Utah Trip, Synopsis

At the end of a trip, I like to evaluate the gear I packed and how useful it was. There are always things you should take, even if you do not expect to need them; such as severe weather clothes, tools, tire repair equipment, first aid kit, and emergency lighting. There are other things that you anticipate needing but never use; such as fishing equipment, camping supplies, and food.

This was a short trip so packing was not as critical as on a two or three week journey but there was the added complication of carrying camping gear. I enjoyed the camping aspect of this trip but I now realize that camping needs to be the primary reason for a trip to justify carrying all of the gear. The tent, sleeping bag, and related equipment is bulky and heavy and is difficult to pack in a way that does not adversely affect the handling of the motorcycle.

I wore a full set of leathers for the first time this trip. Normally I wear Firstgear mesh pants and jacket under a Firstgear parka and overpants. This combination is versatile and easy to pack. I put CE armor in the mesh clothing and remove it from the parka, which makes the cold gear easy to roll up and stuff under the cargo net on the back seat. I like wearing leather while riding due to its protection level and flat-out coolness but it is not as versatile and a lot more difficult to deal with when not on the bike. It is easy to keep warm in the leather gear when in the mountains but it was difficult to keep cool when riding through the desert. I was also disturbed to discover that my camelback hydration pack marred the back of my leather jacket.

I packed a small duffle bag of food and wound up hauling most of it home. I tried freeze-dried food for the first time and found it convenient and filling. The eggs and bacon was very good and easy for breakfast, though fixing instant oatmeal was as quick and filling. The instant coffee I took was great with breakfast but I packed far more than I needed. Freeze-dried food would be great if I were to spend more time in the campground but since I spent so much time on the bike, it was not really worth carrying.

Washing my cookware was troublesome because the campground had no running water and I had to use my limited supply of drinking water. As it turns out, this was not an issue due to the short amount of time I spent in camp but I can see it being a problem when spending less time on the road.

I used this trip as a shake-down run for my up-coming Alaska trip and it gave me important information that I will use to my the three week journey smoother. I now look forward to hitting the road again for the trip of my lifetime.

Things I packed and used:
· Two fleece pullovers
· Two pair boot sox
· Two pair shoe sox
· Three underwear shorts
· Two coolmax under shirts
· One button front fishing shirt
· One pair angler pants with zip-off legs
· Swimsuit
· Water shoes
· Tilley hat
· Turtle fur neck fleece
· Buff headwear
· Tent
· Sleeping bag
· Thermarest
· Ground cloth
· Camp stove
· Titanium cook set
· Camelback hydration pack
· Plastic mallet
· Eagle Creek Pack-It vacuum bags (for sleeping bag and tent)
· Brinkman LED lantern
· UV light
· Digital camera
· Tripod

Things I packed and did not use:
· Rain jacket
· Cold weather gloves
· Fishing gear
· First-aid kit
· Two hand warmers
· Plastic trowel
· Tools (luckily)
· Hand-held GPS

Things I did not pack and wished I had:
· Lawn chair

Utah, Day Four

Today was a travel day but I was not ready to just hit the 15 and motor on home. Instead of heading back to Cedar City to get to highway 15, I went down to highway 89 and road south to Kanab.

Several of the small towns along highway 89 do something that I am sure they think is very clever; they park sheriff's vehicles on the side of the road with a manikin dressed in uniform. I stopped in Kanab to photograph one of these decoys, which you can see in the album link below. Notice the Hitler mustache painted on the manikin.

Once past Kanab, I took Arizona State Route 389 to Pipe Spring National Monument. The owner of the Pinewoods Resort suggested I stop there when I asked him about taking that route to St. George. The Pipe Spring is a Mormon fort built over a spring and was used as a cattle ranch that supported the workers building St. George.

The rest of the trip was just the long haul through the desert down the 15 and back home.

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Utah, Day Three

I decided there would be no more hiking due to the blister on my foot so I broke camp and hit the road. I decided to head back to Hatch and check out a fly shop I noticed on the way up. Unfortunately, there was no one there so I decided to get some more riding in and head up to the mountains above Cedar Breaks.

