Trapped in a huge valley

[Funnyguy]

Has anybody here gone down a crazy steep hill only to find out there is no other way out than up what you just came down? My buddy and I found ourselves trapped in a massive valley over last weekend on our bikes. We went down a skinny single track snaking around the side of a mountain, real real skinny and it was raining. We get to the bottom and ride for a while in 1 direction to a dead end drop off into a big pond, so the other way right, nope dead end to a big steep hill with no trail in sight. We spent 4 hours lifting, pulling, pushing, cursing, laughing, crying through heavy wooded wilderness over trees, sliding down super steep mountains. Completely exhausted, finally found a trail at the bottom of a steep wooded hill we slid the bikes to on there sides and surfed the hill with them. After that our day was over, totally beat, back to the truck, eat some food, drink a beer and smoke a cigar. Go home and lick our wounds.

I want to here some stuck stories you guys, to make me feel better.

Thanks,

Joe

[CDNSXV]

Not yet but one trail we are contemplating apparently has a pair of very steep hills.  Go down one and you have no choice but to go up the other.  We will be taking a group of no less than 4 and we carry long tow/pull ropes with us because they make pulling bikes up stupidly steep terrain a whole lot easier.

[arnego2]

I make my own ways by cutting trails through nature's foliage so no nasty surprises, on perk of the job hehehe  

[havaride]

Valley of no return! Where there is will there is away. That's the rush of riding good single track. [emoji106]

[cesper]

7 hours ago, havaride said:

Valley of no return! Where there is will there is away. That's the rush of riding good single track.

So true.  When I started riding motos I was on my 13th or so year of riding mtn bikes. Super gnarly, muddy, rocky DH courses in pouring rain, etc.  but to me the real thrill was in dirt bikes in unknown territory where you couldn't just pick up your bike and walk it.  You had to find a way through, up, down it or leave without the bike!

[Nevada Al]

Yep last year over 800' elevation gain of popping the clutch and flinging the bike up the mountain then restart, repeat....

[motovita]

 I once slid down a snowy ridge planning to cross the river at the bottom to get out. The river was swollen and not crossable. We had to leave our bikes there and hike/crawl up the snowy ridge to get out. It was at least midnight when we got back to the truck. Two or three weeks later, after the snow and river had receded, we went back and rode the bikes out.

Edited May 25, 2017 by motovita

[4Sevens]

Oh yeah! We rode down a crazy hill thinking the trail we were on would continue on and come out several miles away.  The hill was so crazy we barely made it down without crashing.  It was a mile long.  Severe ruts so deep it was up to our elbows, massive rocks, huge drop offs and so on.  Anyway, at the bottom is an old datsun truck that was abandoned because there was no way they were getting out of there.  We continue on this very virgin trail that probably hadn't been touched in at least 5 years.  We're hacking through severe overgrowth and my forearms were shredded and bloody.  We go on and on and eventually we lose the trail.  We scout around trying to find a way to continue on but it just was not passable.  So finally one of the guys says we have to go back the way we came.  Right away I say, "we aren't making it back up that hill".  Anyway, a couple hours later we get back to the hill.  It's about an hour from dark.  We try to get up this 1 mile long hill.  Of the four of us, the furthest anyone got was maybe 50 yards.  We decide to leave the bikes and hike out.  I have only been that exhausted a couple times in my life.  Hiking up this killer hill with full gear in the dark was insane.  At one point I laid down in the fetal position for a while.  Also, we are from Phoenix and this was up in the mountains at about 7,000 feet so the elevation kicked our asses too.  Not to mention we had ridden a total of over 50 miles of gnarly stuff and had planned to be done riding by 2 or 3pm so we were hungry and out of water as well.  We finally get to the top and flag down a truck.  We convince the guy to drive us back to our staging area which is a good hour and a half ride.  We get back to the trucks at about 10pm.  We had started out the day at 7am.  Finally got home close to midnight.  Two of the four of us had commitments the next day so me and my buddy go back up there the next day.  He found a guy who knows the area and he knows of an alternate donkey trail out of there.  It was a good four hour drive to get back to the top of the hill and then a good long hike down the hill to the bikes.  We hike down, find the alternate trail and ride the bikes up, load them in the trucks and make the long drive back.  Two days and about 30 hours spent riding, hiking and driving and I was finally home.  Wouldn't trade that adventure for the world!

