Gilligan's 3-Hour Tour 4-09-2021

Area for everyone to post pics and reports of new runs and events.

Moderator: SPR

User avatar
tobyw
Posts: 1879
Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2007 10:00 am
Location: Under the hood...

Gilligan's 3-Hour Tour 4-09-2021

Postby tobyw » Sat Apr 10, 2021 11:44 am

Lacking adult supervision, the only obvious thing to do was head to the hills. OG and I met up somewhere south of Kennewick around 0800 and headed South toward the metropolis of Dale, Oregon at an alarmingly low rate of speed. This was due to the myriad animals that kept popping up along the route, everything from bovine to badger... At any rate, it was beautiful day for a road trip and neither of us minded a bit as the miles slowly clicked by:

IMG_1298.JPG
IMG_1298.JPG (1.14 MiB) Viewed 3695 times


IMG_1301.JPG
IMG_1301.JPG (2.02 MiB) Viewed 3695 times


IMG_1303.JPG
IMG_1303.JPG (1.25 MiB) Viewed 3695 times


IMG_1305.JPG
IMG_1305.JPG (1.07 MiB) Viewed 3695 times


Finally we pulled over to stretch out legs a bit and let the dogs relieve themselves:

IMG_1306.JPG
IMG_1306.JPG (1.21 MiB) Viewed 3695 times


From this set of corrals it was about a 30 minute jaunt up and over Battle Mountain and into the bustling little community of Ukiah, Oregon. We had hoped to fuel up there, but luck was not on our side even though we thoroughly enjoyed our few minutes in Ukiah. Southward on US Hwy 395 we went, and soon enough we were fueling up in Dale, Oregon for something like $100/gallon. Oh well, better than the alternative... From Dale we headed a little further South, and finally turned onto dirt following NF-21 due East. It wasn't long before we found snow, so we aired down and let the dogs do what dogs do:

IMG_1308.JPG
IMG_1308.JPG (1.55 MiB) Viewed 3695 times


IMG_1310.JPG
IMG_1310.JPG (1.49 MiB) Viewed 3695 times


IMG_1315.JPG
IMG_1315.JPG (1.69 MiB) Viewed 3695 times


For the record, my entire goal for the day was to scope out this area for camping spots that might be available in the next few weeks. The snow we found, although patchy, was very heavy and wet and most certainly would prevent our motorhome from getting where it needs to be, so the wait for spring camping continues... Regardless, we found a decent spot to start a fire and cook up some lunch:

IMG_1321.JPG
IMG_1321.JPG (2.15 MiB) Viewed 3695 times


IMG_1328.JPG
IMG_1328.JPG (1.41 MiB) Viewed 3695 times


At this point, we decided to try and find a connector trail that appeared on the map, but we had never traversed. Having flashbacks to recent trips with similar story lines, we cautiously carried on, gradually encountering more and more consistent snow on the trails:

IMG_1334.JPG
IMG_1334.JPG (1.24 MiB) Viewed 3695 times


Luckily for us, the connector trail was a reality and dropped us out onto a major forest service road. At the intersection, we were faced with a decision to either take a left and return to US Hwy 395 and be home for an early supper, or take a right and explore the ridges in the distance with the potential for being the first ones to break trail across the top, at Olive Lake, and make our way down the other side to Granite, Oregon. The locals in Dale had reinforced what I had read on the Forest Service website, in that the route across the top was snowbound and not suitable for anything but snow machines... Well, challenge accepted. We took a hard right and headed up in elevation. Along the way we crisscrossed the John Day river a couple of times, and came across a truly epic homestead:

IMG_1337.JPG
IMG_1337.JPG (1.45 MiB) Viewed 3695 times


IMG_1346.JPG
IMG_1346.JPG (1.58 MiB) Viewed 3695 times


As we crossed the 5,000ft elevation mark, we both noted a significant change in snow conditions. The fact of the matter was, the snow was several feet deep and the going was actually pretty good, right up until it wasn't... We pushed on:

IMG_1362.JPG
IMG_1362.JPG (1.57 MiB) Viewed 3695 times


Finally, at around 5:30pm, we breached 6,000ft elevation and arrived at Olive Lake with an amazing backdrop of blue sky and bright light from the low-hanging fireball:

IMG_1375.JPG
IMG_1375.JPG (1.36 MiB) Viewed 3695 times


Continuing to break trail down the other side of the hill, we finally arrived at the historic Femont Powerhouse just outside of Granite:

IMG_1383.JPG
IMG_1383.JPG (1.47 MiB) Viewed 3695 times


Hunger was starting to set in, so we made a quick decent to the pavement and aired up. As it turns out, the afternoon of trail breaking had left a massive ice ball in my driver-front tire, and this proceeded to induce some of the nastiest death wobble that I have ever encountered. It took about 20 miles to finally get enough heat generated in the brakes and hub to break the ice up and clear it out:

IMG_1387.JPG
IMG_1387.JPG (1.56 MiB) Viewed 3695 times


IMG_1386.JPG
IMG_1386.JPG (1.58 MiB) Viewed 3695 times


At long last, we arrived in Granite:

IMG_1388.JPG
IMG_1388.JPG (1.27 MiB) Viewed 3695 times


This was good news/bad news: good news because we had actually made our intended destination, but bad news because it was nearly 8pm and we were 4 hours from home... Oh well, such is the life of the intrepid explorer, right? We made out way out to I-84 at Baker City, fueled up again and grabbed a quick gut-bomb for the road, and hammered down for home. 16 solid hours and nearly 450 miles of pure awesomeness, can't wait to do it again :thu:
Yep, I've wheeled one of those, too...
Image

User avatar
TJDave
Peak Putters VP
Peak Putters VP
Posts: 2806
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2008 11:47 am
Location: East Richland

Re: Gilligan's 3-Hour Tour 4-09-2021

Postby TJDave » Sat Apr 10, 2021 5:07 pm

Very cool. Thank you for sharing. 8)

So far my Gladiator on 37's has only made it to The Slab for a muddy test run, a couple Hanford Hiway midnight snow runs to 100K area, Juniper Dunes, and many many grocery store runs! :lol:
2018 JLU Rubicon
Tow bar mount
Trailer hitch

User avatar
motomick76
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Jun 21, 2015 4:45 pm
Location: Kennewick, WA

Re: Gilligan's 3-Hour Tour 4-09-2021

Postby motomick76 » Sun Apr 11, 2021 7:06 am

Awesome run! :thu:

OldGreen
Posts: 4502
Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2007 6:21 am
Location: coming or going?

Re: Gilligan's 3-Hour Tour 4-09-2021

Postby OldGreen » Sun Apr 11, 2021 9:37 am

My view was essentially the same. . .except that I wasn't under the same lack of adult supervision. Wifey, thankfully, was forgiving since I did, in fact, come home alive and during the same day. . .within about 12 minutes. :thu2:
20210409_190052.jpg
20210409_190052.jpg (90.17 KiB) Viewed 3678 times
20210409_130430.jpg
20210409_130430.jpg (166.34 KiB) Viewed 3678 times
20210409_130542.jpg
20210409_130542.jpg (242.22 KiB) Viewed 3678 times
20210409_141324.jpg
20210409_141324.jpg (267.57 KiB) Viewed 3678 times
20210409_161236.jpg
20210409_161236.jpg (192.11 KiB) Viewed 3678 times
20210409_152419.jpg
20210409_152419.jpg (198.43 KiB) Viewed 3678 times
20210409_172245.jpg
20210409_172245.jpg (158.13 KiB) Viewed 3678 times
20210409_172455.jpg
20210409_172455.jpg (225.91 KiB) Viewed 3678 times
20210409_173115.jpg
20210409_173115.jpg (300.01 KiB) Viewed 3678 times
20210409_172551.jpg
20210409_172551.jpg (247.21 KiB) Viewed 3678 times
20210409_115331.jpg
20210409_115331.jpg (250.69 KiB) Viewed 3678 times


User avatar
Roman
Peak Putters President
Peak Putters President
Posts: 2743
Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2007 5:30 pm
Location: Kennewick, WA

Re: Gilligan's 3-Hour Tour 4-09-2021

Postby Roman » Mon Apr 12, 2021 8:53 am

We found ourselves down that way to witness the eclipse. Camped around Galena. Stayed on the asphalt (for the most part) but was neat to look around.

User avatar
tobyw
Posts: 1879
Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2007 10:00 am
Location: Under the hood...

Re: Gilligan's 3-Hour Tour 4-09-2021

Postby tobyw » Mon Apr 12, 2021 9:46 am

Yep, the meadow where OG and I had lunch is the very same meadow that we viewed the eclipse from back in 2017... I've been camping/wheeling/hunting that area literally my entire life. Not much in the way of technical wheeling to speak of (unless there is snow), but there are some fantastic trails to just toot around on and soak in the views.
Yep, I've wheeled one of those, too...

Image

User avatar
motomick76
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Jun 21, 2015 4:45 pm
Location: Kennewick, WA

Re: Gilligan's 3-Hour Tour 4-09-2021

Postby motomick76 » Tue Apr 13, 2021 5:24 pm

Forgot to mention, nice Monster wheels :thu2: Also have a black lab, but terrified of riding in ANY vehicle, make road trips a bummer.


Return to “Recent Run Reports - All Other Runs”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests