A Break from the Usual Break
A dual sport trip for Spring Break seems to be my pattern lately, even though I really don’t have a spring break. I’m retired; my whole year is a “break”. But my buddy Josh is still a working stiff, seemingly for a little while longer. And as the real world goes, so must he, taking his breaks when he can get them.
My good friend Mike, also retired, was also up for a dual sport ride – honestly, it didn’t take much convincing to bring him on board. We invited others, but they declined. And so we were 3, with merely a plan to meet somewhere, set up some tents, and go moto-exploring.
Spring comes early in the south. Usually by the beginning of March, the temperature is moderating nicely and that month is a good time to explore the gravel and dirt roads before the rains of April, along with the snow melt from the north gets here. As go time got closer, we set our sites on Arkansas. I’ve ridden that State more times than I can count on pavement – I know it very well. We’ve also ridden the Ozarks in the northwestern part of the state several times on the dual sport bikes, and enjoyed that very much.
But this time, I had a hankering to try south central Arkansas. The Ouachita National Forest resides there, with tens of thousands of acres of pine and mixed hardwood forests. I’ve been told that there are more gravel and dirt roads in this part of the State than in the Ozarks. With a good dry forecast for the week, the decision was easy.
We made a reservation at the Lake Slyvia Recreational Area campground. Holding about 25 sites, this is a full-service camping facility. Our site was spacious with electricity, water, and a nice pea-graveled tent pad plenty large enough for 3 small tents. The bathhouse had hot water, albeit with fairly low water pressure. None the less, it was plenty good to knock off the dust at the end of a riding day. There’s plenty of hiking trails within walking distance of the campground. The closest gas station is about 6 miles away, and groceries, restaurants, and other services are considerably farther. This place is pretty remote – plan accordingly.
We got there on a Sunday evening, and stayed 6 nights. We cooked evening meals, and listened to some good music. Over 4 riding days, we covered about 500 miles.
For me, it was a nice break from my usual break. I hope you enjoy the pictures.
Day 1: Lafayette, LA to Lake Sylvia Recreational Area, approximately 350 miles.
Mike informed me that it was his turn to tow the trailer, and so we spent the early morning loading up the bikes and gear, and most of the day trucking up to the campground.
Josh was already set up when we got there, and it didn’t take long for us to get into Happy Hour Mode.
This is my first trip with my new Marmott Limelight 2P tent, dubbed the “Oscar Meyer Weiner Tent”.
Since it was getting late, we punched the Easy Button and I made a sandwich and salad for dinner.
There is a palette factory near Josh’s house, and for $20.00, he loaded up his pickup truck bed with some fantastic firewood.
Now this is quite nice.
Day 2: Into the Forest and back, approximately 70 miles.
Sometimes the first night in the tent can be restless, but last night, I slept pretty good. I woke up excited to ride a new place and see whatever I can see. After coffee and breakfast, we gear up and head out.
Right from the start, I like it. The Ouachita Mountains here are relatively low, running about 750 – 1500 feet. But the views from the roads come often.
The others were correct – there is a TON of gravel and dirt here. Unlike other places I’ve ridden the DR, this is different. At other places, you might be exploring a hunk of forest, and there is basically one or two roads the run from one end to the other. Then you have to run 5-10 miles of pavement to get to the next section of forest.
Here, you can run 50 miles of gravel or more in one section, then just cross the paved road, and now you have another 50 or more miles of forest to explore. It’s seemingly endless.
I would say the others concur, but they are quick to put a “finger on it” – LOL.
Before the trip, Josh piddled around on the computer and came up with a route, and we are just following that going wherever it takes us.
About lunch time, we find ourselves near Lake Winona. Out here, just pack a sandwich and go. There are no restaurants anywhere.
After lunch, it’s back at it.
There are also no ice cream stores, so my afternoon sweet tooth must be suppressed.
A park ranger stopped by the campground to chat with us earlier this morning. He told us that historically, this region was not forested – it was more of a prairie grassland. From here, that is hard to believe.
We are by ourselves out here. We have hardly seen one other vehicle all day.
The Garmin XT map is spot on perfect, and so are the views.
Josh’s route was ambitious, but offered plenty of opportunities to “cut if off and head back”. Mid-afternoon, we chose that option and ran a few miles on Hwy 10 back to the campground, arriving about 4 pm.
Mike is gonna cook jambalaya tonight.
Delicious.
After dinner, we stoked up the fire and enjoyed some good music and conversation. A terrific first day of riding.
Day 3: Different direction, same fun. Approximately 100 miles.
The weather is really nice, with temperatures falling overnight very comfortably. On this Tuesday morning, we are one of only a few campers at the campground – very queit.
But the wind is picking up, and my phone notifies me of a “Red Flag Warning” for high winds in the region. I’ll watch that later. Right now, I’ve got more important things to tend.