Edited May 26, 2017 by 4Sevens

[Trinity707]

Lewis winch?  I want on of these at the truck for insurance.

http://us.lewiswinch.com/

[GlennRay]

That happened to me once in a trial that I was riding.  It had been lightly raining all day.  The section that ate my lunch seemed simple enough, down a slab of sand stone into the wash at the bottom, a pretty wide radius left hand turn and back up the sand stone slab to the exit.  I had no problem going down the rock and making the turn, but trying to go back up was like somebody poured 90wt gear oil on the rock.  Nothing I tried would get my trusty Montesa back up that rock.  It took one of the expert riders who were checking the section to get my bike out of that hole.

[Trailryder42]

Sorry for the length. This is one of those "got in and couldn't get back out" reports I made back in 2003. Happened in Rampart Range, Colorado.

Arrived Monday evening, Sept.1st, 2003 for a 2 day ride of Rampart. Tuesday morning rolled
in with beautiful weather. Hit the trails about 9am and quickly was reminded why I
like that place so much. Riding Rampart is better than any roller coaster I've ever
been on and what's more, I'm the one in control.
Started out on the easy trails, 682 and such, to get my Rampart groove going. I
found myself laughing out loud as I rode those sweeping, up and down, banked trails.

About 2pm I decided it was time for lunch and rode over to Sprucewood via 673 for a
burger. After lunch I rode to the Platte river via Russel Gultch. On the way back, I
opted to take 692 for as far I felt comfortable with. I couldn't remember what you
guys said was the best way to ride that trail, CW or CCW. So I went CCW. The route
in, I took the creek instead of the ridge. No problems. A little farther down the
trail is where it starts getting technical. As I come to each obstacle I determine
whether I think I can make it back the opposite direction if I have to, before going
thru it. I came to a section that was a succession of 3 good size rocky steps/ledges
that were about as far apart from each other as the wheelbase of your bike.

Inspecting the line that existed from other traffic, it looked absolutely do-able
from the opposite direction. I did something similar in Moab just a month before.
So I went down it and pressed on to the next obstacle, a hard left to a deep rutted
climb that culminated in a root ledge with a tree right there. That took 2 tries to
clear. Then came a couple of sharp uphill switchbacks with huge roots. Cleared
those. Then came an uphill climb to try to get over what looked like a bunch of
huge, sharp, jagged edged molars burried in the ground. I tried it once and laid it
over near the top, almost losing it over the drop-off to the side. Nah, I thought,
that's all she wrote. I'm turning around right here. It's starting to get late and I
need to get out of there. This was about 6pm. Man, where did the time go? I must
have spent close to a half hour each on some of the more difficult obstacles.

On the way out, a short afternoon light rain came thru and wet the rocks just enough
to make them slick, something I had not considered. I get to that 3 step ledges and
hit the line I saw earlier and I wash out on the slick rock faces and lay it over. I
pick the bike up and try hitting it again at different angles trying to get up it,
but each time losing traction on the slick, wet rock and laying it over. I was dead
dog tired by now, and low on water after sucking it down all day. It was dark-thirty
by now and thought I had enough strength for one more try. Hitting it in the light
that only my headlight provided, I thought, maybe not being able to see it so well
will help me get up it by just "bulldoggin it" and goin for broke.

I get it as high as the front wheel over the 2nd ledge from the top and knew I was
done. At least it came to rest in a decent upright position. Didn't figure I'd get
it any farther than that, so that's where I left it. Now what to do?

