[Wingnut]

I had the chance to get away for a couple of days with some good friends (Jeff & Val - they had their quad, however, both have Honda MX Bikes as well just not on this trip) and got some great riding in on the Monroe Mountain in Central UT in the Fish Lake National forest.



Here is my mug shot....

Jeff and Vall crossing one of the many stream we encountered along our way.....it had been bone dry down here until the past several weeks and for about the past 20 days or so the mountian has been getting a nice shower every afternoon.

Coming up through the tree's..

One of the trails had this cool boardwalk over a marshy area.

In rain gear just after the rain stopped, once we arrived at Barney Lake.

Val and Jeff making waves....

Here are some shots of a burn area we rode through from a fire this spring, amazing how the fire jumps the road in some spots, burns acres and acres and then will leave a whole stand of trees untouched. It looked like another planet in some spots.

Sorry for the picture quality...my 10 year old point and shoot has been dropped while, hiking, biking, skiing etc etc and continues to somewhat take pictures. One of these days I need to upgrade it.

 

[old mad max]

I can say that running in deep water is best on the quad.................... Nice area.. Thanks for the photos. OMM.

 

[Roninboise]

That looks like a fun adventure. Thanks for the report. Here in southern Idaho the mtns are ablaze and we can not get to the high mtn fun trails as they are either blocked by fires or as a precaution.



Happy Trails All



Ron in Boise

 

[Wingnut]

Ron - I know exactly what you are talking about....so smoky here in the Salty City valley that you can hardly see the mountains!! News says it is our Northwesterly flow bringing the smoke in from ID.

 

[B-dub]

Nice shots, and looks like you had a good ride. Glad to hear they've got some rain lately. I hate to see the devastation the fires cause, but I guess it's a natural process and the vegetation will grow back. We've also had our share of fires in this end of the state, including a fairly major one on Cedar Mountain just west of Highway 89. Monroe Mountain is a great area to ride in, I hope to spend some time in that region next year. Thanks for sharing your ride with us.

 

[Gerry]

Hope I am not butting into to many threads. Seems I have been here long enough now to have a picture for every situation. Fires seem to have certainly come to the attention of many of us. My perspectives have changed over the last five years. I too have been amazed as to how a fire can move along quite aggressively and take out everything in it's path. Then again, fire can just as well, meander with what seems to be, little interest. Here is a very narrow fire brake that seemed to do the trick.



I live in a forested section of Northern California. Five or so years ago, we had over ten fires in 'my' area that were started by lightening. Just so happens, I was in the woods that afternoon with the TW and got my skinny butt hunkered down in a slight depression. Did not seem a good idea to be riding a motorcycle with a 6' metal CB antenna waving about. On my way home happened upon a very small section of burn and since I was still on a high point, I called in my location. The poor dispatcher sounded like he was on the verge of a nervous break-down. There had been so many strikes that hundreds (a guess) of calls were coming in. When I told him I would like to report a fire, he replied, "you and everyone else in N. Calif". Not very professional I thought at the time, but the situation came into perspective when I heard they were sending crews from all over the country. We even had some guys from Jimbo's (our windshield maker) fire crew driving up from San Diego (the other end of the state).



Wingnut, great pictures. Your rains certainly greened things up nicely, and I am happy to see it. Fires can be particularly scary when they move close to town. What elevation were you at? Thanks again, I like that mountain air. Gerry

This puppy gets your attention when it flies over your house at around 1500 feet. Given the cost of getting this (737 jet) filled with retardant and into the air, you know your town is in serious jeopardy

The first items we put into the trucks.

Our two trucks were loaded. At this point, there was no getting out of town. All the roads that were open were jammed with vehicles. Some months after the fact, I spoke to a fellow that said it took him an hour just to get across an intersection in his car. Seems after that, he and the Wife just returned home and picked out a nearby parking lot should things go from bad to worse.



Perhaps some words of 'wisdom'. Should you feel any situation may arise to the point of evacuation, if you 'hem and haw' and think about it to much, your options are much reduced. Remember the 'freeway' pictures of the stranded folks trying to flee Katrina? Like they say, you/your Family need a plan. Sorry for the rambling........

 

[Wingnut]

mrgizmow....good advice. You never know when or if you will need to "grab and go". Alittle like the saying...."dress for the crash and not the ride", I need to do alittle better job of both of those

 

[admiral]

You have a couple of great trail photo's. The wood bridge is kinda cool. I've been places where we rode our mules (4 legged) over those kind of bridges. Thanks for sharing.







P.S. As Ron pointed out, been hard to see the sun the past few weeks. Matter of fact, without a cloud in the sky, most days I can't even see the blue sky. Plus I've been really busy cause of the fires. Gotta pull a double shift tomorrow, ugh! My eyes burn and itch! I'm tired! I need a timeout so I can go ride, or be able to check in on the forum more often!



Ride on everyone.

 

[chrissprecher]

looks like a great ride, I'm gonna have to try it one of these days. Thanks for the report.

 

[lizrdbrth]

We hunted along the Sevier from Rock Candy into the Monroes for many years. Lot of good memories.



I was through there lately and found they'd turned the old railroad bed into some sort of manicured state bicycle path. Looked a bit out of place in that setting. Is the boardwalk maybe a southern extension of that?