackling away nearby, the multiple coyote calls in the distance & local black bear sightings I was cautioned about would be WAY more worrying:
Was already starting to feel all the offs & crashes from the previous day's ride in when I woke up, & the air dropping from 60F to 18F thru the night put the morning in that odd frozen haze:
Revived the campfire so I could get some heat in my veins & food in my gut. Coffee, bacon, & corned beef hash was on the menu:
I always do my best to leave no trace, especially so when I'm wild/improvised camping. Here overlooking my camp after I cleaned & packed up, ready for ice skating the frozen trails on my way back out:
Might look like still water but that is an inch of ice over top, not the best without studded tires:
Was becoming clear that the whole ride out was going to be like this, every bit of muck & slush on the ride in was now brick solid in these 20F temps:
The tire ruts & bumps felt like a person riding on my bars & soccer kicking my front tire every few yards. Hair raising to say the least:
As the sun rose, so did the temps in the mud & ice. Instead of scooting uncontrollably over top or going off trail to avoid, now the front tire would roll a few inches & crash thru the top layer into the frigid soup beneath:
Finally the snow & ice cover started to clear a bit as I neared the dirt road access:
Never been so happy to see a regular ole dirt road when the trail came to an end:
Hard work but good a time!
Only got home long enough to pull the packs off & head straight to work...
...so I'll get more posted up in the next few days, along with an edit of the ~140GB of video I took along the way from Grand Rapids all the way up to the north end of the Manistee National Forest. Tried some new methods & a new camera, here's hoping it's not all wasted 1's and 0's on the cards!
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