It was looking like spending the night in the forest was an idea I had better start
coming to grips with. Taking stock of my situation, knowing how much water I had
left, which was only a few ounces, considering how far it was to hike out to
Sprucewood by trail, I took out a large garbage bag that I had in my backpack for
use as a makeshift rain slicker and huddled inside it, under a tree, for a few hours
of rest. During this time, I'm going thru my mind on what gear I'm gonna leave with
the bike. I decided to leave my helmet, elbow gaurds and boots. My boots because,
I've hiked in them before(Alpinestars Tech 8's). They're heavy and given my exhausted
condition and the trail conditions and distance I'll have to hike, I need my legs as
light as possible. That leaves just the Tech 8 booties and my socks between me and
the ground. But, fortunately I had put in a pair of gel insoles a while back. I was
hoping they would make all the difference.

At about 11pm I get up and decide to hike out as far as possible in the dark, having
a mental picture of the trail map. After about 2 hours, I made it a little past
where the ridge trail that parallels the creek trail, meet near the bottom and lost
the trail. Using my feet to try to feel for the banked edges of the trail, I knew
it must be right in front of me but I couldn't find it. With no
moon and only the stars and Mars to see by, I figured I could take a picture with my camera
using the flash, then look at the picture on screen to see the trail. The first time I
did that the bright flash blinded me and I couldn't see squat for several minutes. Next time,
I closed my eyes while taking the shot. I found the
trail but soon lost it again. I take another picture and check the screen to try
finding the trail again. On the screen I see what appear to be two red eyes peering
at me from behind a tree about 20 yards away. THAT'S IT! ........... I'M DONE!

It was now about 1am Wens. morning. I decided to go off trail a few yards and huddle
under a tree, inside my bag til sun up. It rained a few more times and it got cold enough to produce uncontrolable
shivering as I tried to stay warm. Wearing only a T shirt under my chest protector and backpack, I recognized the symptoms as initial hypothermia.

There sure are a lot of strange sounds out there at night. Got some rest but not much sleep, as my ears were in overdrive, taking stock of every leaf rustle, every
twig snap. Got up when it was light enough to see the
trail, about 6am, and headed out again. About an hour later I ran completely out of
water and was relagated to sipping the water droplets off tree leaves to stay
hydrated. As long as it took to get off 692 to where it meets Russel Gultch trail, I
thought trekking the rest of the way to Sprucewood was gonna take a long time. A little after 10am I heard car tires on pavement and knew I was close.

Got to the INN
shortly thereafter but she wasn't open yet. There were 5 riders visiting from Iowa
in the parking lot that were about to leave and asked me what I was up too. Thru an
almost non-existant voice, I told them the ordeal I'd just been thru and of my plans
to try to find someone with a 4 wheeler to take me back in there and help me lift
the bike over that last section of rock. First tho, I wanted to hitch a ride over to
Ramart road and FR507 where I was camped to get a change of dry clothes, socks,
water, food, and some rest.
The Iowan(sp?) riders weren't sure what they could do, if anything, after all, it
sounded like I had everything scoped out. They wished me well and took off back up
673. I went into the INN and the lady gave me 2 cups of ice water, which I promptly
downed, then she let me fill up my water bladder in my pack. I sat there on a barstool
resting for a little while then got up to head out to thumb a ride.

I just start to walk down Highway 67 and here come these same 5 Iowans back down 673 and
they stop me, saying they came back for me. Said they had gotten part way down the trail and stopped to discuss how their conscience was getting the better of them. They offered to either have me ride 2 up
with one of them and show them the way back to my bike and help me get it out or one
of them would ride 2 up with another and ride my bike out for me. Wasn't exactly how
I planned it but I wasn't about to turn them down. We decided it would be better for
me to go back with them since I knew exactly where the bike was.

I hopped on the back of a CR250 with a guy by the name of Richard and quickly
realized just how good a rider you must have to be to control any kind of bike,
riding 2 up, in that kind of terrain. I only got off when we got to the real
technical stuff like climbing Bear Mtn.. We arrived at my bike in what seemed no
time, compared to hiking it. I proceeded to put my boots back on as these 5 guys
spent all of 5 seconds wrangling my bike up that last few rock faces. Then the
ribbing started, with things like, "What's the big deal? You couldn't do that?" We
all laughed. Got some pictures then mounted up and headed out of there. I biffed on
one of the last rocky obstacles out, mainly because I was still pretty beat and I
have a tendancy to try to bulldog my way thru an obstacle when I'm tired instead of
finessing my way thru it. We got back to Bear Mtn. and took a group shot. When we
made it back to Sprucewood, I looked at my odometer, 10 miles from where I was stuck to the Inn.  I offered to buy the guys lunch or something but they just wanted some ice water then to get back on the trails.  

