Kind Souls and a Spin Through the Wood

No KTM's were injured while documenting this mini-adventure. But had there been trouble, my Honda would have towed them out.....

Inspired by: Harry McClintock - In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

(for Hodakaguy)
Latitude: 48.999
Longitude: -114.476

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One evening as the sun went down
And the jungle fires were burning,
Down the track came a hobo hiking,
And he said, "Boys, I'm not turning
I'm headed for a land that's far away
Besides the crystal fountains
So come with me, we'll go and see
The Big Rock Candy Mountains
--------------------------------------------

I waz poking around the forum a week or so ago, feeling more like a lurker than a participant when I ran across big jer's "Lake Koocanusa" posts. Well I'll be darned if that son-of-a-gun and Mechanically Declined Cuz were heading into my neck of the wood.

Now mind you, as many times as I've wished I could haul my crud over the hill and ride with you all it sure was nice to finally meet a couple of the PNWDualSport clan. If big jer and MDC are any indication of the caliber of membership here on the forum, this place is truly a special kind of place.

As I understand it, big jer and MDC (aka Mechanically Declined Cuz) roll with the flow, making plans is not a priority. Last Thursday I get a phone call they wanted to stop by. Oddly enough they ended up rolling into Columbia Falls under a "Blue Moon," filled their bellies and called the old griz out of his cave.

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In the Big Rock Candy Mountains,
There's a land that's fair and bright,
Where the handouts grow on bushes
And you sleep out every night.
Where the boxcars all are empty
And the sun shines every day
And the birds and the bees
And the cigarette trees
The lemonade springs
Where the bluebird sings
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains.
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In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
All the cops have wooden legs
And the bulldogs all have rubber teeth
And the hens lay soft-boiled eggs
The farmers' trees are full of fruit
And the barns are full of hay
Oh I'm bound to go
Where there ain't no snow
Where the rain don't fall
The winds don't blow
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains.
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Well it just so happens, only a few miles away is the Blue Moon our local cowboy bar, dance hall, eatery and really nice collection of wildlife mounts. Jer and MDC were fillin' their tanks and wanted to stop by the compound after dinner. I got a phone call from big jer wanting directions to the griz cave and immediately wondered if this had anything to do with retribution for the pink tutu comments I made on the forum while under the influence of cabin fever.

Luckily, it had to do with shaking hands, making new friends and the pleasant surprise of exchanging gifts. It seems big jer was worried I might hurt myself on those long winter nights when the mistress and I are using ball peen hammers and crescent wrenches instead of a more appropriate tool.

Apparently, big jer rode two days to pick up the bottle of Pendleton Whiskey I got him last winter. In turn, he surprised me with an upgrade to my riding tool kit.

Here's big jer - with a shit eating grin like the cat who just ate the canary:



And here is my toolkit upgrade, serial number 0002 of the patent pending "adjustapeen" tool. I was happy to replace my 15 inch rear axle nut tool with the more compact adjustapeen! THANKS JER!!!



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In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
You never change your socks
And the little streams of alcohol
Come trickling down the rocks
The brakemen have to tip their hats
And the railway bulls are blind
There's a lake of stew
And of whiskey too
You can paddle all around it
In a big canoe
In the Big Rock Candy Mountain
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So is this a ride report or the ramblings of a guy who should be a hermit with a secret desire to start his own blog?


(there is a ride involved)

that was a good read. I happened to be scanning adv and seen a couple pics of big jer. Almost copy/pasted but am too lazy.

*i hate bogs. they read backwards.

**i'm in the process of getting my enhanced license. That way I can ride with you guys sometime and you can't just dump me off across the boarder with no way home.

So we were having some laughs over a and I had been chomping on the bit waiting to find out if the guys were going to have time ride with me.

I was enjoying the company but eventually the guys decided it was time for them to find a place to crash for the night. Once again, the guys floored me when they asked if I would like to take them out for a ride on Friday.

I must have been really looking forward to getting out because the night before I had already prepped my beloved BRP

***DISCLAIMER***

I've only got the few pics I took on our day ride. I'm sure we can all look forward to seeing many more when big jer and MDC get back from their trip and post up a report.

