Day 13: Thursday 30th August: Peel (wild-camp) OR to a campground somewhere along the Klamath River (hwy 96) CA
282 miles
I don't mind impromptu camping - not when it's warm anyway - but I am wary of setting up after nightfall, as like Forest Gump, you really don't know what you're going to get... I was confident the clearing I'd found (or rather been forced to adopt - the trail dead-ended right here) was away from any property, and indeed far enough away from the road that I'd not be disturbed by humans at least - but was conscious this was bear country and didn't much fancy any kind of overnight visitors to be honest!
Still, I set up just my bug-hut, hung what was left of my depleted Clif-bar stash and wash-bag in a tree as far away as I could be bothered, and got my head down - consoling myself that at least I was still on my intended route, and by camping here, now, I could be up and away at first light, and with any luck be able to make the Morning Star Coffee House (my favourite cafe in the whole wide world) in Glendale at some point tomorrow during opening hours.
As it was, it wasn't until 8am that I was finally packed and ready to leave - coffee and crunch bars and a bit more map-work/GPS programming to be undertaken in daylight, before hitting the road. It was actually a pretty nice wild-camp location - certainly worth waypointing the turn in the GPS for any future time I might caught short with little funds for a hotel... and if I'd been a little earlier in the season, then the surrounding bushes would have been full of blackberries too!
I took a punt on a series of trails and forestry roads that I hoped would be both more direct, and also more entertaining, than simply staying on the main road south from Peel, and I have to say, that gamble paid-off! Cavitt Creek (NF50) Deadman Creek (BLM 32) and Dompier Creek roads were all a lot of fun to ride - very reminiscent of the TAT route a little further west of here, and fundamentally a through-route to where I wanted to go...
I did take a 'short-cut' at one point that ended up on private property, and on my retreat, spotted a baby bear alongside the trail:
photo. caught on helmet-cam as I rode past - I wasn't going to wait and see if his mum was around!
Dropping out of the forest just east of Tiller on the highway alongside the South Umpqua River (close to where the TAT joins), I thought I might head into 'town' to see if there was any sort of breakfast available... nope.
photo. good job I didn't need gas - the whole town on Tiller is apparently up for sale.
Once again I trusted my instincts to help prove an alternative to the official TAT route here, and despite a 'Road closed 3 miles ahead' sign, I followed Callahan Creek [Rd] to cut the corner towards Cow Creek, where I would then pick up the official trail again just before the gnarly section up BLM 32-2-32 otherwise known as 'Cedar Spring Mountain Rd', which climbs up a steep ridge-line, offering fantastic views to the south - if you can take your eyes off the trail itself for a moment that is ;o)
photo. when they say 'road closed' they usually mean it...
photo. but on closer inspection it turned out that vehicles had subsequently dropped into the gully to get around...
photo. I followed suit.
The Tiller Killer!
Sure enough, it wasn't long until I missed the turn into the bushes that marks the start of Cedar Mountain Rd on a sharp right-hander - just, as I recall, I did back in 2015 - although this time I realised my mistake as it happened, and spun around and back on track...
And boy what a track it was - I'd named a waypoint here "This is why we built it" back in 2015, as it was exactly the kind of trail that John and I had designed the CB500X kit for - where you didn't quite know what might be around the corner, but you'd give it a go anyway...
Almost immediately the narrow trail started to climb steeply, drop in and out of some loose and washed out sections under a canopy of trees, before emerging onto a level saddle, approximately half the way to the summit. This was really your last chance to take a breather, turn around, or even set-up camp perhaps if it was particularly late in the day - not least as the view to the south and west is stunning...
photo. It never looks bad from a GoPro, but trust me, this climb is steep and loose and relentless...
Should you chose to continue upwards, this is where things start to get tricky... Were it not bad enough trying to maintain momentum and traction on this section, just ahead is a sharp right hand corner that then climbs directly up the fall-line - requiring utter commitment if you are to avoid a stall or fall, and the almost inevitable slide backwards down the hill - to a 90° corner with a steep drop off into the bushes and beyond, should you not be able to successfully reverse back around the corner. The trail at this point is barely wide enough to turn a bike around on too!
photo. made it... but where is my rock?
