Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

sconvs CASTLE .......-' F • «: 8 UBEHEBf CRAT'R Gone was the old sign at Teakettle Junction, replaced by this modern beauty. This year 11 riders went along for the ride. N t Death Valley Veni (I came), Vidi (I saw), and was beaten by Mother Nature By Donald E. L Betsworth Photos by Donald W. Betsworth The second annual Death Valley to Saline Valley, start and end in Darwin, carry our own gear and sleep in the dirt motorcycle ride has recently been completed. A better word would be ended. It was super for most of the first day, but during the rest of the trip Mother Nature treated us very badly. It was com- 12 parable to an ISDT, but squeezed into two days with a campout added in. As stressed in our article on last year's ride. I said, "go prepared for any type of weather." You should. We didn't. Thus we suffered as a result. The weatherman had said super weather for several days. Obviously it was for some place other than Death Valley. I've ridden enough in the area to know of its fickleness and should have known hetter. My crying towel is wet so I'll stop and let it dry out. I had grand plans for all the riders. A visit to a ghost town, Scotty's Castle, a good dinner on the trail and for the topper, a nice hot spring for an hour or so of skinny dipping. About half went down the tube. I had planned all year for this trip and especially the Saline Valley section and its hot spring. I had scanned my topo maps and covered all my material on the valley so many times, I thought I could ride it in my sleep. This year th.. group was enlar~ed to 11 riders, three support vehicles and three passengers. The route was changed slightly and the distance was (0 be increased to 257 miles. The logistics Wl're monumental. We carried gas for the bikes, extra gas for the four wheelers. food for 17 very big eaters, and of course all the necessary ac· couterments for a long ride. Sometimes I think smaller might be better. Again I was assisted with excellent information from Death Valley Chief Ranger Rayner. He was still happy about our visits and thanked us for the mention in our first article. My very nice contact in the Inyo County Road Department, Dee Boyer, provided us with up to date road information for tbe second time. Our genial friend, Tim, a full time resident in Darwin . again kept an eye on the vehicles and trailers we left behind in his front yard. The bikes this year ran the gamut from two tiny XL 1255 to a TT 500 thumper. We also had one 350cc complete with sideback. The support vehicles were all near· new four wheelers. All riders, like last year, bad Class Four endorsements on our DMV passes. With much of the ride passing through areas being considered for wilderness by the BLM and some by tbe USFS for RARE II, I must point out we saw no hikers or backpackers, anywhere. We assembled in Darwin on May 6 and immediately problems popped up. Play riding in the local hills caused three flat tires. The local cactus have thorns lik.e shingle nails, only sharper. A three wheel Alsport developed a sick rear end and was written off for the rest of the trip. One bike was found with a sidecase full of water and it took an hour to get it started. Next morning with thl: bikes lined up getting their tanks topped off, someone played dominoes with them. Luckily for us the only damage was a broken brake lever bracket. Duct tape did its usual magic again. With t'Veryone jack.eted heavily, the ride repeated the first 25 miles run last year. Keeping 14 sets of wheels together was similar to pulling off the DDay landing. At the junction of. the Hunter Mountain and Grapevine Canyon Roads, we turned right- and crossed up and over the high rocky ramparts of Hunter Mountain. Dropping down the east side and into Death Valley proper, it was a series of very rocky and rutty switchbacks. A couple of riders did some funny getoffs with damage only to their egos. At Goldbelt Spring .we pulled up for a short break. One rider, new on my trips, commented, "God, is it lonely out here." We motored north up through Hidden Valley past Lost Burro Gap then continued on to Teakettle Junction. This "!as one of the nicest parts of the ride. At Teakettle Junction I was a little dismayed to find the old sign with its many teakettles and pots was gone and in its place was a new modem sign with only one teakettle bolted on. From the junction we made a 15mile round trip back-track to the "ncetrack." Again we saw some of the famous sliding rocks but none of its resident burros. A couple of tbe big eaters couldn't wait any longer so lunch was broken out. It consisted of frozen sandwiches (too much dry ice) and soft hard-cooked eggs (too little hot water), From ~his point the same route was used the many miles north to our campsite at Crater Camp. One rider went down enroute-and lost a couple of square inches of hide. A few bandages, a little nip of the grape to kill the pain and he was almost as good as new. Again as last year, several riders had not seen Scotty's Castle_ We

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