| Author | Message | ||
     Pwnzor |
I'm leaving monday on one of my jaunts, to nowhere in particular other than "somewhere up the coast for a few days honey, I'll see ya when I get back whenever that is." Tent camping solo on the XBR, no riding companions, just me and the wind. 8 or 10 days is the plan. I know some good places to camp on the coast, but I'm fishing for favorites. Coastal California, whats your favorite spot and why? Ideally I'll be staying between Los Angeles to Marin counties, no more than 10 miles inland from the coast highway.  | ||
| Aeholton |
Cool. Have fun and be safe. Make sure you post pictures and report when you get back. | ||
| John88030 |
You must ride Lucas Valley Road. It runs through the redwoods starts in Marin. About 10 miles from Marin, you will find Skywalker Ranch. George Lucas homestead. Drive carefully the road is usually damp before noon, always cool, and somewhat dark, due to the tall tall tall trees. I believe there is a state campground in Pt. Reyes just north of where the redwoods end. John | ||
| Paul56 |
If you haven't already, go to pashnit.com. Spend the $20 to view the hundreds of roads in and around Ca. that have trip reports, maps, pictures, third party reviews, etc. Wonderful site. You will find you have way more choices than time to ride them all. Sounds like a great trip. Be safe. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Thanks for the website, I'll check it out but I already have half a dozen guides to campsites and backroads in California. Plus I grew up camping all over the place from Eureka to Death Valley. What I'm looking for is people's personal favorites. Appreciate any input though, thanks in advance. Also, I'm going to buy a new 1-man tent, as my 2-man tent is a bit bulky. Anyone have a favorite 1 man tent? | ||
| Jim_sb |
For motorcycle camping (street and dirt bikes) I bought backpacking gear because it packs small and light. Tent, sleeping bag, thermarest pad, compressible pillow and ground cloth. I got a nice 2 man easy-up tent which is roomy and very nice for one person. I can easily fit the tent, ground cloth, pillow and sleeping bag in a single Uly side case with room left over. I bungee the Thermarest pad on the pillion (triple tail folded down). That leaves me one full side case for clothing (plenty for several days) and the top case for anything else I want to bring along. There are differences among backpacking gear (size and weight). Tent - Eureka Pinnacle Pass 2 XTA Slumberjack Talon rectangular sleeping bag Thermarest compressible pillow Thermarest 3/4 self inflating compressible pad I slept in the Death Valley campground (Texas Springs?) across from the Furnace Creek Inn. The camp site had rocks everywhere. But with the ground cloth protecting the tent and the thermarest gear I had a comfortable night's sleep. Only thing wrong is the stakes that come with these tents are not "desert worthy". I'll attach a pic of the no where near fully loaded bike.  Jim in SB  | ||
| Lorazepam |
Jim, if you can find a mountaineering store, get some snow stakes. They work great in the sand. I have used them for both. | ||
| Jim_sb |
Snow stakes, eh? For that hard as a rock CA desert? Hmmm.... Jim in Santa Barbara | ||
| Ulendo |
Jim 'snow stakes' are like a flat plate, on the end of the guy rope. you pile sand /snow / gravel / a big rock on them instead of driving them into the ground. they work well in all sorts of situations. ( if you're familiar with the 'pull pal' winching anchor used by many 4x4 guys, thats the same concept) by the same token, geodesic domes, vs 'pup tent' style tents are much easier to live with in varied terrain. and finally - a link to a good online hiking / mountaineering store. http://www.mec.ca canadian, but hey, gotta be our turn to have interesting stuff once in a while. they do full catalogue ordering, good prices, good gear. especially worthy of note for all those thinking of heading to Alaska, as they offer a variety of low temperature gear that doesnt seem to be too available in the USA. |