After coffee and breakfast, we got back to the woods. Josh’s loop from yesterday was a bit much for us, so today we decided to just reverse the loop and start from the end working our way back toward the middle.
When ya gotta go, ya gotta go. A man’s bladder waits for no one!
Everything was going just fine in the morning. I was leading us on the route, occasionally detouring here and there just to “try this trail” or “see where that goes”. At one point, I found a 2-track trail that we could take to cut off a little of the route. I asked the others what they thought, and the consensus was “why not?”.
Well, here’s why not….
First, I don’t like riding in deep water, and I especially don’t like riding in deep water I can’t see the bottom of. At this mud hole, I thought I could skirt the right side and avoid it. WRONG! My handlebar hit one of those trees, the front wheel slide down the embankment, and the ole Bush Pig went “Plop!” with me on it!
Now, we have no photographic evidence of it, but trust me, I couldn’t have been more wet if I jumped in the lake! Further, we now know that the Garmin XT is indeed waterproof, ‘cause it spent several seconds under water offering the crawfish and tad poles directional advice.
Josh and Mike helped me right the bike and after a little coaxing, I got it to start and we basically walked it out of the hole.
It would appear that my headlight is not so “sealed”.
I took my headlight assy off and dried it out. Since the bike started so easily, I didn’t worry about checking the air box.
I wrung out my socks and gloves and we mounted back up. It can’t be an adventure without adventure.
I wasn’t too cold, but I certainly wasn’t warm. We kept the speed down and a few miles up the road, I stopped to wring out my socks again (those boots absorb a LOT of water).
This is a nice place.
We continue on Josh’s route (in reverse) and find Forked Mountain.
The path takes us around the mountain and up on an adjacent peak just in time for lunch.
And then it was more of the same. Ride here, stop there.
Thankfully, it got warm that day and my riding gear and clothes dried out just fine. Still, when we arrive back at the campground, the first order of business was a hot shower to wash the grit out of places no grit should be!
Oh well – no harm, no foul. Tonight it’s my turn to cook. Any Cajun cook worth his salt knows that when all else fails, start with some pork sausage, onions, and peppers.
While the beans are simmering, I asked Josh to grill the chicken thighs and I prepared fixins for fajitas.
Coming together!
As you can see, we are REALLY roughing it out here.
After dinner, it was time for a little pain relief. This is some good stuff, especially for the price.
For dessert, Mike’s wife made a batch of little pecan pies. Gotta love Ms Pam!
What a terrific day!
A dual sport trip for Spring Break seems to be my pattern lately, even though I really don’t have a spring break. I’m retired; my whole year is a “break”. But my buddy Josh is still a working stiff, seemingly for a little while longer. And as the real world goes, so must he, taking his breaks when he can get them.
My good friend Mike, also retired, was also up for a dual sport ride – honestly, it didn’t take much convincing to bring him on board. We invited others, but they declined. And so we were 3, with merely a plan to meet somewhere, set up some tents, and go moto-exploring.
Spring comes early in the south. Usually by the beginning of March, the temperature is moderating nicely and that month is a good time to explore the gravel and dirt roads before the rains of April, along with the snow melt from the north gets here. As go time got closer, we set our sites on Arkansas. I’ve ridden that State more times than I can count on pavement – I know it very well. We’ve also ridden the Ozarks in the northwestern part of the state several times on the dual sport bikes, and enjoyed that very much.
But this time, I had a hankering to try south central Arkansas. The Ouachita National Forest resides there, with tens of thousands of acres of pine and mixed hardwood forests. I’ve been told that there are more gravel and dirt roads in this part of the State than in the Ozarks. With a good dry forecast for the week, the decision was easy.
We made a reservation at the Lake Slyvia Recreational Area campground. Holding about 25 sites, this is a full-service camping facility. Our site was spacious with electricity, water, and a nice pea-graveled tent pad plenty large enough for 3 small tents. The bathhouse had hot water, albeit with fairly low water pressure. None the less, it was plenty good to knock off the dust at the end of a riding day. There’s plenty of hiking trails within walking distance of the campground. The closest gas station is about 6 miles away, and groceries, restaurants, and other services are considerably farther. This place is pretty remote – plan accordingly.
We got there on a Sunday evening, and stayed 6 nights. We cooked evening meals, and listened to some good music. Over 4 riding days, we covered about 500 miles.
For me, it was a nice break from my usual break. I hope you enjoy the pictures.
Day 1: Lafayette, LA to Lake Sylvia Recreational Area, approximately 350 miles.
Mike informed me that it was his turn to tow the trailer, and so we spent the early morning loading up the bikes and gear, and most of the day trucking up to the campground.
Josh was already set up when we got there, and it didn’t take long for us to get into Happy Hour Mode.
This is my first trip with my new Marmott Limelight 2P tent, dubbed the “Oscar Meyer Weiner Tent”.
