Dual Sport Ride Around Hells Canyon

[Fontanaman]

I have been looking to go somewhere on either the FJR or the DR for the past couple of weeks. I was looking at Jasper National Park in Canada and then onto the Yellowknife Hwy 16 over to Prince Rupert in British Columbia BC. Poor weather scuttled this idea with rain and temps in the '30's.

Go south I say to myself and ride some favorite roads in NE Oregon on the FJR. I whip out a Come Ride With Us! map I had collected a few years ago while riding in NE Oregon. These maps are available at motorcycle friendly businesses throughout NE Oregon. The maps include gravel and paved roads and there was a loop around Hells Canyon National Recreation Area on mostly gravel roads. The maps fail to include gravel road names so I create routes using Basecamp.

I like the idea of riding sticking to gravel roads as much as possible because I have been around Hells Canyon many times on the paved roads so this was something different and the reason I bought the DR650.

This ride will start and end in Lewiston Idaho cause that is were the loop begins.

Lewiston sits at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers. The Clearwater runs left to right in this photo taken from the Spiral Hwy.

Then after taking the photo about I get to ride down the Spiral Hwy. Nice!

Here is the route south of Lewiston. Notice how it roughly parallels Hwy 95.

Near Pine Bar (see bottom) of map I cross the Salmon River and take a photo.

Then it is down Doumqecq Road and another view of the Salmon River.

At the bottom of the grade is the Salmon River.

Here is the second half of the ride from Lewiston. The idea is to go east and ride down the Grangeville Salmon River road to you guessed it the Salmon River, then up French Creek Road to Burgdorff Hotsprings.. Notice I crossed Hwy 95 and continue the parallel route south.

After getting gas in White Bird it is up Banner Ridge Road.

And a view of snow capped mountains.

This was unexpected but I like the photo.

It is amazing how well the Garmin Zumo 590 follows the forest service roads. I have learned to have the GPS prompt me when off route. When this happens usually the Garmin map does not agree with the actual road location. Not to worry the two lines on the screen converge eventually. Another trick I learned is to select two way points ahead and let the GPS route to that - that one works great.

I found my way to the Salmon River.

More to come.

 

[JamesW]

gorgeous stuff, retirement serves you well.

 

[FJRBluesman]

That was AWESOME!

 

[escapefjrtist]

Good looking trip Fontanaman! Wish I could get out somewhere... ;-)

~G

 

[Niehart]

Good looking trip Fontanaman! Wish I could get out somewhere... ;-)
~G

JSNS

 

[Fontanaman]

Before moving forward let me step back a bit. Coming down the Grangeville Salmon road I got lucky. A white pickup truck was moving toward me at a very high rate of speed. Lucky for me the sight line was enough for him to get back in his lane but he didn't bother to slow down. Down the road I could see his tire track in the gravel where he cut the turns. If I was in a turn I would have been toast. Jerk. Adventure riding has risks.

More photos of the Salmon River.

The DR650.

Lucky me I get to go up the French Creek road a very twisty affair with terrific views.

Rocks in the road. It is very rugged around here and those with a fear of height need not apply. Fortunately I learned to ride motorcycles on stuff like this some fifty years ago.

Another view. Sigh.

Near to top of the grade I notice a windshield screw had come loose. There is a C clip on the thread so the screw will not come off. So I reach out to tighten it will riding down the road and hit a pothole or two and quickly decide to pull over to complete the job. I check and tighten all the screws on the windscreen then look down and the GPS was gone. ACKKKK! When I decide to pull over my wrist hit the GPS release button on the cradle and now my Zumo was somewhere on the road. It took about a half hour to find and and some tense moments. Adventure riding.

On the road again the GPS track and actual road diverge and merge a few times despite a lack of intersection or other roads. I am on the only road so I just select my last point on the route and the GPS figures it out.

I reach Burgdorf Hotsprings about 4:00pm and unload the bike. Here are a few photos of the place.

My cabin for the night.

Lawn decorations.

Close up of the pickup.

From the desk of my cabin.

The interior. There is no plumbing, no electric and the front door shuts of a hook and eye. The fireplace is the heat. There is an outhouse nearby. At 6250' elevation I was thrilled to have a down sleeping bag.

The pool was 100° and has a gravel bottom. It was a bit warm for me.

More to come.

 

[Fontanaman]

In the morning I found a bit of frost on my motorcycle seat. Nuts to this so I slept in a bit more than usual cause the down bag was warm and the cabin cold. I boiled water for coffee and a freeze dried breakfast, not bad at all.

I should have started an hour sooner cause it was warmer out once on the road than I anticipated. I am getting soft in my old age and I am fine with that. The route for the day is in red and once it crossed US 95 it is mostly gravel but this is adventure riding.

The road out of Burgdorf Hotsprings to McCall was just opened last week.

A road construction detour routed me down the east side of Payette Lake for a scenic start to the day.

Arrowleaf Balsamroot is common in cold dry areas of the West. Nearly all parts of this plant were used as food by various Native American groups. The flowering season is about 3 weeks.

Mountain view.

The scenery here is stunning.

The route descends into Hells Canyon along the Kleinschmidt Grade. Hairpin turns winds down 2200 in 5 mile so say the Seattle Times article in the link. It is a good place to avoid rubber necking for a boo boo here means a sheer drop of 100's of feet. I stopped to get these pics.

The Snake River. The plan is to ride up the Hess Road on the other side. In the middle of the photo you can see the road.

It was around here I look across the river and see a barrier across the Hess Road. I am thinking I hope the road isn't closed.

Down along the river.

I go out of my way to get gas and drinking water. The guy in the store says the Hess Road is open. So I ride nine miles and find this.

I respect the sign so I ride the nine mile then beyond the gas station to FS 39 to the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway, see the yellow line on the linked map.

This was a bummer cause the Hess Road is a great short cut up the hill. I decide to see if I can stretch the day and head to Clarkston Washington via gravel road. The route to Imnaha Oregon was along ranching land. The gravel was thick and so was the truck traffic along the road. Two 18 wheeler's with cattle came toward me. It was warm out, they were going slow, yet the engine fans kicked up so much dust I could not see 10 feet. Scenery not that great so no photos. I got to Imnaha and pressed on despite starting to tire. Then the forest service road got rough and I tapped out. Lucky for me I only had to ride two miles back to Imnaha, then a 30 mile ride on a paved road to Enterprise Oregon where I got a hotel for the night.

On the way to Enterprise Oregon are the Wallowa Mountains.

The next day was a 4 hour ride home via pavement. I didn't exactly reach my goal of as much gravel roads as possible but I was close. And the route home included the Rattlesnake Grade.

Rattlesnake Grade

It was my first over night trip on the DR and I am looking forward to more.

Thanks for following along.

 

[JamesW]

Wow.