Truck camping with motorcycles
I finally bought a motorcycle that I have been looking forward to for so many years to take camping with the TC. Karla also bought a used dirt bike last week so we just had to go out and play last week off. First thing we had to consider was do we take two trucks, mine to haul the TC and hers to haul the bikes, or buy a trailer.
I ended up going the trailer route for $1000 because of how far away from home we like to go. Plus in about ten trips worth of buying fuel for an extra truck we’ll have paid for the trailer & we can use it for other household projects, trips to Home Depot, going to the dump, etc.
I had to get an 18” hitch extension to clear the TC overhang and remove the factory fold down steps on the NL to clear the hitch. We took along a folding step for easier access to the TC.
All hitched up and ready to go we headed out Thursday for some fun.
The air was thick with smoke even at the high elevations from all the wildfires burning in Idaho and the surrounding states. We unloaded the bikes at the mouth of a canyon and went to scout out a campsite. This is so much nicer than the way I use to do things by beating the truck and camper up the road in hopes of finding somewhere nice. It’s so much faster on the bikes and if we don’t find anywhere we like we just load up and go somewhere else with much less wear and tear on the TC.
We ended up finding a really nice secluded spot along the creek. In the morning the air and sky were crystal clear but it seemed almost every afternoon the smoke would set in as the fires cranked back up during the heat of the day.
Every morning we would wake to find ash from the wildfires had settled on the bikes overnight.
Over the 5 days we were there we rode 150 miles worth of trails and back roads up (and down) several canyons, crossed many creeks, and visited several high mountain lakes that I have had my eye's on for several years now but never had the time to hike in all the way to them.
The trails went from gentle and fun to steep and extremely rocky in the blink of an eye. The bikes held up well and got us out to where we wanted and back to camp without fail, although there was a bit of a learning curve for Karla and her new found love of back country motor biking. She did an awesome job getting where we wanted to go and even has some bruises to show for her hard work.
Here are some pictures of the trails we rode on.
One of the creek crossings got a little muddy. So much for a brand new clean bike.
Karla even got to test out her brand new helmet (several times actually). This is her learning not to use the front brake so heavily on a short but steep down hill section heading into a creek with loose rock. She was fine but I told her to stay there till I got out the camera.
Only minor damage was done to Karla's bike over the course of the trip with a few scrapes and scratches a bent shift lever and bent hand brake lever. She’ll be getting some hand guards, folding shifter and taking along some spares in the future.
Saturday we climbed up to the highest point of the trail on the mountain range. Right around 10,000’ elevation and there was still snow left in August. The views were amazing and the smoke from the fires around Sun Valley and Challis wasn’t too bad that afternoon.
Here are some of the lakes we climbed to with the bikes and also our feet when the trail got too steep and rocky.
At noon on Friday the temperature up at one of the lakes was in the high 60’s. Much nicer than the mid-90’s we’ve been having in town.
We fished a little bit in the evenings and caught a few smaller trout. It was still very smoky down in the valley by camp.
Sunday we moved to a different camp spot lower in the valley and rode some easier trails because our bodies were getting worn out from the rough terrain of the higher mountains.
And a few more pictures of the streams by camp and ones we encountered along the way.
I ended up going the trailer route for $1000 because of how far away from home we like to go. Plus in about ten trips worth of buying fuel for an extra truck we’ll have paid for the trailer & we can use it for other household projects, trips to Home Depot, going to the dump, etc.
I had to get an 18” hitch extension to clear the TC overhang and remove the factory fold down steps on the NL to clear the hitch. We took along a folding step for easier access to the TC.
All hitched up and ready to go we headed out Thursday for some fun.
The air was thick with smoke even at the high elevations from all the wildfires burning in Idaho and the surrounding states. We unloaded the bikes at the mouth of a canyon and went to scout out a campsite. This is so much nicer than the way I use to do things by beating the truck and camper up the road in hopes of finding somewhere nice. It’s so much faster on the bikes and if we don’t find anywhere we like we just load up and go somewhere else with much less wear and tear on the TC.
We ended up finding a really nice secluded spot along the creek. In the morning the air and sky were crystal clear but it seemed almost every afternoon the smoke would set in as the fires cranked back up during the heat of the day.
Every morning we would wake to find ash from the wildfires had settled on the bikes overnight.
Over the 5 days we were there we rode 150 miles worth of trails and back roads up (and down) several canyons, crossed many creeks, and visited several high mountain lakes that I have had my eye's on for several years now but never had the time to hike in all the way to them.
The trails went from gentle and fun to steep and extremely rocky in the blink of an eye. The bikes held up well and got us out to where we wanted and back to camp without fail, although there was a bit of a learning curve for Karla and her new found love of back country motor biking. She did an awesome job getting where we wanted to go and even has some bruises to show for her hard work.
Here are some pictures of the trails we rode on.
One of the creek crossings got a little muddy. So much for a brand new clean bike.
Karla even got to test out her brand new helmet (several times actually). This is her learning not to use the front brake so heavily on a short but steep down hill section heading into a creek with loose rock. She was fine but I told her to stay there till I got out the camera.
Only minor damage was done to Karla's bike over the course of the trip with a few scrapes and scratches a bent shift lever and bent hand brake lever. She’ll be getting some hand guards, folding shifter and taking along some spares in the future.
Saturday we climbed up to the highest point of the trail on the mountain range. Right around 10,000’ elevation and there was still snow left in August. The views were amazing and the smoke from the fires around Sun Valley and Challis wasn’t too bad that afternoon.
Here are some of the lakes we climbed to with the bikes and also our feet when the trail got too steep and rocky.
At noon on Friday the temperature up at one of the lakes was in the high 60’s. Much nicer than the mid-90’s we’ve been having in town.
We fished a little bit in the evenings and caught a few smaller trout. It was still very smoky down in the valley by camp.
Sunday we moved to a different camp spot lower in the valley and rode some easier trails because our bodies were getting worn out from the rough terrain of the higher mountains.
And a few more pictures of the streams by camp and ones we encountered along the way.