Since it was getting late, we punched the Easy Button and I made a sandwich and salad for dinner.
There is a palette factory near Josh’s house, and for $20.00, he loaded up his pickup truck bed with some fantastic firewood.
Now this is quite nice.
Day 2: Into the Forest and back, approximately 70 miles.
Sometimes the first night in the tent can be restless, but last night, I slept pretty good. I woke up excited to ride a new place and see whatever I can see. After coffee and breakfast, we gear up and head out.
Right from the start, I like it. The Ouachita Mountains here are relatively low, running about 750 – 1500 feet. But the views from the roads come often.
The others were correct – there is a TON of gravel and dirt here. Unlike other places I’ve ridden the DR, this is different. At other places, you might be exploring a hunk of forest, and there is basically one or two roads the run from one end to the other. Then you have to run 5-10 miles of pavement to get to the next section of forest.
Here, you can run 50 miles of gravel or more in one section, then just cross the paved road, and now you have another 50 or more miles of forest to explore. It’s seemingly endless.
I would say the others concur, but they are quick to put a “finger on it” – LOL.
Before the trip, Josh piddled around on the computer and came up with a route, and we are just following that going wherever it takes us.
About lunch time, we find ourselves near Lake Winona. Out here, just pack a sandwich and go. There are no restaurants anywhere.
After lunch, it’s back at it.
There are also no ice cream stores, so my afternoon sweet tooth must be suppressed.
A park ranger stopped by the campground to chat with us earlier this morning. He told us that historically, this region was not forested – it was more of a prairie grassland. From here, that is hard to believe.
We are by ourselves out here. We have hardly seen one other vehicle all day.
The Garmin XT map is spot on perfect, and so are the views.
Josh’s route was ambitious, but offered plenty of opportunities to “cut if off and head back”. Mid-afternoon, we chose that option and ran a few miles on Hwy 10 back to the campground, arriving about 4 pm.
Mike is gonna cook jambalaya tonight.
Delicious.
After dinner, we stoked up the fire and enjoyed some good music and conversation. A terrific first day of riding.
Day 3: Different direction, same fun. Approximately 100 miles.
The weather is really nice, with temperatures falling overnight very comfortably. On this Tuesday morning, we are one of only a few campers at the campground – very queit.
But the wind is picking up, and my phone notifies me of a “Red Flag Warning” for high winds in the region. I’ll watch that later. Right now, I’ve got more important things to tend.
After coffee and breakfast, we got back to the woods. Josh’s loop from yesterday was a bit much for us, so today we decided to just reverse the loop and start from the end working our way back toward the middle.
When ya gotta go, ya gotta go. A man’s bladder waits for no one!
Everything was going just fine in the morning. I was leading us on the route, occasionally detouring here and there just to “try this trail” or “see where that goes”. At one point, I found a 2-track trail that we could take to cut off a little of the route. I asked the others what they thought, and the consensus was “why not?”.
Well, here’s why not….
First, I don’t like riding in deep water, and I especially don’t like riding in deep water I can’t see the bottom of. At this mud hole, I thought I could skirt the right side and avoid it. WRONG! My handlebar hit one of those trees, the front wheel slide down the embankment, and the ole Bush Pig went “Plop!” with me on it!
Now, we have no photographic evidence of it, but trust me, I couldn’t have been more wet if I jumped in the lake! Further, we now know that the Garmin XT is indeed waterproof, ‘cause it spent several seconds under water offering the crawfish and tad poles directional advice.
Josh and Mike helped me right the bike and after a little coaxing, I got it to start and we basically walked it out of the hole.
It would appear that my headlight is not so “sealed”.
I took my headlight assy off and dried it out. Since the bike started so easily, I didn’t worry about checking the air box.
I wrung out my socks and gloves and we mounted back up. It can’t be an adventure without adventure.
I wasn’t too cold, but I certainly wasn’t warm. We kept the speed down and a few miles up the road, I stopped to wring out my socks again (those boots absorb a LOT of water).
This is a nice place.
We continue on Josh’s route (in reverse) and find Forked Mountain.
The path takes us around the mountain and up on an adjacent peak just in time for lunch.
And then it was more of the same. Ride here, stop there.
Thankfully, it got warm that day and my riding gear and clothes dried out just fine. Still, when we arrive back at the campground, the first order of business was a hot shower to wash the grit out of places no grit should be!
Oh well – no harm, no foul. Tonight it’s my turn to cook. Any Cajun cook worth his salt knows that when all else fails, start with some pork sausage, onions, and peppers.
While the beans are simmering, I asked Josh to grill the chicken thighs and I prepared fixins for fajitas.
Coming together!
As you can see, we are REALLY roughing it out here.
After dinner, it was time for a little pain relief. This is some good stuff, especially for the price.
For dessert, Mike’s wife made a batch of little pecan pies. Gotta love Ms Pam!
What a terrific day!