A concerted effort saw me to the top without any drama, albeit through gritted teeth and a "don't you f***ing dare stall out on me" muttered under muted breath. Yep, the little bastard had made it up without a problem - and if I'm honest, riding this sector a second time [ie. knowing what to expect] meant it didn't cause me quite as much concern, and certainly the trail itself did not appear to be in any worse condition than it was in 2015. I would say however, that for anyone on a bigger bike, or with much more luggage than I was carrying, you need utter commitment to make it up without things potentially going extremely pear-shaped. It's not a trail to attempt at the end of a long day when you're tired, for sure.
I took a well-earned five minutes here, and hunted around for my rock... sure enough, it was still there (with the sticker intact), just had fallen over in the grass at the side of the trail. It was reinstated in it's rightful position of course... if only as a warning to fear my pioneering* Honda 500 - grrrrrrr!
photo. the trail looks so innocent here... but if you reach this point, you've earned your rest!
*I say pioneering, because as far as I am aware, this sector was not part of the Trans-America Trail until the 2015 route revisions, of which I was the first member of the pubic to ride, early that summer on the Rally-Raid CB500X.
Rather than continue on the official TAT to Azala - no bad thing of course - I elected to break from the Trail once again, in an effort to streamline my route to Glendale, where I was certain I'd inevitably ingest another 'Krakatoa' (this is a five-shot espresso - seriously!) and consider the morning a job well done.
Again, the myriad of trails in the area afforded an alternative, which ultimately I felt was even more rewarding that the original TAT route - Kings Mountain Rd continues due west (when the TAT turns north and follows Burma and Starveout Road back towards Cow Creek), again following a lovely ridge-line trail - nothing too gnarly, just wonderful scenery and a good firm trail surface.
photo. shrine on King Mountain Rd, close to the summit.
photo. crash-landed alien invasion by the look of it...
photo. Restorative victuals in Glendale, at my favourite quirky cafe...
It was only a short hop up I5 (the first time I'd been on an interstate in weeks!) to the Glendale turn-off - a backwoods (I said woods, not wards) logging town that on the surface at least, would appear to be struggling to survive (even the gas station in the centre of town that I filled up at in 2015 was now gone), but is still populated by some cheery if slightly odd inhabitants... I love it.
photo. You are!
The girl behind the counter remembered me from last summer, so we passed the time of day while she mixed me an epic smoothie and assembled the mighty 'Krakatoa' - only this time, much to my dismay, the five glorious shots came in a 24oz cup complete with frothy milk, caramel syrup and whipped cream - what the hell ?! - the ONE place I thought I could rely on to get my coffee order bang-on, and they couldn't have got it more wrong if they tried... I despise milky coffee!
Of course being British I didn't dare complain - not least after the amount of work she'd apparently put into assembling this monster creation. And I have to admit, similar to the Pumpkin Spiced Latte you get in Starbucks at this time of year, it actually tasted pretty good... like a warm milkshake really!
Having essentially completed my mission for the day - by that I mean the previous trail, not the coffee of course - my plan now was to head south and see how far I could get into California before the sun went down. Rather than hop back on I5, there appeared to be a reasonably direct dirt-road route to the west of town (a sign said 'no through road' - they lied) that eventually looped back to the Wolf Creek junction from the other side. That'll do now Pig, time to crack on.
Both highway 199 (heading south west to Crescent City CA) and even I5 (south east to Yreka CA) are wonderfully scenic ways to leave Grants Pass and ultimately Oregon behind, but I'd elected to take a dirt-road route straight down the middle - heading due south past Applegate Lake and then up and over the Siskiyou Mountains, to connect with scenic highway 96 near Happy Camp in northern California.
photo. this remote forestry road would actually be navigable by regular car, but it was still a wonderful backwoods way to cross the OR/CA state line.
Again, my plan was nothing more solid than to continue riding until almost dark, and then find somewhere to camp - and highway 96 that clings perilously in places to the cliffs high above the Klamath River, is another of those awesome Gold (and Red) roads on the Butler map that simply needs to be enjoyed at your own pace.
That pace was pretty sprightly in places I must admit ;o)
More soon...
Jenny x
