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Trip Reports |
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3-5-06 Out to Dead Cow Lake 34 Miles |
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Another great day for riding today. It was in the mid 40s, but the sun was
very warm, not a cloud in the sky. We headed alot further north than we
had in the past, and branched off into a whole new patch of land to
explore. We took a break next to a small body of water, that had some strange column shaped formations of algae in it. They weren't solid, or stiff, but appeared to be. I tried to get a couple shots of them, but was getting too much reflection off the waters surface. |
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About half way through the days ride, we met up with a guy that we have
met at least three others times while out riding. We just always seem to9
run into him somehow. As usual, he had plenty of places he was willing to
show us. We hit a great mix of trails on this ride, everything from flat
smooth dirt roads, for getting our speed fix in. To very rutty, paths that
cut right through the middle of the woods. Our friend was riding an ATV that he had just got fixed, and was having brake problems. Well, to be more specific, he had no brakes, he had lost all of his brake fluid. I have to say though, for not having any brakes, he did quite well on the trails. These trails can be fun also though, as they pose a different type of terrain, and set of obstacles. Mainly, trees, that we had to constantly weave through. There was one downhill section, that was rather steep in places, and was quite muddy. Our brakeless buddy decided it would be better for him to circle down below, to avoid this downhill section, which I think was a good decision. My Rubicon was doing a great job of keeping my descent slow and steady, but it still took a good bit of braking. There was one section that made a sharp turn, and sloped sideways into a deep rut. I miscalculated this a bit, and my ass end slid out and smacked a tree. Luckily, I was going slow, and after inspecting the Rubi for damage, couldn't even tell that I had done it. I also learned, that even though you have a good bit of gas in the tank, always top it off before each trip. You never know how far you will be going, or how much fuel you will be burning. About half through the ride, I was down to alittle under half a tank, and I notice the second half always seems to go faster. We had to make alittle detour, to a somewhat nearby gas station, so that I could top off my tank. I think I could have made it through the rest of the days ride, but its better safe than sorry. Ultimately, our destination, was a lake names Dead Cow Lake. At least, thats what the locals liked to call it. I suppose I can see why they call it that, with all the bones laying around one side of it. Although, they were deer bones, not cows. |
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On our
way home, we passed by a small bar, that had at least 25 ATVs parked
around it. We just had to stop in and check it out. It was rather comical,
Ben walked in and said, "hm, I wonder what they have on tap?" This was a
tiny backwoods bar, the only thing on tap, was CANS of Bud Light. We felt
alittle out of place there, so we headed out after just a few minutes. I
find that we run into two types of people while riding. Ones that want
absolutely nothing to do with you, and ones that are very friendly and
willing to talk to you, and even show you new trails. We got back into town right before dark, and spent the usual $5+ just to wash off the ATVs at a car wash. Its amazing how much mud can get stuck on these things, no wonder I burned some gas, I was hauling 100 lbs of mud! Here is a satellite image of the the area we were in, with the track log from my GPS, overlaid on top of it. This has been a great tool for us in the past, weather it be hiking driving or riding. |
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