Next 2015 Pants WITH REDFISH Adventure - Go West (not so) Young Man!

[hppants]

Yeppers - Horseshoe Bend is definitely on the list. Thanks!

From what I'm reading - I may have to make some reservations. Kind of don't want to do it, but I may have no choice.

 

[russperry]

Distance from Santa Clara to Zion is about 620 miles.
Meet in the middle?

Entirely possible... I'll be watching for your dates.

P.S. I've got this ride to Bridgeport in Sept if that might work with your schedule or there's FJRay's Ruben Run the following weekend.

That's what I was thinking Tyler - maybe a dash up to LaPine, then loop east to meet up with hhpants in the Utah/AZ area? Might have to work it the other way though based on dates - swing east to start, a couple days in AZ/UT, then northwest to eat a Reuben. Either way, I think there's a nice sounding 7 to 9 day trip in the works.

hppants - if you wouldn't mind the company, what dates are you looking at to hit the Grand Canyon and/or Utah? Maybe Sept 6 or 7?

Brodie and Bugnatr and other Sacramento types - what do you think? A Wheaton-type of ride? I know of a nice rest stop on US6 in the middle of bum-fu** Nevada that makes a nice camping spot on the way east!!

 

[hppants]

Well - this is turning out to be quite a shin dig!!! I'd really enjoy meeting you guys.

Right now I'm thinking that I could loop either way since I'll be too early to see the Aspen trees turn.

I can shoot for Amarillo on Sept 3. Then try to find HRZ on the 4th and head toward Arizona. On the 4th/5th I would head toward Utah (Page, Monument Valley, Horseshoe bend, Antelope Canyon, etc). I've already seen the Grand Canyon, so right now, I'm kind of thinking about skipping that and devoting more time to Utah, which is more appealing to me since I haven't been there before.

I guess I was kind of thinking about getting to Zion the evening of September 6-ish. I'd like to hike both Angels Landing and the Narrows, so I thought about reserving two nights there (maybe 9/6 and 9/7). Then 1 night in Bryce Canyon. Then 2 nights in Arches. Use Arches as a base to check out Canyonlands National Park (like Goodwin did). Then head East into Colorado (Silverton/Durango), then take 3 or 4 days to get home.

So it looks like it has to be 14 days, and 17 sounds better. Man I'm starting to get stoked about this!!!!

Of course I'd rather not over plan it, but if you guys want to try to meet me, I'm certainly in favor of that. I can be flexible.

Side question:

Wonder if I should get a National Parks Pass as a cost savings measure? Guess I'll visit the park sites and compare cost.

 

[russperry]

Well - this is turning out to be quite a shin dig!!! I'd really enjoy meeting you guys.
Right now I'm thinking that I could loop either way since I'll be too early to see the Aspen trees turn.

I can shoot for Amarillo on Sept 3. Then try to find HRZ on the 4th and head toward Arizona. On the 4th/5th I would head toward Utah (Page, Monument Valley, Horseshoe bend, Antelope Canyon, etc). I've already seen the Grand Canyon, so right now, I'm kind of thinking about skipping that and devoting more time to Utah, which is more appealing to me since I haven't been there before.

I guess I was kind of thinking about getting to Zion the evening of September 6-ish. I'd like to hike both Angels Landing and the Narrows, so I thought about reserving two nights there (maybe 9/6 and 9/7). Then 1 night in Bryce Canyon. Then 2 nights in Arches. Use Arches as a base to check out Canyonlands National Park (like Goodwin did). Then head East into Colorado (Silverton/Durango), then take 3 or 4 days to get home.

So it looks like it has to be 14 days, and 17 sounds better. Man I'm starting to get stoked about this!!!!

Of course I'd rather not over plan it, but if you guys want to try to meet me, I'm certainly in favor of that. I can be flexible.

Side question:

Wonder if I should get a National Parks Pass as a cost savings measure? Guess I'll visit the park sites and compare cost.

Annual pass would definitely be cheaper and you can actually put two motorcycles on a single annual pass to split costs - at least you could in 2012 when Brodie and I did a big western state tour. I think on that one we went through 12 national parks in 2 weeks and cost a total of $75.

I've penciled in a route if trying to meet up with your schedule - it sounds now like you're dropping the Grand Canyon which would cut off some miles. I agree with others though about Utah - start with Zion, Bryce, then Highway 12 to Capitol Reef then around to Arches and Canyonlands. You can see a lot of spectacular country through there (lots of red rocks!)

Since my plan would be to connect this with a trip to Oregon, after a couple of days in Utah I would like to head north to Yellowstone, a run over Beartooth Pass and Chief Joseph Highway, then west to LaPine, then finally home. That route would come in at 3100+ miles and seems easily manageable in 9 days (some long hauls across the deserts with more time dawdling in Utah, Wyoming and Oregon...) The thing that would make it tough for me would be spending so many days in Utah. Sounds like you'll be there from 9/6 through at least 9/10, and I'm planning on being in LaPine by Friday the 11th. Could work for a day or two but staying so long there would eliminate any chance of getting to Yellowstone. i'll have to mull on this a little bit.

