P
Paladin
Guest
Pictures are here: http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=122988
AMB-ID '05 Pics No.2 (Curly's Loop)
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It's our 3rd day on the Wood River at the Easley campsite. After a fun time
around the fire we turn in fairly early as the termperature dropped, and
memories of Fisher Williams, Redfish Lake, Warm Springs Meadow and a great
meal (including Penny's dutch oven blue berry cobbler) destined us for sweet
dreams. All but me, perhaps, since I'm sleeping outside again. Thursday nt I
hardly slept at all which may have accounted for how hard the F/W climbs
seemed to be. Bundling up as much as I can, I'm hunkering down in my
sleeping bag and counting stars, waiting for Saturday.
I ask both Gary and Penny if I could borrow their dogs to sleep on the bag
with me, and they just laugh, thinking I'm joking. Not. It was truly a
two-dog night, and I had none.
Wake up and realize that I slept better last nt, since Penny gave me some
nighttime cold tablet, and I washed it down with some barley drinks and
Ibuprofens. It got down to 33f, but I stayed comfortable. Even without the
dogs. Everything helped since I was sleeping outside in the cold, having
forgotten my tent in the hurry to transition from one vacation to the next.
So up and attem with getting the cooking going, and out came my signature
blueberry pancackes. I make them from scratch of course, with ground
flaxseed, whole wheat flour, wheat bran, eggs, blueberries and Black Butte
Porter. Gary's amazing coffee and sausage links round out the repast.
So we take our sweet time to get ready, and by 1030 or so, we saddle up for
the Baker Creek/Curly's Loop ride recommended to me by Harley and
BelaySlave.
It's a long, 8 mile jeep road climb that's pretty unrelenting. What keeps me
going is bantering with the other riders, and looking around as the valley
opens up and jagged peaks come into view.
At a couple spots, Gab blasts forward, claiming a blueberry just kicked in.
Gary's going strong, commenting at one point, "I can do this all day."
Considering how humble and self deprecating he'd been all weekend, I knew he
was telling the truth. At one point near the top, I ask, "am I the only one
hurting here??" and the others give a polite sypathetic sound that tells me
nothing.
To make a long story longer, we summit at the pullout area, and it is
righteously awesome, dood! Penny starts singing from the Sound of Music.
Take a look at the pics and multiply that by a thousand to be standing there
in person, at 9,000 feet, with a 300 degree view of 2 mountain ranges.
Youza! I'm singing, "that's the way, uh huh, I like it, uh hu..."
After the obligatory shameless poseur and group shots, we begin a really fun
singletrack downhill. We're movin and groovin, in style with a smile.
I skip the a-frame, but except for that have only one dab the whole way,
rockin so hard and fast. This was a perfect downhill. Not butter smooth like
F/W, but a little technical in places and definitely steeper. All my time on
the mountain (Bogus Basin) helped prepare me for these woods, that are
silent, dark and deep.
There's one tricky switchback where I photograph the suspects, and catch
Penny's son, Ben vaulting the bars.
What a hoot.
Well, we rock and roll for over 4 miles and it's just too much fun.
el Paladin
AMB-ID '05 Pics No.2 (Curly's Loop)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's our 3rd day on the Wood River at the Easley campsite. After a fun time
around the fire we turn in fairly early as the termperature dropped, and
memories of Fisher Williams, Redfish Lake, Warm Springs Meadow and a great
meal (including Penny's dutch oven blue berry cobbler) destined us for sweet
dreams. All but me, perhaps, since I'm sleeping outside again. Thursday nt I
hardly slept at all which may have accounted for how hard the F/W climbs
seemed to be. Bundling up as much as I can, I'm hunkering down in my
sleeping bag and counting stars, waiting for Saturday.
I ask both Gary and Penny if I could borrow their dogs to sleep on the bag
with me, and they just laugh, thinking I'm joking. Not. It was truly a
two-dog night, and I had none.
Wake up and realize that I slept better last nt, since Penny gave me some
nighttime cold tablet, and I washed it down with some barley drinks and
Ibuprofens. It got down to 33f, but I stayed comfortable. Even without the
dogs. Everything helped since I was sleeping outside in the cold, having
forgotten my tent in the hurry to transition from one vacation to the next.
So up and attem with getting the cooking going, and out came my signature
blueberry pancackes. I make them from scratch of course, with ground
flaxseed, whole wheat flour, wheat bran, eggs, blueberries and Black Butte
Porter. Gary's amazing coffee and sausage links round out the repast.
So we take our sweet time to get ready, and by 1030 or so, we saddle up for
the Baker Creek/Curly's Loop ride recommended to me by Harley and
BelaySlave.
It's a long, 8 mile jeep road climb that's pretty unrelenting. What keeps me
going is bantering with the other riders, and looking around as the valley
opens up and jagged peaks come into view.
At a couple spots, Gab blasts forward, claiming a blueberry just kicked in.
Gary's going strong, commenting at one point, "I can do this all day."
Considering how humble and self deprecating he'd been all weekend, I knew he
was telling the truth. At one point near the top, I ask, "am I the only one
hurting here??" and the others give a polite sypathetic sound that tells me
nothing.
To make a long story longer, we summit at the pullout area, and it is
righteously awesome, dood! Penny starts singing from the Sound of Music.
Take a look at the pics and multiply that by a thousand to be standing there
in person, at 9,000 feet, with a 300 degree view of 2 mountain ranges.
Youza! I'm singing, "that's the way, uh huh, I like it, uh hu..."
After the obligatory shameless poseur and group shots, we begin a really fun
singletrack downhill. We're movin and groovin, in style with a smile.
I skip the a-frame, but except for that have only one dab the whole way,
rockin so hard and fast. This was a perfect downhill. Not butter smooth like
F/W, but a little technical in places and definitely steeper. All my time on
the mountain (Bogus Basin) helped prepare me for these woods, that are
silent, dark and deep.
There's one tricky switchback where I photograph the suspects, and catch
Penny's son, Ben vaulting the bars.
What a hoot.
Well, we rock and roll for over 4 miles and it's just too much fun.
el Paladin