Ok, so here we go again...I lost this post last night after trying to edit the "preview" version instead of the actual post below it. Grr....
So, what is this? Art? A sign of some sort?
Eric getting ready to drop down through the saddle...
Kinda rocky up top...
This is the same route we took last May, only in the other direction.
In May is was up, up up. It appears that doing it in the other direction brings a lot of down, down, down. Who knew? I use a tad more rear brake on the SM than I do on my regular dirtbikes since the SM front brake is ginormous and tends to want to spit me over the bars sometimes.Needless to say, I cooked the rear before reaching the bottom...right before the really steep section, wouldn't ya know. No photos as I was busy trying not to eat dirt.
We blasted back to camp and met Max there. We got him suited up and we took a quick and easy ride down the road to a springs. He thought the wild burros were cool...
We were playing around in the water when we heard a big thumper roaring down the road at, oh, Mach I or so. He was set up for adventure and Max says "He probably knows you. Is it one of your people?" I rolled my eyes and laughed at the absurdity of his question. I mean, we were out in the middle of nowhere...ya know? What were the chances? About 20 seconds later we hear the bike roaring back towards us. This big dusty dude pulls up and says "I recognize that Husky!" Max started cracking up! I responded with "Uh-oh...is that good or bad?" The dusty dude says "I think it's good. You must be WoodsChick!" Pretty hilarious, but he was spot-on, of course. Turns out it was a fellow ADV'er, the one and only Larryboy!
Larryboy was wrapping up a solo Western TAT ride and I was pretty stoked to be found by him in the middle of the desert!
He hung out a bit, saying something about wanting to set up camp before dark. Before long, he was playing in the water with us. Next thing you know we're inviting him back to camp with us. He was concerned about fuel, but we offered to top off his tank. The offer of endless bottles of wine and a tasty dinner did the trick

We were friends by the time we suited up to head back to camp...
We had a great time making dinner, drinking wine and talking non-stop. Larryboy is one cool dude, for sure. We finished dinner and headed on over to the big springs for a soak just after sundown but before dark. We were armed with bottles of wine and candles. We spent many hours soaking and carrying on, only leaving the water to retrieve another bottle of wine every now and again. The stars were incredibly bright and numerous on this moonless night, the Milky Way visible from horizon to horizon. I'm glad there were witnesses to some of the shooting stars we saw, as otherwise nobody would believe us when we say they were mind-blowingly stupendous. I don't exactly remember the circumstances that led to it, of course, but it was about this time that I sustained my only real injury (the purple elbow from the silt bed get-off doesn't count) of the trip. I burned my inner forearm pretty good on one of the candles. It dogged me the rest of the week.
In the morning we picked up where we left off. Carnitas and tortillas for breakfast then it was time for Larryboy to suit up. Cool headlight, eh?
It's always daytime in the desert for Larryboy...
We said our goodbyes, and I hope I was successful in conveying to Larryboy that he was welcome in our camp anytime...
I was thinking earlier that finding the crash site had been the highlight of the trip, but now I know better.
Max, Eric and I suited up and headed out towards Fields. Max was really digging my KTM 450...
The brothers having a good time together...
I wonder what this building used to be?
Max was kind of nervous about the rocky lip at the top of this incline...
He did fine with not much drama...
I kinda lost my head on this section...
Max preferred the gentle slopes...
Twins are special...
We sat in the crisp sun in Fields and had burgers and shakes. No photos there. Eric and Max before a soak at yet another springs...
Classic Max...
Funny thing, I was riding sweep all day, even though Max did great and never needed any assistance. Consequently I ate a ton of dust. It was my turn to ride point on the way back and Max and Eric were not thrilled with the results. I guess my mondo Husky tread throws way more stuff up than their puny dirt tires and they were getting hammered pretty good with rocks, gravel and dust. I wondered why they were way back there

We hit the Junction right at sunset and stocked up for the night...
The burgers at Fields did us right earlier in the day so we had Acme bread, bleu cheese and a soak for dinner. It was a really good day. I had a good time riding with Max. Maybe he'll come with us again in the future.
Our last day is on the way...
WoodsChick