11 Hours, 2 Mountains and 1 KLR.

[Angus McGee]

From the floor I work on near downtown Portland, I can see several mountains in our "neighborhood" on a clear day. I look east, and can see Mt. Hood. Look north, and there's Mt. St Helens in all her rounded glory.

For the longest time, I've wanted to see if I could go from one to the other in the same day. After some brief prep work for a path that avoided all major highways, I set out yesterday morning.

Friday morning on my way in, I came to an intersection, and looked left and right, just like they taught us in the MSF course.. As I looked right (east), the sun was just about to come up. The sky went from a deep orange right at the horizon, through gold, into yellow, almost a greenish color, and then into the early morning blue.

"Man!" I said to no one in particular. "I wish I was turning right into that sunrise instead of left towards work. Tomorrow, I'm definitely turning right." I thought of little else all day Friday and on into the evening.

"Tomorrow's going to be great."

After getting up at the same time I would for work during the week, (5:30a) , I geared up and headed east. I rode from my home in SE Portland towards my first destination, Mt. Hood, thinking I'd get further if I filled up after a few miles.

One lesson I've learned from others is that you should never, ever pass a gas station. Keep topping off. I certainly don't want to find myself lying under the back of an abandoned car with a punch and an empty water bottle.

This was my first stop in Sandy.



I got some strange looks from people watch me take pictures of my bike at a gas station. Obviously, they've never written a ride report before.

I set my GPS to "compass" which included altitude, speed, etc. I noticed that as soon as I broke 500ft, it got very foggy. It got pretty bad for about 250/500 ft of elevation, and then it cleared up, and there was the blue sky I was hoping for.

YES!

I was able to watch the sun rise just to the left of the silhouette of Mt. Hood.

As the road snaked along the terrain, I felt like I was in a game of "peek abo" with my first goal du jour.

I rounded this turn,



and there she was.



Just west of Mt. Hood is Government Camp. For those of us living in the Portland, a trip to Mt. Hood necessitates a trip to Government Camp. I did the deed.



Through Gov't Camp, and on to the mountain!



I made it to Timberline Lodge, which, as far as I know, is how far the road goes up the mountain. I got there at around 8a or so. Man, it was beautful up there! My carbureted KLR did not think so. The GPS indicated an altitude of around 5800 ft, so a suffocating carburetor was causing a significant drop in hp. And on a KLR, you need every one you can get. At sea level, you've got about 39.

It was a nice ride back down the back side of Mt. Hood. It almost felt like I was flying. Okay. Bad choice of words. I'm on a KLR. "Flying?" Let me rephrase. It almost felt like I was gliding. The roads are great and they look to be fairly new.

On to my second destination.

I went back down to the state highway, and hooked up with it as it wrapped around Mt Hood, and into the town of Hood River. I found another gas station, and topped off again. Saw some dude from Salem on a Harley, and he seemed very interested in my KLR. Can't say I blame him. If I rode a Harley, I'd be interested in adventure bikes too.

I crossed the Columbia River via my first toll bridge on a motorcycle into Washington State. Riding a metal grating on a motorcycle is interesting to say the least. "Smooth and easy.. Smooth and easy"



Now, I had written down the route I wanted to take in Jiffy Marker, and had it in the top of my tank bag. I was looking for Route 14, and I must have missed it. I stopped at Drano Lake, and set the GPS to the Mt. St. Helens Observatory.

It took me right to the place I wanted to avoid. Vancouver, WA. Not that there's anything wrong with Vancouver, mind you. I just wanted to avoid any urban areas. The GPS told me to take 205N, and then, just a few exits up the interstate, it told me to exit. I thought that it had found a back way up to the mountain which is exactly what I was hoping for. No, it just took me through a bunch of subdivisions, and back on to I-5. Screw it. I turned the GPS off, and just slabbed up to Castle Rock which was about 30 miles north.

For those paying attention at home, the KLR does not like interstate speeds. It'll do 'em, but it looks at those speeds much like I look at mowing the lawn. Yeah, I'll do it, but I don't have to like it.

I took the exit for Mt. St. Helens, and pulled into a local place for lunch. That "detour" through Vancouver added a lot more miles and took a lot longer than I was expecting.

There was a couple there that had rode in on a Harley Heritage Softtail. They saw me walk in with all my gear on, and politely head-bobbed. I returned the greeting, and sat down.

When they had finished and got up to leave, I watched them. They stood next to my bike and curiously stared at it. I don't blame them. If I rode a Harley, I'd stare at an adventure bike too.

I finished my burger, and headed east following the tourist signs to the Visitor's Center which was only about 5 miles off the freeway. "Uh, isn't there supposed to be a mountain around here somewhere? I know that there was a big explosion a few years back, but I also know that there was some left over. I can see it from my office!" They had this big deck where the people seemed to be congregating, and way off in the distance, you could see the mountain.

There was this guy wearing a VietNam Veteran's ball cap there who happened to catch my eye, and I asked him "Can't we get closer than this to the mountain?"

"Sure", he said. "Just follow that road down, and it'll take you right to the crater."

"Great. That's exactly what I wanted to know. Thank you. And thanks for your service." I shook his hand.

"Thank you. My son served in Iraq too, and was wounded and spent some time at Walter Reed recovering."

"How is he now?"

"He's better, but it's slow going."

"Just know that we all honor and respect him, contrary to what you might hear."

In thinking about that conversation afterwards it was interesting, but not surprising that he took what I had as sincere gratitude for his service and turned it onto his son. A sign, IMHO of a true hero.

Back onto the bike and the road headed towards the mountain.

From the interstate to the Visitor's Center is about 5 miles. The road I had to follow to get to the mountain was another 47 miles. I've come this far, I sure as heck am going to go all the way up there.

More peek-abo with my second destination. Rounded a turn, and pow. There she was.



A little further on, and there was a pullout that said "Bridge Lookout"

It was a little parking lot that overlooked this beautiful bridge spanning a huge ravine.



There was another sign there that said "You are about to enter the Blast Zone." Dang.

Riding towards this mountain was a lot more surreal than I was expecting. The damage was still very much evident. I recognized places I'd seen on History Channel and Discovery Channel shows. On the other hand, I didn't really know what to expect. The closer and closer I got to the mountain, the less and less it looked like the Pacific Northwest, and the more it looked like some sort of huge cemetary. All the tree stumps had been bleached white and stood as a natural memorial of what was once a lush, beautiful forest much like what I had just seen at her sister mountain just a few hours ago.





During one of my photo stops, a guy on a Harley Sportster that seemed to have had some work on it to make it a little less chick-bike, and more 60's racer passed me. I got in behind him, and followed him up the rest of the way to the museum they have right next to the crater. We both got stuck behind a slow moving Toyota mini-van who ignored the "Slower traffic keep right" signs on three separate occasions. They had these short spots where they added a right lane so faster moving vehicles could get past. Obviously, this driver was completely oblivious to the two motorcycles behind them. On the third one, I passed both the Harley, and the mini-van. This was one of those times a stronger bike would have come in handy. The Harley followed, and we both got around the mini-van before the lane ended.

Shortly thereafter, I arrived at the second destination of the day.



Living up in the Pacific Northwest, you come to expect the rural areas you visit to look a cetain way. Green, lots of trees, maybe a stream or two, the sounds of birds, etc.

I took this picture to show how dramatic the landscape still is 28 years later. There were very few trees. There were no birds. It looked like Riverside County more than it looked like the Pacific Nortwest.

Frankly, I found it very moving.



By this time, I was getting pretty tired, and ready for home. My job was done. I'd made it from Hood to Helens.

I slabbed home, & poured myself a cold one.

[Warrior]

The picture of Mt. St Helens is pretty dramatic.
Great ride report and pics!

