Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126072
eWOT • .By Donald E. L. Betsworttl J ream a bit : a ride into th e sky; a ride to the to p o f th e' world; a: ride up a deep canyon, and then a skyline trip; ride among the oldest trees in the world. Sound intriguing? Start at 4100 feet; within ten miles hit 10,650 and in the last three miles you"climb over 4000. Then thirteen miles later top out at 12,000 feet in some of the most awesome scenery anywhere in , the world. Gas up. jet down arid let me take you there. Silver Canyon and the D 14 White Mountains are probably the most .unusual ' areas in California or for that matter, the world. It has the oldest living trees - many over 4000 and one said to be 4~00 years old. The redwoods get to be 3500 and are larger 'only be cause of . climatic conditions. White Moun tain is the third highest in California at 14,246 feet. There's over 20 feet of snow in the winter and it's so dry in the summer even the few lizards carry can teen s. It has the highest continually in h ab it ed place in the entire -United States. You can drive to 10,000 feet on pavement via West gard Pass. Most tourists go up this pass from Big Pine and only go to Schulman Grove. It 's a fan t astic drive but you really miss the feeling of the area an d t h e cha lleng e of the di rt . I've driven the paved road to Schulman, then run 17 more miles of dir t, th en at th e locked gate got out and hiked ten mile s to the top of White ' Mountain. Th e rangers say it's seven and one half miles, bu t at ov er 12,000 feet, huffin g and puffing, I still think i(s ten. We put 12 of a party o f 16 on t op sever al years ago. We felt this was an ac co mp lishmen t as the oldest ad ult (m e) was 42 and th e youngest was nine. . . But now, we 11 huff and puff to a d ifferent tune. We start ridin g just east of the town of Laws. California o n Silver Can yon Road . T o re ach La ws d rive to the north side of Bishop and then t ake Highway 6 to wa rd T onapah , Neva da. At four miles take a right turn on Silver Can yon Road , go one mil e th rough to wn . Laws has a very fine Rai lroad Museum an d the tour is well worth the ti me. Cro ss tw o creeks and park near the pumping in stallation on the left side of the road u nd er the big tree. Start with a full fuel tank, as th e distance is 54.2 m iles-acco rdin g to my son 's odometer. Take a lunch, water, and a warm jacket. It was quite coo l when we started and the jacket came in very handy ,severa l hours la ter. On the way o ut it got a little warm and when we returned to our truck it was 95 degrees. (Editors note: Due to weath er, this is definit ely a summer rid e.} . We started at 8:30 a.m. with the ' sky clear. Heading east up the dirt ro ad toward the mountains, the road is very good and at 2.1 miles y ou cross into National Forest land. At the first s,even stream crossings, the water was shallow, but we made them slowly as streams and creeks in the mountains can be" deceptively deep.. Continuing up the canyon, in some places the trees and bushes overhang the road, so be careful as a willow branch in the face at 20 mph is no fun . The canyon is a mild climb for 6.5 miles, .then the "up " really begins. The road looks like it deadends, but a sharp hairpin turn changes your mind, so gas it a tad and up you go. . For the next three miles you will climb about 4000 feet. It 's ro cky, p lenty of very sharp switchback turns, and exceptionally long drops if you should go off the road. I went into one gully on a 180 degree turn that had an .up angle of" about 30 degrees, and almost went over the bars. About a mile from . the top it starts to level out a bit. When you reach the main road junction you are at 10,650 feet and have ridden 10.7 miles. It will seem like 20 . At the top of the ridge, tum right and go three miles south to Schulman Grove. Take a break, and then take the short half-mile walk to see Pine Alpha. It was the first . Bristlecone found that was over 4000 years old. At this point you can determine if you and your scooter will make it another 16 miles to 12,000 feet.