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Message: [QUOTE="the Eel, post: 622473, member: 19952"] I always seem to get more than I bargain for when it comes to Kennedy Meadows. Last year it was a quick loop with Kiwi and Thumbs that turned into a 75 miler (and 85 for Thumbs with his small gas tank). This year it was 2stroke4fun’s loop into until recently unexplored terrain. Each time at Kennedy always seems tougher than the last time, but maybe that’s ’cause the desert is pretty forgiving compared to the Meadows’ rock infested, tree-lined single track, which I only visit once a year around this time. This year I had my very own Gas Gas 300 for the first time. It was never a handful ... carved like a ginsu (ok, so it‘s Spanish), vacuumed up the rocks and roots, and chugged up the silly silty switchbacks without complaint (well, maybe a little complaint when a long uphill started it boiling over). My only issue is it’s short range - the 2.5 gallon tank only gets me about 50 miles on the GG3. Like the fat man said, “2 outta 3 ain’t bad.” Almost all the good KM friends were there ... Scar Tissue and family, CPT Jack and Amanda, KIWI, DirtJunkie, PlaceLast, and Old ‘n‘ Stealthy. Plus there were some welcome additions - Boodac, and Pvt Joker and his family, as well as 2Stroke4fun. But we were also missing some friends this year - like GSR and Mr. Luckey (both of whose absence we lamented around the campfire), plus other Wrecking Crew regular army like Thumbs, HoleShot and Dez Racer. It was also a bit of a disappointment that several special guest appearances never panned out, i.e. Elk and ’89r. Rhona and I came prepared this year with plenty of food and drink, a canopy, our mountain bikes, and even some basic cooking equipment. This made our stay alot more enjoyable and kept us through Sunday instead Saturday as we had planned (yup, she wanted to stay). We never touched the mountain bikes but the other supplies came in handy and worked well. The camp setup was great this year with just about everyone camped right next to each other. Once again Scar had a fire ring going each night. I got out on 2 good loops this year. The first led by 2Stroke4fun. I don’t remember all the trails’ names but the highlights were the Siretta and Machine Creek trails. Siretta was a long twisting uphill trek with silty switchbacks. 2S4F stalled at one turn and blasted me with a wheel-spinning cloud of silt that was nearly as large as a small house ... all this and I was only 5 feet away from his angry rear tire when it happened. Plus the uphill trail had my bike boiling over, not to mention it boiled 2 KTM 525’s and 2 WR250F’s. It was hot out - plus the elevation was well over 7000 ft and the trail was long and loose. Any rest was welcome and it felt great when we finally conquered Siretta - somewhere around 9500 ft. Along the way Pvt Joker and Scar had to turn back .... guys, we did wait for you for a good 20 minutes when the KTM‘s let us know what had happened. Time to get some big bores for next time. I was so pleased with the GG3 on this trail ... it just pulled and pulled. Even from a stall. No doubt I was glad I had some NEW MEAT on the rear .... great traction courtesy of Kenda. The Unadilla in 120/100-18, mounted for intermediate terrain. There were quite a few logs on the trails this year and unfortunately I wasn’t the only one to mash a stray foot. Mine purpled up nice a few hours after we returned to camp. The Machine Creek part of the loop was damn tough. The trail was very tight with some slippery creek crossings into quick uphills. Plus some rock faces to negotiate and several logs to cross ... one that was about 3 feet high on its side. We had to lug all 4 bikes over that one. Pretty draining at 8K after 35 miles of rocky singletrack. I was starting to wonder just a little if I was gonna make it back. Gas was a major problem for me but thanks to Scar, 2S4F, and Z-racing Tim I made it back. Anyway, it was obvious nobody had been up Machine Creek for quite some time. Not a tire track in sight and many detours were needed to get us out. Big thanks to 2Stroke4fun for what was the highlight of the trip for me. An exciting and challenging ride ... about 6 hours on and off the saddle. Thanks dude. We did some swimming on Saturday and I have to say I was sorta hoping we would see at least one rattlesnake. You know - just to liven things up another notch or five. Apparently there were quite a few sightings through the weekend. Unfortunately we had to make due with one very small water snake. Oh yeah, I also saw my first marmot. My other KM loop experience this year was a quick 45 miler with O’n’S. Blackrock Mtn trail (?) was a highlight as were some monster whoops out in one of the big meadows. This time I went on reserve at 43 miles. Mostly a lot of challenging rocks and some great slalom through the trees. I did some sprints every so often on the way back through the woods ... good fun. PlaceLast’s signature, in addition of course to his signature Suzuki, has got to be his fine wines. You and I bring Budweiser, but PL brings cabernet. Awesome around a fire. Of course I haven’t mentioned the traveling roadshow that is KIWI and his buds (LOL) - this year it was DirtJunkie, the German, and late appearances by guys with birth names like Pork Chop and the Mouth. What would camping be without you guys ! Revelations of this trip: 1. Dirtbikes are just like Dungeons and Dragons. We just talk about tires, gearing and jetting instead of hit points and magic weapons. 2. Yes - my Gas Gas is a +5 vorpal weapon. I wanna hear more about the Kernville odyssey ... [/QUOTE]

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