I finished off a hamburger then headed back to camp via 673. I got cleaned up, dry clothes and
was in the sack by 5pm. Got up Thursday morn, broke camp and headed for home. I
didn't get to ride all the trails I wanted to but I consider any trip you make it
back home from in 1 piece and your motorcycle intact, a good one.

I want to thank 5 of my best new riding buds for helping me out of a "slick" spot. Three of them
work at the Midwest Performance Honda dealership in Keokuk, Iowa.

My thanks to:
Richard Johnson-Keokuk IA.
Bob Johnson-Hamilton,IL.
Wes Kendall-Blandinsville,IL.
Nate Johnson-Denver CO.
Dave Jackson-Keokuk,IA.

[dyrtmon]

I've learned that valleys of death can cause just that. I've also learned that it pays to leave the bike at the top and walk down a couple hundred yards to see what you're getting into (and can get out). Has saved me more than once. 

 

[BOAB]

Driving a 4WD in the backcountry makes you very aware of this.  I've been wheeling and riding the SW since the early 80s and have never gotten into that position.  You have to be smart, stuff that looks close to unrideable/undriveable probably is.  Bottom line, don't get yourself in that position, be smart, know the area before diving in.  Being smart is not being a pussy.

Sorry for the lack of sympathy and lack of a story. ?

[William1]

I've ridden a lot of places and 'wimped out' of certain parts. Only find out later in the day someone 'went for it' and was airlifted out. There have been trails that I was not sure about so I walked them first. As is often the case,. you may be able to get down but not up. Walking them will give you a good idea.  Riding and adventures are supposed to be fun, not near death experiences.

I've never been stranded off road. Crashed a MX bike once and the bike went over a cliff and fell 50' and had to be winched up. Crashed plenty road racing. But never put myself in a situation where the outcome was not evaluated first.

If you do ride impossible rides, go as a group. Plan for screw ups and solutions BEFORE you go.

[dlock5]

