Break time! Mon, 10/10/22

 

Quite a dry spell for Tergel ... she hasn't really been on the road with us in almost a year (except for shortie to Cal-expo in Sacramento).  She's been sitting all by her lonesome.  Time to take her for a ride!  With no set plan in place, we set out "north" or "east."  Tergel doesn't get the best gas mileage (think: understatement), and with gas prices in California topping six bucks a gallon, we decided we didn't need to go far.  There's plenty to do and see within a short radius.

We left Smartie behind this trip, electing to see how we'd function with just the E-bikes.  Kind of a trial run.  We shall see.  With these new bikes of ours, we thought we'd like to ride the entire distance of the 25.4 mile Bizz Johnson bike trail, up near Susanville CA.  That being so, I searched for a campground somewhere in the middle of the trail -- bingo:  Goumaz c/g was in the middle, right ON the trail, but with only five sites.  So, we left Monday morning, fingers crossed that we could snag one of those sites.

But, oh my, these destructive wildfires leave such a scared landscape.  I think these blackened trees are from last year's horrendous Dixie Fire that consumed over 1500 Square Miles -- that's miles not acres!  We would see more areas that looked like this.

But, then again, we'd see a pastoral scene like this, complete with tree color.

Google maps said to turn off Hwy 36, and we ended up on a eight-foot wide dusty, dirt track for 14 or maybe 114 miles, brushing the rig's sides with branches and leaves.  It seemed more like 114.  Tergel is coated in dust.  Oh good grief, so are the bikes and the bike cover!

Yet, we managed to find Goumaz c/g, out in the boonies for sure, with no one else in sight, a beautiful and quiet place to spend a night or three, and next to the Susan River.  And, woohoo, with no fee.

Spotted this Clark's Nutcracker straight away (heard it first).

Here it is with its mouth open!

Once Tergel was squared away, we went on an EXplore, on foot.  The day was sunny and warm and altogether delightful.

Shallow and narrow, I took a picture of the Susan River and our shadows.

We're camped in Lassen National Forest,

and the foliage is beginning to show a bit of autumn color.  

We walked onto the Bizz Johnson bike trail, hardly remembering that we rode a section of it back in June of 2013 (thank you, dear blog).  The trail crisscrosses the river 12 times in its entirety.

The afternoon was waning and deep shadows dappled the trail.

Should be fairly easy riding on this fine gravel.

When I initially saw the crooked darker-tan line, above, I thought it looked like giant's teeth.  I still do.  Perhaps molars?  Weird erosion going on.

We'd have to go around a gate or two.  I see one in the distance.

We spotted several beaver dams as we walked the trail along the river, but it didn't look like anyone was home.  Too many willow bushes/trees covering the banks.  If beaver were around, those trees would be gone.

Returning to Tergel, we fixed dinner and relaxed for a while before going to bed.  Of course we have no hookups here, nor cell service, and the quiet is pervasive.  Very, very nice.  Tomorrow we plan to ride the western part of the trail, from our campground to Mason Station and back, about 25 miles.  Looking forward to it.