Gifford Pinchot National Forest
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Luckily, there was no rain Friday night so my tent and gear was fairly dry in the morning. I woke up about 6:30am, ate breakfast, and packed up for the ride home (had to get back to Camas so I could pack up for my business trip to Calgary). I think I left the campsite by around 8:30am.
Leaving Paradise Creek Campground - Just morning dew on the roads
My original plan was to ride down to Carson, and take Hwy 14 along the Columbia River back to Camas. Although it was cloudy, it really didn't look like it was going to rain so at the last minute I decided to take the dirt roads back. So I headed south on Hwy 30 to Stabler/Hemlock, and then took FR 54 north towards the FR 43 detour that would take me to FR 41 heading east towards Yacolt (kind of the reverse of a part of my Thursday ride).
Along FR 43
Just after I took this last picture, I felt the first sprinkles. Then, within just a few minutes it was raining pretty good and would keep raining for the rest of the ride home. I was surprised at how well the dirt and gravel roads held up. I came across a lot of areas where the water was running like a little stream either down or across the road, but I really didn't run into any muddy areas - a few puddles as I got further west, but nothing bad.
I didn't bother stopping to take any pictures in the rain. I reached FR 41, passed by Lookout Mountain and reached Sunset Campground. Then it was a stint of pavement along Sunset Falls Road to Dole Valley Road before another section of dirt along SR 1000, which I took to Livingston Mountain Road and back home before noon.
In two and a half days of riding, I never saw a single motorcycle (and no more than a handful of cars, except when I was on Hwy 30). Total distance ended up being about 440 miles, and probably 80% of that was on either dirt or gravel - perfect for the GS.