We met up in town for breakfast then rode back out to my place. By the time we dropped the luggage it was about 9:30 am - the weather was a perfect 69 degrees, sunny with a few clouds. Lookin' great for a days ride... I decided to take a 150 mile loop up into the Whitefish Range. Those 990's will pull 200 miles, and the guys kept telling me "just don't get us lost too bad." :2cents:

So here's a pic of us just gettin' back to the house (because I forgot to get a "here's us leaving" pic). Just imagine clean bikes instead of dusty ones, and that's pretty much what we looked like when we left.

Inspector wrote:

that was a good read. I happened to be scanning adv and seen a couple pics of big jer. Almost copy/pasted but am too lazy.

*i hate bogs. they read backwards.

**i'm in the process of getting my enhanced license. That way I can ride with you guys sometime and you can't just dump me off across the boarder with no way home.

Funny you mention getting dumped off at the border lol... MDC was telling me the story of when he got caught across the border with only a paper copy of his passport. Had he not gone to school with a couple of their local border patrol officers, he probably would have earned his Canadian citizenship by now

He showed me his passport and it specifically says to make copies of the front ID pages, leave one at home and take one with in case you lose the real deal. He got into Canuck Land but almost didn't get out

Time to ride...

So we took a route on two lane backroads from Columbia Falls to Whitefish, ten miles of 90 degree twisties then around the backside of the North Shore on Whitefish Lake. After about 15 miles we hit dirt and expected to stay on it for the rest of the day.



My butt was just starting to conform to the 2x4 I have for a seat when I check for the guy's headlights in my rear view mirror - WTH !!

I guess we all had a bit too much on the morning of the ride. I guess MDC had more than the rest of us...


I turn around and MDC is looking suspiciously like a full bladder


Luckily, these images will hit the internet far in advance of MDC's return to big jer land (otherwise I might have to leave for a few days).

So I'm standing there, kinda chuckling and wondering how many times us old farts are going to have to stop to pee today......

(actually, I was kind of glad there would be frequent stops to view scenery - lol)

I hear something breaking branches in the treeline behind us and turn just in time to see a glimpse of a rare albino white moose....

(Oh crap, it was just big jer taking one of many shots I can't wait to see in his ride report)

BRB - got to thinking about it and now I gotta pee...

I tell ya, it sure was nice to be in the saddle again

I had never ridden this section, and there is a LOT of forest road work going on right now. More often than not, you can be cruising down a main route expecting to come up on your turn only to find a big 'ole sign saying its closed for culvert repair or resurfacing.

All good stuff, as long as you don't NEED to go that way... Luckily it was a great fast forest road cruise to our first stop at Upper Whitefish Lake.

I only took a couple pics - but big jer should have more when they get back. Why is it when I do something with my family and friends I am always the one behind the lense and not in the picture! Do you guys get that too?

big jer


MDC


Kid fly-fishing

big jer and MDC got some great shots heading up out of east fork swift creek. The second section of our ride took us up about 1,500 ft from the lake, along the creek and through a small pass.

Half way up the road deteriorated into perfect whoops, dips, launch points, hard pack and great views. I stopped and waited for the guys to catch up (those 990's are a little heavy going uphill).

just kidding guys

I didn't have to wait but 60 seconds before the distinct sound of those 990's started ripping up through the canyon. We stopped for some scenery shots and then did some hot runs up the hill (ACTION SHOTS COMING FROM BIG JER AND MDC).

So you guys figure out the lyrics yet?

Last verse:

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In the Big Rock Candy Mountains,
The jails are made of tin.
And you can walk right out again,
As soon as you are in.
There ain't no short-handled shovels,
No axes, saws nor picks,
I'm bound to stay
Where you sleep all day,
Where they hung the jerk
That invented work
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains.
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You know, you spend a little time with people and you get to know them above the anonymity of the internet. Sometimes, when we're lucky they turn out to be even nicer than their web personality.

Big Jer and Mechanically Declined Cuz, it was my sincere pleasure meeting and riding with you. Your motorcycle enthusiasm was as equally enjoyable to your personalities. I believe you represent what I have come to love about this forum.

Hey look who finally made it up the hill - Can't wait to see YOUR pictures! lol

Last lines of the lyrics:

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I'll see you all this coming fall
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
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Anyway - at this point in our ride we crossed through one of those mountain passes that keep you googling at the scenery enough to make you forget to take pictures.

We were dropping back down into a long valley heading towards the North Fork Flathead River up towards the border. Honestly, this was where I went into my forest service road zen cruising mode.

As far as the lyrics go - I just thought it was in line with my own dry humor. Plus I heard it on those new LL Bean commercials and it has been stuck in my head for days. But after finding out about the original Big Rock Candy Mountain, it made me think about the true motorcycle enthusiast. Those hearty souls that roam to places most can only dream about, like railroad hobos.

Am I nuts? I dunno, but it is late and the mind plays tricks that sometimes only the owner can decipher... Take a listen and judge for yourself. Is the ride report over? NO

While I was riding I couldn't get the song out of my head - those hobos had to be one form of precursor to motorcycle adventure riders

More to come in the morning

Very cool, enjoyed the pics too

Would love to come oot there sometime and gofor a ride

Well this August weather is feeling more like October

I'm hoping big jer and MDC made all there waypoints before this cool and wet weather set in. So back to our day-ride, I thought I'd toss out a map in case any locals or visitors want to check it out. We took a pretty straight forward route, kind of hard to get lost due to the terrain.

But here it is:

Red Meadows Route

Ok,

As I said earlier, we road down out of red meadows and into the north fork. The north fork is a unique area because the north fork of the flathead river seperates Glacier Park from a 50 mile stretch of folks living "off the grid," literally. Instead of heading down towards Polebridge, I asked the guys if they'd mind heading up to the border.

The border crossing has been closed for many years, is patrolled by horseback, 4x4's, blackhawk, snowmobiles and snowshoes. While we were there a really nice portable corral was set up with fresh horse sh*! but no border patrol around. There was a really cool bush plane parked on a private airstrip, I wanted to ride up and ask to take some pictures of the airplane but I respect private property rights.

The airpstrip was behind two fence lines, with double sets of no trespassing signs. I remember my aunt saying there was a wealthy homeowner's place right on the river but you couldn't tell from the public access point to the river. I did learn something I didn't know, there is an improved public access point to the river right on the border. I was thinking how cool it would have been to have the crossings open to traffic because it would also be a back door to Waterton Park in Canada.

Here's a zoom shot of the airplane:


And the view from "the other side"

So I had been farting around at the border, and well, it was pretty basic. A gate, a sign and a couple unused buildings that looked like they could easily be put right back into service.

With my border crossing curiosity fully satisfied, I realized it had been 20 minutes or more and big jer and MDC had not come out of the river access point.

So I snapped a couple pics and headed back over to meet them. You'll have to wait for their ride report pics, it's worth it! LOL



And one of me laying on my back trying to make the boring sign look a little more interesting

At this point, I waz gettin' pretty hungry and knew there would be fresh baked goods and hot pocket sandwiches waiting down south in Polebridge. So we headed south for some yummy food and cold drink.

MDC took off in the lead and about half way there big jer and I stopped at the Wortz cabin (national forest/historic cabin you can rent). It seems big jer's 990 touring windscreen was trying to vibrate itself off. Next thing I know, his 990 transforms into a portable workshop.

He loctite(d) the windscreen fasteners. I asked if MDC would come back to check on us and jer said he probably wouldn't right about the time that V-twin rumble came revving around a corner. So MDC got a little extra riding in - well at least saw the same stretch twice, lol...



I have to admit, it seems being prepared sure makes a ride more pleasurable. Big jer had it fixed up in no time - they later said they had the bugs worked out of the 990's so well they'd leave for Alaska with no second thoughts. The big KTM's work so well.

Well I guess I forgot to mention a quick "pitstop" we made on the way up to the border. The forest service replaced the bridge just above the Ford cabin so now you can ride right out to the water. In years past, its been a challenge to find access along the river due to closed gates - looks a lot better today.

Sorry no scenery shots, I'm hoping some great shots will show up in big jer's report when they get home.

Heading south to Polebridge waz kind of like heading up to Polebridge, just in reverse, or forwards, depending on which way you look at it.

its ok, I confuse myself.... I didn't take any pics in Polebridge, big jer and MDC took some so we'll have to wait for the goods. If you want to see it now, here's a linky to a spring ride we took to go up for lunch: Spring Polebridge Lunch

I dunno when it happened but I found myself standing up a lot on the last 50 miles

I must have been moving around a lot on my seat because big jer later said he thought he smelled something burning during our last little stretch. No flames or smoke so we kept on heading for home base.

Took a last 15 mile dirt detour back to the griz cave and found this:

So had a fantastic day!

Met some truly nice human beings

and ended up where we began, lol, sorry for the snot locker shot but its all I got before you guys continued your adventure.

best regards

griz