Sunday I kept my foot to the metal to arrive @ Greenhorn Gulch by around 9 to assure a parking space as I heard from yesterday that the lot was plugged and the forecast today was to be the same. I made it w/ plenty of parking opportunities. I noticed early users were hikers walking dogs. I waited a bit to let the sun warm things up and thaw any freeze thaw mud.
Today I rode up Greenhorn to Mahoney then to Lodgepole and connected w/ upper Greenhorn for descent. A group of riders form Elephants Perch set out to ride it backwards to my route. Nice day w/ an edge. On my climb up Lodgepole which was burned over in the fire several years ago I heard what sounded like a dry chain. Several more grunting pedal strokes then BANG and my cranks spun freely. i caught myself before I coasted downhill backwards. I broke my chain, the first time I have ever done that. I believe the chain broke at the same spot where I previously took the chain apart because I could not open the magic link. I thought about hike a biking up and coast down Greenhorn but I really didn’t know what was ahead. I found a sitting spot on the hillside and pulled out my multi tool which has a chain breaker. Plan was to remove the damaged link and put the chain back together. I succeeded in my plan and also scored separating the magic link. I continued uphill and ran into the other rider group. John and Muffy were first whom they told me about meeting them @ the Cream Puff. All the riders were covered in splashed mud from the soaked soil that freeze thawed. On my climb I watched a small mud slide oozing down the trail. I pushed my bike up as it was too slippery to ride. I crested the immediate uphill then rolled down. I pushed the lever to lower my seat and the lever went to the end of its travel and the seat remained extended. What the heck? I stopped and checked it out. Darn, I had broken the fitting connecting the hydraulic hose to the seat holder. No more seat lowering. At least the seat remained fully extended for pedaling which was better than part way down which would have been a bitch to pedal w/ such a lowered seat. I missed the lowered seat but I overcame my higher center of gravity to make it back to the parking lot.
Next was to make arrangements to have the seat post repaired. I drove to Ketchum to Elephants perch which gets the press for the best bike shop in the valley. They did not have the part. I ran into Rodger who used to work there but is now working @ Backwoods. He said they had the part. i called and sure enough they had several rebuild kits, I just needed to bring the bike in Mon AM. OK the seatpost is under control.
Next event was to drive out Warm Springs road to a hot spring to soak off the mud and sweat then spend the night down by the river out there. Made the hot springs. Ran into Brian from Backwoods and told him what I was up to. The main pool was very toasty that cooked me. I waded across the fast flowing Warm Springs creek to a pool on the other side that was less hot. The springs contain sulfur like rotten eggs. Trick is to cook in the spring then rinse off in the clean cold creek water to wash off the smell and cool off. Being heated makes the cold water bearable.
Cooked and cooled I headed back down creek to an approved camp spot literally on the creek bank. Camp down by the river. Sounds of the creek for white noise. Fixed dinner etc & crawled into bed. Temps have been low enough to use the heater. It was on low for comfort. I woke up @ 11:30 to pee and checked the heater jsut to see if it was running OK. It was cold! I had run out of propane. And the control panel on the fridge verified the fact. Shit! 11:30 on a getting colder night and a pint of ice cream in the fridge and no place to buy propane. OK, I can deal w/ this. I doubled over my down blanket for 2 layers and put on a hat and buried under the covers. I crawled out of bed @ 6:30 in the cold dark. 31 outside and 39 inside. No breakfast. I drove into Ketchum to an all night gas station and learned that 2 blocks away I could buy propane @ 8:00, an hour later. I needed breakfast. I drove around town looking for a restaurant that seemed to not be there when I needed one. Found one: $9 for a simple egg breakfast, way to pricey. And the amount was inversely proportional to the price. Filled up propane just as the store opened. Fridge inside was sufficiently cold, no lost food and ice cream.
At 9:00 I was at the bike shop. Mark turned to and installed then warranty parts. My cost was $15 for the bleed. The new parts cause the seat to return at a slower speed which didn’t please me. Mark tore the instal apart and checked the hose ends. No idea what decreased the speed. The new part is made of metal that protects the small hose connector where it joins the seat housing.
The forecast called for rain tonight and showers on Tues so if I was going to ride it needed to be today so i drove back down to Hailey to ride Croy Canyon trails. I planned a short ride and I kept to my plan which turned out to be fortuitous as sprinkles fell as i neared my van that turned into another rain fall.
My XM continued to shit the bed so i called the listener support line. Again a non English speaking person answered. She asked to verify my address, i made one up just to see if she really read it. She caught me. The tech woman did the same steps as the woman on Sat. Bottom line she tells me is that the problem is on my end. There is a Best Buy Geek squad in Twin Falls which is my next stop.
My plan now is to leave Woods River valley tomorrow and drive down to Twin and Indian Springs @ Kimberly. I want to be @ the Hot Tomato in Fruita for their Halloween party like last year which gives me less than 3 weeks to get there. I just need to find rides between here and there. Perhaps Pocatello.
I have been reading about the Occupy Wall Street movement which I support whole heartedly. I just question the effect their efforts will have. How can so many voters continue to vote for the “system”? And how can the elected officials not represent the 99% of us? I am reading Timothy Egan’s, The Worst Hard Times about the dust bowl back in the 30s. Today causes of the Great Depression are being repeated in this depression. If you don’t remember history you are doomed to repeat it. Go Occupy Wall Street movement.
Hunter left this on the trail I rode today as modern firearm season for deer opened today:
