A Short Trip North

Day 1 Everett, WA to Williams Lake, BC

When some plans fell though on another trip the gang and I settled on plans to head north and see as much as we could in 9-10 days, and boy did we.  We headed out from western Washington mid-day on a Friday, blasted the interstate to the US-Canada border after a quick lunch stop in Bellingham for cash and Port of Subs.  Soon after crossing the boarder the weather turned to stifling as we sweated our way through the city core of Vancouver before heading up the Sea to Sky Highway to Whistler.  After the fast S turns of the Sea to Sky we stopped for a quick water break in Whistler before setting out sights on Lillooet for the next fuel stop.  Since this was all familiar territory we wanted to make it as far north as possible to keep the future days more manageable.  Continue reading

Memorial Day 2015 BC Trip

We headed out Friday afternoon with a destination of Harrison Hot Springs to camp where ever we could find.  We stopped at Bob Burgers and grabbed a burger before hitting short line at the border.  Right after crossing the boarder we hit a fresh market that had a great selection of snacks for the night.  After loading it all in the Zega’s we pressed on to Harrison to look for a camp spot.  Sasquatch was the intended target but luck was not playing in our favor and it was packed.  We did find a provincial campground on the way up the forest service roads before the last gas stop.  While it was a decent camp spot they have a screwy way of charging.  We had 1 spot with 2 tent and 4 bikes, which all fit inside the same site… They charged us for 4 cars so lucky for us we just set up in a $70 campsite.  Naturally the host was a rule czar so we payed and bitched and moaned while we cooked dinner.
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We left camp mid morning and headed up the West side of Harrison Lake, destination was Pemberton for dinner and camp just north of town.

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We made it up the lake and river without any issue except for a flat on the Sertao about 15km from Hwy 99.
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About 15-20 min and a gallon of sweat later we were on the way with a cold beer in Pemberton waiting.  We fueled up, filled the water bags and headed toward The Wood for a great meal.  The food never disappoints and is a must stop when we are in Pembe.  After dinner we headed up Portage Rd looking for a camp spot near Gates Lake.  About 10 min outside of Birkin lake I lost Morgan in the mirror and pulled over to wait, thinking god he is slow today I turned around.  Turns out he blew the front shock on his water boxer and it was making some cool noises on the rebound.  We limped it to a great spot Whispering Falls Resort good views and hot shower that we were not expecting.  After a late night with Lagavulin we got around made Bacon and left over french fry breakfast burritos and headed toward D’Arcy for the Highline Rd to Lillooet.
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We assessed the shock situation in D’Arcy and decided to split up and meet in Lillooet we take the dirt and Morgan and Tamara will take the scenic section of 99 and we will take the dirt.  The dirt was good and the scenery was amazing, the views are stunning.  The road winds up and gives some great overlooks and then drops down into Seton Portage.

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From there it winds up and over the mountain and comes down on to Carpenter lake.  By this time the storm was almost in full effect and we were pretty deep in the woods.

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We crossed the dam, took some pictures and saw a bear.  After a few distant pictures of the bear we pressed on though the rain.

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The road from here is pretty much a gravel road that over looks the river on the east side.  All was good and Lillooet was in sight on the GPS and out of nowhere there was a hooded figure on the side of the road.  We slowed to get a better look since it was quite a way from town, glad we did.  When I lifted my helmet she happened to look up and was all bloody, her truck went over a pretty steep ledge about 500m down.  She was ejected from the truck and somehow climbed back up.  We rendered first aid and debated how we were going to get her into town.  She was in what appeared to be shock and was bleeding from a few spots on her head.  Considering the conditions and remoteness we thought about moving bags and letting her hitch a ride on the back.  After more thought we decided not since she could pass out and fall off, making things worse.  Luckily a interior road crew truck was coming up the road to clear a mudslide and he happened to have a radio to call and aid car.  We left her in his hands to wait for the aid car and we continued into town.  We made it to town and stopped for some hot coffee and to dry off a bit.  About 20min later we saw the RCMP and an ambulance head up the road, hopefully she recovered well.  We waited for the rain to let up a bit before heading to Kamloops for the last evening.  Given the relentless rain we decided to grab a hotel in town and have a warm shower.  They let us park under the front overhang which was nice and even better when we saw a few Hardly Ablesons roll in and have to park outside, the poor chrome.

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Next morning after some Tim Hortons we headed back down 5 toward the border.  We made it back without issue and headed to Aslan Brewing in Bellingham for some fish tacos and beer before riding Chucukanut home.  It was a fun trip and can’t wait to do more BC riding.

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Weekend Update: Smokers at Walker Valley

Another great weekend in the Pacific Northwest.  We headed out to Walker Valley ORV Park in Mt. Vernon, WA for some woods riding on the 2 strokes.  At was a great time for all and we ended the night with some great friends around the campfire.  Sunday was brunch, a short ride and oil changes in the smokers so we are ready for the projected sun next weekend.  IMG_3282

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Weekend Update

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While the northeast has been getting slammed we have had an extremely warm and dry winter, I guess you could say its payback for the Super Bowl.  Saturday I headed out early to catch the 8am ferry out of Edmonds to do some riding on the Olympic Peninsula.  Trails were fast and empty for the most part, despite the nice day, most people hiking/biking close to town.  It was a short day due to some time constraints but it was fun.  Sunday Ashley and I slept in way to late with Ham, he is quite the Sunday snoozer.  Coffee and Breakfast were made and the afternoon was spent scrubbing the mud from previous weeks off the noble steeds.  Next weekend looks wet for now but, Ham is crossing his toes for sun since we are headed to his Frenchie Frolic with his smush face crew at Magnuson Park.

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Ride up West Harrison Lake, BC

A ride north up the west side of Harrison Lake.  Trip was planned to head to the Gang Ranch but was cut short by a sidewall blowout.  Bikes in the video are 2 2014 R120GS, 2013 G650GS and a 2013 F700G.  We left out of Seattle Saturday morning, hit the hot springs and camped then proceeded to Pemberton.  Had to tow one of the bikes back to Vancouver to pick up a new tire, then proceeded home Tuesday afternoon.  Most of the video was shot on a Sony helmet cam, GoPro or an iPhone.  All photos taken on an iPhone 6plus.