[Ally House]

Angus,
Nice idea for a ride. Way to let your brain have its way when it is resisting going to work!! I have not had the heart to go to Mt. St. Helens since the eruption; as a PacNorWester myself, I know what it was, and what it is. That was a great photo of her now.

If you keep taking pictures at gas stations, you'll have documentary evidence of the history of gas prices. I took photos the first time I ever paid $3 a gallon only to take another when I rejoiced at buying gas when it went back under $4.

Ally

[MrPepsi]

Being from Oregon myself and spending every weekend in Klickitat County Washington, I have only one suggestion to your great ride report. Add one more stop inbetween your two Mt. stops. Mt Adams of course! It will make for a longer day, but you can still do it in one day. And if you can take two days, throw in Mt Adams Ice Caves! You could probably do this trip in one day too but that would be too rushed to really take in the beauty.

[Angus McGee]

thanks, guys..

I would encourage anyone to get out to Mt. St. Helens. Especially on a motorcycle. It was a great ride. They have a cool Visitor's Center that's like a museum. They even have an indoor theatre there.

One thing that struck me is the amount of lasting damage to the environment this one volcano had. Mother Nature's a strong chick, man. Don't piss her off.

[benport]

Angus, I'm jeleous! First reason: I take the Mt. Hood loop you took all the time and I always wanted to get to Mt. St. Helens the same day. You beat me!
Second reason: You got a KLR! I'm definately getting one this winter! I'm not to excited about the power loss at the higher elevations but I'm sure carb adjustments can be made. Seems like a great bike though, Are you happy with it?

[Angus McGee]

Originally Posted by benport

Angus, I'm jeleous! First reason: I take the Mt. Hood loop you took all the time and I always wanted to get to Mt. St. Helens the same day. You beat me!
Second reason: You got a KLR! I'm definately getting one this winter! I'm not to excited about the power loss at the higher elevations but I'm sure carb adjustments can be made. Seems like a great bike though, Are you happy with it?

I love the bike. I've had it since July '07, and have ~ 7500 miles on it.

It's a bike that's good at everything, and great at nothing. It's not the fastest bike out there, but if you've got the time, it'll get you where you need to go. It'll do 85 mph on the highway, but not for long. You have to top off the oil after your trip if you plan on doing those speeds for more than about 5 minutes. With the stock sprockets on it, there's times where one gear drops the rpms too low, and the one lower makes the bike rev too high.

The advantage is that it doesn't care whether you're on a 5 lane interstate, or a one track deer trail. It'll do either one. The brakes on the '08 are excellent, and it rides pretty smoothly. It's not a real heavy bike (compared to the 1200 GS) but it's not a Suzuki DR either. I've taken my daughter on rides, and as long as they're not >200 miles, we can usually walk when we get home.

I love the sound of the engine with the factory exhaust. It's very reminiscent of my ol' XR 100 when I was a kid. In fact, the proportions of me on the KLR are very similar to those of that ol' bike. When I first started riding it, I felt like I was 12 again.

Whether or not I'd recommend the bike all depends on what you plan on doing with it. Doing a little road trip like I did? Sure. Just don't plan on breaking any speed records. Feel like taking Lolo Pass Road up to Lost Lake? Go for it.

I have had some problems with the rear shock, and had to have it replaced (under warranty). The other thing that the KLR community discusses regularly is the "doo". Like I said, I have about 7400 miles on mine, and I've never done the "doo". From what I've read, they fixed the problem on the '08. I do listen for odd rattles, and so far, so good.

I do plan on getting a second bike for those longer trips with my kid. Right now, I'm looking at the Concours 14. The jury's still out on whether or not I'll sell the KLR.

Hope this helps.

Let me know if you have any specific questions..

AMcG

[MrPepsi]

Lots of info and great people on www.conrours.org if you are heading that direction.

[Angus McGee]

Originally Posted by MrPepsi

Lots of info and great people on www.conrours.org if you are heading that direction.

I'm guessing you meant "www.concours.org"..

[MrPepsi]

ROFL, ummmmm yeah.