Battle Creek Ranch

On Tuesday, 17MAY2022, I decided to trailer my Lightweight Adventure Bike (LAB) about 35 miles south of Grand View, ID, to nab three challenge sites –32, 05, and  33.

 

After an obligatory photo at site 32 - Wickahoney Stage Stop, I continued south on the two-track, crossed a little stream, and then took a right on a much less defined two-track heading north-west back toward Battle Creek Road. This was the first of several times that I was glad I was on my Little Adventure Bike. The two-track was rocky and off-camber. I could have done it on my 1200GS, but it wouldn’t have been fun. Three and a half miles later I passed through a fence gate and was back on Battle Creek Rd.

 

The next 14 miles are easy graded dirt. There are two major intersections with BLM signage and then the third, unmarked, where the graded dirt road turns to two-track. Shortly thereafter it gets rutted and rocky. Really rocky. Doable on the GS, but way more fun on the LAB.

 

The rocky uphill section is about a quarter-mile long. Then a flat section of ruts & rocks for a mile or so before a sucky, rocky, downhill section that you're going to get to ride back up in an hour or so.

 

Once you're down the crappy rock road you have a 30’ wide stream to cross. It wasn’t too deep, only 10” or so, but the creekbed is made up of baseball-sized rocks that kinda roll around on you a bit. Again, it was good to have the LAB. Once across the stream cheat right to another gate. You’re only three miles south of your goal, but it’s three miles of somewhat vague two-track running parallel to a ridgeline and traversing a couple water meadows.

 

I was checking out some pronghorns on the ridge and failed to notice a short water-meadow section. Caught unaware, butt planted firmly in the seat, the front end dropped about 8” and the bike stopped moving. Unfortunately, I didn’t. Over the bars, I went. You can see some of the local flora that I picked up with my helmet visor in the photo above.

 

For the rest of the day I made it a point to pay attention to the trail ahead of me, and made sure to get my backside off the seat before I entered anything iffy. Two more gates and I arrived at the ranch – which is actually just a rock wall with a big pile of scrap wood in front of it.

 

My original plan was to ride back to staging, top up with fuel, then continue east to Site 33 Winter Camp. But, it was after 1500 and I still had that rocky uphill to deal with, so I decided to leave Winter Camp for another day, ride back to staging and call it a day. I don’t think I could have ridden my GS up the rocky hill section going out. So again the little bike was, for me, absolutely the right tool for bagging this site.

 

NOTE: It appears that you can get to this site from the west, which may be easier than coming in from the south the way I did it.