The traffic was light and easy to pass so I enjoyed winding it out on the twisty roads. The mountains up here are covered in a mixture of pine and quaking aspen and have massive solidified lava flows coming up close to the road.

On highway 14, I stopped at the small town of Duck Creek to find a place to spend the night. You can tell there was a lake at one time because there is a boggy meadow surrounded by cabins but the only water visible was a small stream; presumably Duck Creek. The accommodations were sparse; a few tourist cabins right on the main street and a small hotel/general store on a hill above the highway. Neither really attracted me.

I set out back down to Hatch because I knew there were a few motels but on the way out of Duck Creek I noticed blue road sign with a bed icon pointing up a dirt road. A quarter mile up the road I found the Pinewood Resort, which has a lodge, restaurant, cabins, conference center, and a small motel. I inquired about a room but there were none available except for a possible canceled reservation. With the change of a room, I went to the restaurant for a late lunch. By the time I finished lunch, the cancellation was confirmed and I got to stay.

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Utah, Day Two – Part Two

After having an early lunch at the Kiva Koffeehouse, I set out on the two and a half mile hike to the lower falls on Calf Creek. The trail meanders up a lush canyon and alternates between slick rock and deep sand. The falls pour into a bowl eroded out of the rock into a shallow pool, creating a microclimate unlike that of the surrounding desert. In the creek below the falls, I saw some good-sized trout. I thing they were Brown trout but I am not sure.

The hike out seemed quicker than the hike in but I developed a blister on the ball of my right foot which made the walk a little less pleasant.

By the time I was done with my hike, I did not feel like fixing dinner so I stopped in Boulder to have some food. Once back at my campsite, I collected some driftwood and aspen twigs and had a small fire. I enjoyed watching the birds preparing for the evening. There were swallows darting around catching insects, robins hopping along the ground, and a pair of woodpeckers chasing each other.

P.S.
It looks like a Honda Element convention around here. The three camp sites around me all have Honda Elements parked in front of them.

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Utah, Day Two

08:30 – I remember now why I gave up camping; I do not sleep well on the ground. Sure, I have all the hi-tech gear but there is only so much comfort you can get out of a Thermarest pad. But then, discomfort makes for better memories.

Late last evening, after the campground filled up, two women from New Mexico drove through looking for a campsite. My campsite is large so I offered to let them use mine. After dinner they shared some wine with me but the two other single guys in the campground came over and chatted them up for the rest of the evening.

I had a bag of freeze-dried scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast and it was actually very flavorful. It was much better than the teriyaki chicken last night.

Utah, Day One

17:49 -- Finally, I am sitting in my campsite, with a Punch Rare Corojo, a flask of Captain Morgan's, and my laptop. The tent is up, I have taken the obligatory photographs, finished up a bag of freeze dried chicken teriyaki, and am ready for the evening.

I left the gas station right at 06:00 this morning and had a leisurely ride into Utah. My initial destination of the Calf Creek campground was reached just after 15:00 but, as my luck usually dictates, it was full. I proceeded up Highway 12 to Boulder, where I took the John Burr trail to my second choice site. I found two empty sites at the Deer Creek campground and selected the one farthest from the road. This is actually a more peaceful camp than Calf Creek as Calf Creek is right off the highway and gets the highest traffic. I still plan on stopping at Calf Creek so I can hike up to the lower falls.

Utah is one of my favorite places to ride and Highway 12 is something ever motorcyclist should ride.

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A Day at Don's Place

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Don is more than a motorcycle enthusiast; he is a professional motorcycle enthusiast. Fifteen years ago, I worked for Feetup! magazine as a test rider and Don was my editor. Since then, Don has worked his way up to the motorcycle division of the Robb Report.

Saturday was as close to a perfect day as you can get if you are a motorcyclist. Accompanied by my friend Todd, another former test rider for Feetup! magazine, I road up to Malibu to visit Don for the first time in three years and the first time at his new house. We spent about an hour getting caught up and the rest of the day riding a menagerie of motorcycles through the hills above Malibu.

The three of us swapped between a Harley Nightster, Husqvarna Supermoto, Ducati SR3, and Ducati 1098. The 1098 was the first sport bike I have ever ridden and what a bike for my first experience. It was the most stable bike I have ever ridden. It was fast but not frighteningly so.