Whether I can get my act together or not, it sounds like you've got a great plan coming together!

 

[hppants]

Russ - this is all good to know. Once we get closer, then we may be able to dial it in better. Looking forward to it.

 

[hppants]

As I look at this further - camping in Zion or Bryce is going to be very challenging.

Perhaps I am doing something wrong, but on Reservation.gov - I cannot find a tent site for either Zion or Bryce for ANY night between September 5 and September 26.

I haven't even started looking at Canyonlands or Arches yet.

WTF?

 

[RossKean]

I just had a look and found a few. I also noticed that at some of the sites, it is "first come, first served" - non-reservable. If you don't have a reservation, they suggest that you call the day before (or the morning before). I suspect you will be able to find a site; although maybe not an ideal one. Weekends are going to be tough.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Highway 191 in Arizona was originally part of Hwy 666. I had thought this was true of Hwy 191 throughout its length but I recently learned otherwise... Hwy 491 was originally Hwy 666.

The 6th spur off Route 66 was naturally Hwy 666. Google can tell you more. A lot of what I thought was fact was... Not.

 

[Cav47]

Pants, you did see my post #22 about no sites available. We are running into the same problem on our trip. We plan on using some dispersed camping in a few strategic places. Any National forest or grassland allows it with some guidelines. Dixie national forest is near Zion. Try googling Dispersed Camping on National Forest Land. It is remote and primitive. I know you like both of those.

 

[hppants]

Good point Josh - those campgrounds are probably less crowded and cheaper than the national park campgrounds. I suppose I could show up at the N/P early, and fall back on that as necessary.

Nearly all of these are located several miles off the highway on F/S roads (er... gravel) - does anybody have first hand experience on the condition of these roads? I've ridden short distances of gravel on the FJR, but loaded with camping gear and luggage is a challenge. Even if the road is in good shape, I wouldn't want to chance it with a lot of elevation.

 

[RossKean]

Re: Cost of NP campgrounds. If you get the annual inter-agency pass (for $80), you don't pay a park entrance fee and camping is cheap. In the NP campgrounds I stayed in (in the East), I think I paid around $8.00 per night.

 

[HotRodZilla]

FYI, Sequoia National Park had a bunch of camping areas. Not sure which other parks have the same amenities.

Also, if you are in California, take the time to see the Sequoias and Moro Rock. That was cool.

 

[russperry]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="hppants" data-cid="1246300" data-time="1437250111"><p>

As I look at this further - camping in Zion or Bryce is going to be very challenging.<br />

<br />

Perhaps I am doing something wrong, but on Reservation.gov - I cannot find a tent site for either Zion or Bryce for ANY night between September 5 and September 26.<br />

<br />

I haven't even started looking at Canyonlands or Arches yet.<br />

<br />

Usually after Labor Day things get a lot easier. Not sure why it says everything is booked in Utah, but the Yosemite high country is usually a ghost town the Tuesday after Labor Day.

 

[hppants]

I have seen Sequoia National Park on a trip to San Francisco. It was gorgeous - unbelievable, really.

I've found quite a few camping alternatives around Zion and Bryce. The better ones are an hour from either park, which will cut into my days, but I suppose I can make it work. Guess I will try to time it such that I arrive at the N/P late morning and hope for a cancellation. Failing that, I can ride to the alternative, and commute back to the park to see the sites and do some hiking.

Arches and Canyonlands doesn't seem to be as crowded so I'm not expecting the same problem.

Now the big issue is budget. I underestimated the cost of farkles for my new bike. My "pumpkin disaster" didn't help much. I've also ran the budget on this trip and it's going to be far more expensive than I originally anticipated. Going by myself is making it worse as I cannot cost share on some of the expenses. A trip like this shouldn't be half-assed - if I can't do it right, I should post-pone. So I've got to look at some numbers and think about this. Pants pays cash for his toys and their operation thereof. We've had a couple of unexpected family purchases recently (set of tires for my kids car, big dental bills, etc). My play money stash is not building up like I thought. Kind of depressing - it's so friggin hot down here, I really can't do too much with the bike now. Sorry for my ramble - just venting a little frustration, but I'm still thankful for my blessings.

 

[RossKean]

It always costs more than you think it will; but almost always worth it.

For me, the largest unexpected expense was for motels along the way! On my shortened trip a couple of weeks ago, I ended out with more motel nights than camping nights - for three reasons:

1) Weather - I am pretty much a fair weather camper and tend to seek alternate shelter if the forecast is for more than a few showers.

2) Planning - or lack thereof. Running down the road as dusk approaches with no clue where I would be staying that night. End out grabbing a motel simply because I did not arrange my day's ride to end in a location with an available campsite.

3) Campsites full. My fault for failing to make reservations in advance and not paying sufficient attention to weekends/holidays.

Allow for a at least a couple of motel nights. If for no other reason than to dry out camping gear and do some laundry.