Sorry for the length. This is one of those "got in and couldn't get back out" reports I made back in 2003. Happened in Rampart Range, Colorado.
Arrived Monday evening, Sept.1st, 2003 for a 2 day ride of Rampart. Tuesday morning rolled
in with beautiful weather. Hit the trails about 9am and quickly was reminded why I
like that place so much. Riding Rampart is better than any roller coaster I've ever
been on and what's more, I'm the one in control.
Started out on the easy trails, 682 and such, to get my Rampart groove going. I
found myself laughing out loud as I rode those sweeping, up and down, banked trails.
About 2pm I decided it was time for lunch and rode over to Sprucewood via 673 for a
burger. After lunch I rode to the Platte river via Russel Gultch. On the way back, I
opted to take 692 for as far I felt comfortable with. I couldn't remember what you
guys said was the best way to ride that trail, CW or CCW. So I went CCW. The route
in, I took the creek instead of the ridge. No problems. A little farther down the
trail is where it starts getting technical. As I come to each obstacle I determine
whether I think I can make it back the opposite direction if I have to, before going
thru it. I came to a section that was a succession of 3 good size rocky steps/ledges
that were about as far apart from each other as the wheelbase of your bike.
Inspecting the line that existed from other traffic, it looked absolutely do-able
from the opposite direction. I did something similar in Moab just a month before.
So I went down it and pressed on to the next obstacle, a hard left to a deep rutted
climb that culminated in a root ledge with a tree right there. That took 2 tries to
clear. Then came a couple of sharp uphill switchbacks with huge roots. Cleared
those. Then came an uphill climb to try to get over what looked like a bunch of
huge, sharp, jagged edged molars burried in the ground. I tried it once and laid it
over near the top, almost losing it over the drop-off to the side. Nah, I thought,
that's all she wrote. I'm turning around right here. It's starting to get late and I
need to get out of there. This was about 6pm. Man, where did the time go? I must
have spent close to a half hour each on some of the more difficult obstacles.
On the way out, a short afternoon light rain came thru and wet the rocks just enough
to make them slick, something I had not considered. I get to that 3 step ledges and
hit the line I saw earlier and I wash out on the slick rock faces and lay it over. I
pick the bike up and try hitting it again at different angles trying to get up it,
but each time losing traction on the slick, wet rock and laying it over. I was dead
dog tired by now, and low on water after sucking it down all day. It was dark-thirty
by now and thought I had enough strength for one more try. Hitting it in the light
that only my headlight provided, I thought, maybe not being able to see it so well
will help me get up it by just "bulldoggin it" and goin for broke.
I get it as high as the front wheel over the 2nd ledge from the top and knew I was
done. At least it came to rest in a decent upright position. Didn't figure I'd get
it any farther than that, so that's where I left it. Now what to do?
It was looking like spending the night in the forest was an idea I had better start
coming to grips with. Taking stock of my situation, knowing how much water I had
left, which was only a few ounces, considering how far it was to hike out to
Sprucewood by trail, I took out a large garbage bag that I had in my backpack for
use as a makeshift rain slicker and huddled inside it, under a tree, for a few hours
of rest. During this time, I'm going thru my mind on what gear I'm gonna leave with
the bike. I decided to leave my helmet, elbow gaurds and boots. My boots because,
I've hiked in them before(Alpinestars Tech 8's). They're heavy and given my exhausted
condition and the trail conditions and distance I'll have to hike, I need my legs as
light as possible. That leaves just the Tech 8 booties and my socks between me and
the ground. But, fortunately I had put in a pair of gel insoles a while back. I was
hoping they would make all the difference.
At about 11pm I get up and decide to hike out as far as possible in the dark, having
a mental picture of the trail map. After about 2 hours, I made it a little past
where the ridge trail that parallels the creek trail, meet near the bottom and lost
the trail. Using my feet to try to feel for the banked edges of the trail, I knew
it must be right in front of me but I couldn't find it. With no
moon and only the stars and Mars to see by, I figured I could take a picture with my camera
using the flash, then look at the picture on screen to see the trail. The first time I
did that the bright flash blinded me and I couldn't see squat for several minutes. Next time,
I closed my eyes while taking the shot. I found the
trail but soon lost it again. I take another picture and check the screen to try
finding the trail again. On the screen I see what appear to be two red eyes peering
at me from behind a tree about 20 yards away. THAT'S IT! ........... I'M DONE!
It was now about 1am Wens. morning. I decided to go off trail a few yards and huddle
under a tree, inside my bag til sun up. It rained a few more times and it got cold enough to produce uncontrolable
shivering as I tried to stay warm. Wearing only a T shirt under my chest protector and backpack, I recognized the symptoms as initial hypothermia.
There sure are a lot of strange sounds out there at night. Got some rest but not much sleep, as my ears were in overdrive, taking stock of every leaf rustle, every
twig snap. Got up when it was light enough to see the
trail, about 6am, and headed out again. About an hour later I ran completely out of
water and was relagated to sipping the water droplets off tree leaves to stay
hydrated. As long as it took to get off 692 to where it meets Russel Gultch trail, I
thought trekking the rest of the way to Sprucewood was gonna take a long time. A little after 10am I heard car tires on pavement and knew I was close.
Got to the INN
shortly thereafter but she wasn't open yet. There were 5 riders visiting from Iowa
in the parking lot that were about to leave and asked me what I was up too. Thru an
almost non-existant voice, I told them the ordeal I'd just been thru and of my plans
to try to find someone with a 4 wheeler to take me back in there and help me lift
the bike over that last section of rock. First tho, I wanted to hitch a ride over to
Ramart road and FR507 where I was camped to get a change of dry clothes, socks,
water, food, and some rest.
The Iowan(sp?) riders weren't sure what they could do, if anything, after all, it
sounded like I had everything scoped out. They wished me well and took off back up
673. I went into the INN and the lady gave me 2 cups of ice water, which I promptly
downed, then she let me fill up my water bladder in my pack. I sat there on a barstool
resting for a little while then got up to head out to thumb a ride.
I just start to walk down Highway 67 and here come these same 5 Iowans back down 673 and
they stop me, saying they came back for me. Said they had gotten part way down the trail and stopped to discuss how their conscience was getting the better of them. They offered to either have me ride 2 up
with one of them and show them the way back to my bike and help me get it out or one
of them would ride 2 up with another and ride my bike out for me. Wasn't exactly how
I planned it but I wasn't about to turn them down. We decided it would be better for
me to go back with them since I knew exactly where the bike was.
I hopped on the back of a CR250 with a guy by the name of Richard and quickly
realized just how good a rider you must have to be to control any kind of bike,
riding 2 up, in that kind of terrain. I only got off when we got to the real
technical stuff like climbing Bear Mtn.. We arrived at my bike in what seemed no
time, compared to hiking it. I proceeded to put my boots back on as these 5 guys
spent all of 5 seconds wrangling my bike up that last few rock faces. Then the
ribbing started, with things like, "What's the big deal? You couldn't do that?" We
all laughed. Got some pictures then mounted up and headed out of there. I biffed on
one of the last rocky obstacles out, mainly because I was still pretty beat and I
have a tendancy to try to bulldog my way thru an obstacle when I'm tired instead of
finessing my way thru it. We got back to Bear Mtn. and took a group shot. When we
made it back to Sprucewood, I looked at my odometer, 10 miles from where I was stuck to the Inn.  I offered to buy the guys lunch or something but they just wanted some ice water then to get back on the trails.  
I finished off a hamburger then headed back to camp via 673. I got cleaned up, dry clothes and
was in the sack by 5pm. Got up Thursday morn, broke camp and headed for home. I
didn't get to ride all the trails I wanted to but I consider any trip you make it
back home from in 1 piece and your motorcycle intact, a good one.
I want to thank 5 of my best new riding buds for helping me out of a "slick" spot. Three of them
work at the Midwest Performance Honda dealership in Keokuk, Iowa.
My thanks to:
Richard Johnson-Keokuk IA.
Bob Johnson-Hamilton,IL.
Wes Kendall-Blandinsville,IL.
Nate Johnson-Denver CO.
Dave Jackson-Keokuk,IA.

