North-South Rd and Bonetti Rd....

[jamileh]

Pretty great ride this weekend - thanks for your help!! We stayed in Murphys Fri and Sat nights, and on the way to North-South, rode Sheep Ranch, Jesus Maria, Sutter Creek-Volcano, Ram's Horn, Shake Ridge... Then Omo Ranch to North-South, which was in very good shape. We had a bit of a hard time finding Bonetti coming at it from the east (we did not have a county map, as you suggested; only Benchmark and AAA maps), but finally turned onto it. From North-South, it's only marked 10N55, that we could see. Was just like you described: beautiful, deserted (till later), short stretches of gravel, LARGE potholes, lots of pine cones and needles, some rocks. In short, perfect!!! LOL.
But then, at what seemed like every turnout and camp/picnic spot the westernmost 2-3 miles, groups of people were target-shooting just off the road -even one guy blazing away with an assault rifle. Was a little weird. Jenkins Lake was really pretty.
Today, we rode Sonora Pass east, then came back west over Tioga, then home. Weather was nice and cool, and lots of varied riding. GOOD weekend!!
Oh, for those of you who haven't tried Big Hill Rd out of Columbia in that area - give it a shot. a great backroad....
a few pix..... The first is North-South, the rest are Bonetti.

[jamileh]

a few more pix....

[sanpedro]

Nice pics. Looks like you got onto Bonetti right after the Capps Crossing campground area. That's an easy turnoff to miss. The signage is pretty poor out there, a lot of those brown plastic stakes with the road number have been shot at or removed, and many have never been placed at all.

I got on late or I would have suggested Packsaddle Pass road, from silver fork over to Strawberry. There are some good views of Pyramid Peak up near the top.

[jamileh]

OK, this is dorky, but that happens to be my middle name.... here're a coupla pix of one of the maps I had. I'm still confused about which road we were on, when we turned west from North-South onto "Bonetti", ie - were we on the squiggly road going west just north of the "6" designation just north of the marking for Capps Crossing campground, or did we turn on the straighter road, parallel to and to the north of the squiggly road, the straighter road having the boxed "51" on it but which says "North-South" to the left of it? The AAA map called 51 Bonetti Rd. I think the squiggly road is an eastern continuation of Cosumnes Min Rd, yet we turned west further south than where that 51 hits North-South Rd, about 4 miles south of Mormon Emigrant. Know what I mean. I wanted to come at it from the west end off of Mormon Emigrant, but my hubby said no. If we were not on the squiggly road, has anyone ridden Cosumnes Mine all the way from Grizzly Flat to North-South? Is it paved all the way, at least in some fashion?
Stan, is it still Silver Fork going northeast with the 71 designation, that hits 50 just west of Strawberry?
We meed to return to ride it and the roads Rod recommended north of 50. We ran out of time on Saturday to go north of 50 at all, tho my friend Regina and I had a blast on a bunch of them in January: Iowa Hill, Ralston Ridge, Wentworth Springs, etc.... Still have MUCH more riding to do up there.
GREAT AREA.
What was with all the target shooting at the west end of Bonetti?? Yikes.
Jenkinson Lake was really pretty.

[jamileh]

oh, one more question: is there any other way to get on Bonetti, aside from where we did (wherever it was; that brown stick said 10N55, not 51), and from the west end off of Mormon Emigrant Trail?

[WIRE]

Originally Posted by jamileh

But then, at what seemed like every turnout and camp/picnic spot the westernmost 2-3 miles, groups of people were target-shooting just off the road -even one guy blazing away with an assault rifle. Was a little weird.

National Forest lands...legal. Can't shoot across the road, or in direction of structures. There are more details to the limitations, but in general, yes...legal on National Forest lands. I like it better than shooting at a range (although getting a bit farther off the road is nice). In CA, you can't just go out and pick any old unpopulated spot to shoot, so being able to shoot on NF lands is a good--not weird--thing. Just like motorcyclists, some are prudent, respectful, and considerate; others, not so much. As for the "assault rifle"...really?;-)

Back to the main topic, though: Cool report and pics. I want to try North-South; I always see its terminal points but I've never ridden it.

[sanpedro]

Most of the people that go out plinking on Bonetti are decent folks getting in some target practice. But a couple of times I've seen a carload of obvious urban looking young thugs shooting their AR type weapons, eesh.

I think route number 51 and 10N55 are one and the same, Bonetti Road. 10N57 between Bonetti and North south is the easternmost, paved section of Consumnes Mine Road. The western section is unpaved and winds down to the Consumnes River, near Grizzly Flat.

#71 is Packsaddle Pass. If one was going up to Tahoe on 50 they could turn up Silver Fork Road and east on Packsaddle. It would add some time but be a scenic detour. I know all these roads well because the little KLX was my only bike for 2 1/2 years after I sold the W650 and before I bought the KLR. It had no freeway range so I rode locally out of necessity.

[WIRE]

Oy.