 

[hppants]

I've had another week to look this over and I'm definitely re-thinking it. I have a friend that was visiting the Utah N/P last week and we had a very good conversation regarding logistics. For this trip, I think I will have to make more definitive plans than I prefer. If I don't do it that way, I run the risk of wasting precious vacation time running around looking for a place to stay, and then running around back and forth to and from that place.

More importantly is budget - the cost of expenses for this trip will be FAR greater than I originally expected. Doing this alone drives up the cost tremendously.

But the biggest issue weighing on me is the fact that I will be two weeks by myself. I'm not overly concerned with breakdowns and offs, although those are on my mind. I'm more concerned with, quite frankly, getting lonely. I've traveled alone on the bike, but only for a couple of days. That is actually kind of nice. But 2 weeks is a lot of time for this. My friend (MikeP1300) made a great suggestion. Have my wife take a long weekend in between the 2 week trip. She flies in to meet me close to the N/P - I pick her up and we spend a nice long weekend on the bike touring the area. Then she flies back home and I continue. We could actually do this as a double date if the timing and interest work out.

So it's not 100% "off", but the fat lady is warming up....

Now to be clear - I'm definitely taking a bike trip this Fall. I'll just start looking more seriously at other options.

 

[RossKean]

I hope that you get to go but I understand if it doesn't work out. For the (relatively) short trip and reasonably small geographical area you are covering (compared to my aborted trip), you should probably make some definitive plans; at least for the nights you expect to be camping in the busier NPs. As I learned, there is nothing worse than running down the road as dusk approaches with NO idea where you will be staying for the night. (Worse in the fall with shorter daylight hours.)

Two weeks completely on your own may be torture for some people but therapeutic for others. (I fall into the latter category, for the most part.)

Costs can add up, especially if you find yourself "hotel camping" more than you planned. Having your spouse fly up to spend a weekend is a great idea but will very definitely hurt the budget. (Its only money!)

If you decide to do a pass on the current tentative route, where do you think you will go? Solo trip? Camping?

 

[Uncle Hud]

hppants posted: <snipped> For this trip, I think I will have to make more definitive plans than I prefer. If I don't do it that way, I run the risk of wasting precious vacation time running around looking for a place to stay, and then running around back and forth to and from that place.
More importantly is budget - the cost of expenses for this trip will be FAR greater than I originally expected. Doing this alone drives up the cost tremendously.

One suggestion that might help with logistics and cost: Stay in budget hotels and camp every other night, or camp two nights and hotel the third.

1) If you get a frequent-stay card with a budget hotel line such as Super 8 or Motel 6, you'll get better rates, free upgrades, and free nights -- even on a two-week trip. The frequent-stay status also makes it easier to ask for a different room if you find yourself facing something unacceptable. Oh yeah, free breakfast. Pocket an apple or banana and you have a mid-day snack.

2) You can plan and reserve your stops each morning, based on how you feel at breakfast. (Even campgrounds have wi-fi these days.)

 

[HotRodZilla]

We just came back from our San Francisco trip where we stopped at National Parks on the way out. We came home well under our budget which made some things very clear:

We bought an annual Park Pass. It was $80 and we only ended up going to 3 parks. In the long run, it only saved us $10 instead of $40, but it sure was convenient.

My wife did an awesome job shopping around for hotels and prices. Every hotel was reasonable, and they all had breakfast. That is a big deal with a family of 5. That saved $40/day, easily. The best hotel decision was on SF. We didn't stay in SF. We stayed in Oakland. We had to drive across the Bay Bridge to get to and from our hotel, but at over $100/day savings, it was totally worth it. That hotel was super nice and very well priced for the area.

Unless you're hiking a NP, one day there will probably cut it. This is personal opinion, but I can only look at so many trees, valleys and rock formations before I'm bored. One day each, with only a few hours at the Grand Canyon was perfect. That would reduce your need to leave and then go back.

We also passed a load of KOA Campgrounds. I have heard their prices can be good and bad, but calling around will help. Do all your footwork with Google.

As for being gone for 2 weeks, that's a lot. We cut our last park stop out because we wanted to get home and were tired of the road. On my trips to EOM, I'll screw around on the way out, but on Sunday morning, I'm focused on getting home and haul *** to make that happen. Those are usually only 7 day trips, so another 7 would be hard. Last year, I went with my brother and his GF, and we were gone for almost two weeks.

You can break that up with visits to other people. You could come by here, stay the night, have a good dinner, and we could ride the next day on your way out. Or, you could plan the first week of the trip very well, and have ideas, but not make any reservations for the second week. Then if you want to go home, all you gotta do is point in that direction and throttle it. Vacation mode and "get home" mode are two very different things for me, so I'll shoot for larger cities and grab a budget hotel. Free breakfast is still a requirement.

For two different trips, my wife flew out to meet me. Once at WFO and once at Wheaton's First Camping Trip. That made being gone easier, but I start to miss my kids also...and my own bed. Either way, the flights were easy and we had a ton of fun. Haha...

 

[RossKean]

I look at the "free" motel breakfast as breakfast and lunch. I eat well and grab an apple/banana/bagel etc to get me through to dinner.