That was a awesome story lol. This crap should be a reality show, drop 5 guy's off on trails they've never seen, and see who makes it out, for the win. I guess naked and afraid, but with dirt bike's lol.

[BOAB]

52 minutes ago, dlock5 said:

That was a awesome story lol. This crap should be a reality show, drop 5 guy's off on trails they've never seen, and see who makes it out, for the win. I guess naked and afraid, but with dirt bike's lol.

Awesome...and potentially deadly.

[dyrtmon]

On July 13, 2017 at 10:15 AM, cjjeepercreeper said:

Awesome...and potentially deadly.

That was an awesome story and I have to agree with the Creeper. Had you had a buddy you (most likely) would have slept at home that evening. Glad you made it and you made some great friends for life the hard way..

[KennyMc]

A good read.  One of the guys, Hillclimbguy was an ex top hill climb guy in CA.  All these guys are excellent riders, but their judgment leaves something to be desired ?

 

 

Edited August 7, 2017 by KennyMc

[dyrtmon]

2 hours ago, KennyMc said:

A good read.  One of the guys, Hillclimbguy was an ex top hill climb guy in CA.  All these guys are excellent riders, but their judgment leaves something to be desired ?

 

 

I remember that thread and have thought about it more than once.

2 weeks ago a buddy and I were went down Rattlesnake at Downieville and I thought about those guys - the downed trees were easy in hindsight, it was the garbage can sized boulders across the numerous stream crossings that killed us. My main concern was that we'd come across a major washout (that we encountered leading up the mountain) as we were committed and could not go back up. Very happy to reach the truck (and beer) that day.

[RAZR_]

[emoji15]