I took off on the ZRX this weekend and did something I’ve never done before. I slept outside. I took a tent and camped. And I did so at one of the most beautiful places in Northwest Arkansas: Sam’s Throne. It was a fun new adventure, a way to save a few bucks, and it opened up a lot of possibilities for future rides.
On Thursday night, I had a huge army surplus duffle bag strapped to my bike packed with two ground mats, a Marmot sleeping bag, and a two-man tent. I was pleased that I could fit it all on there, but it badly needed downsizing. The next day, I borrowed a solo tent from a buddy at work, ditched the bulky, sub zero sleeping bag for a fleece blanket and abandoned one of the ground mats in favor of my Thermarest. By Friday night, I had a single “bed roll” that fit under my bungee cords easier than my tail bag usually does. I took ZERO extra clothing. I also shoved a Thermarest packable pillow under the bungees. Items going into the tank bag included: a 32oz water bottle, a 16oz water bottle, a 16oz Nissan thermos, an extra ipod with extra remote, 4 protein bars, 2 apples, 1 small bag of trail mix, a book to read, one MRE (meal ready to eat), 2 LED headlamps, 1 clear helmet shield, about half a dozen wet wipes (instead of a full roll of TP), matches, maps and various other small items.
A note on camping. I have camped plenty in my day. I’ve car camped, canoe camped and backpacked. I’ve done primitive camping and I’ve spent luxurious evenings with RV wielding blue hairs in a hot tub at the KOA. I know my way around a tent and a sleeping bag. Actually, I’ve slept in a sleeping bag every night now for the better part of a decade, but that’s a different story. With 62k miles on the ZRX, I have always chosen to rent cheap motel rooms whilst sport touring. I’ve always said I need a hot shower and a soft bed after a long day in the saddle. So that’s partly why this weekend felt like such an adventure for me. It was something exciting and new and I wanted to see if it would be fun or miserable. And the weather was supposed to be ideal for this kind of thing with overnight lows in the 60s and daytime highs in the 80’s.
I had Sam’s Throne in my head as my destination. I’ve been there a few times on my own and I’ve taken at least a few guys out there on rally rides. It’s in the National Forest and so camping would be free. It doesn’t hurt either that it’s in between the twisties and the switchbacks on HWY 123. It’s in the middle of a shit ton of excellent riding. The place has always been completely deserted when I’ve visited there in the past, but I had read that it can get busy on the weekends – supposedly a popular destination for rock climbers. The whole day of riding, I had that location in my head, though I had some backup spots in mind in case it was insanely busy out at Sam’s Throne.
I did 388 miles on Saturday. Only 100 of those miles were slab. I got onto back roads as quickly as I could in Missouri. I went through Eureka Springs and took the Pig Trail (HWY 23) down to HWY 16 and then over to HWY 123. All safe and fun riding. Knowing the sun would set around 6:30pm, I wanted to arrive around 4:30pm. And sure enough, I made that deadline within 15 minutes or so. When I pulled off onto the gravel road for Sam’s Throne, I was very surprised to find cars lining the road. Tents were set up near each vehicle. I ran the hippie gauntlet down the gravel road on my “crotch rocket”. At the end of the road, there was even a canopy tent set up. Turns out there was a rock climbing event going on Friday through Sunday. I found a spot for the bike right in the middle of all the action and unknowingly I set my tent up right behind the official sponsors of the event. As it turns out, there was also a WEDDING taking place on the same night of my arrival. It was a small affair, but hearing a couple take their wedding vows whilst I watched the sunset made for a unique end to a long day of great riding. The incredible vistas you see in my photos are literally minutes away from where I pitched my tent. It takes maybe 5 minutes to get to the farthest lookout point. It’s an easy walk in riding boots and is a zero elevation gain. In short, Sam’s Throne is absolutely ideal for motorcycle camping. It’s off the beaten path, provides no real challenge for the bike, and offers some of the most remarkable views around.
I chatted up some of the sponsors of the climbing event. They were friendly and more than happy to share their camp fire and cold beer (on tap). They even had some fancy cheese and bread. Clearly I was not roughing it. This may be as close to “glamping” as I ever get. I went ahead and prepared the Heater Ex meal (MRE) that I had brought. I had picked it up at an emergency preparedness safety meeting at work years prior. It was a few months expired, but it tasted great after not having eaten much during the day. It was actually fun to make the meal. You add a package of salt water to the pouch and a chemical reaction occurs and heats the sealed meal package. Definitely better than bringing dishes and cooking a meal over a fire. I sat around the campfire with all the climbers that evening. Honestly, I didn’t connect with any of them. I made small talk here and there. Most of them were way younger than me….college age I am guessing. They were content discussing climbing, which only makes sense. I get the impression there is almost no overlap between the motorcycling world and the world of rock climbers. Or maybe it was just perception that made it seem like that. But they were all very friendly and generous and seemed to be fine and dandy with me hanging out and sharing their space and amenities. And after a long day in the saddle, zoning out staring at a campfire was quite relaxing.
Around 10pm or so, I overheard the fella next to me say to a gal… “I’m sitting here trying to decide if it’s too soon for another safety meeting.” My thought was WOW…these kids are SERIOUS about safety. I figured they must have quotas for the number of safety meetings they conduct per day…perhaps this was some sort of sanctioned event. After all, this IS rock climbing. People get hurt. People die. And here these kids are conducting safety meetings into the wee hours of the night around a campfire in the woods. That’s commitment to safety.
“So what’s a safety meeting,” I ask, curious.
“Smokin’ pot,” he answered without skipping a beat.
I got a heck of a laugh out of that. What a hoot.
Speaking of hoots, when I got up the next morning and went to check out the gorgeous views, I was greeted with calls from a barred owl. I hear them plenty out in the suburbs, but it’s a special treat to hear them in such a grandiose setting. Within an hour or so, I would be lucky enough to see a BLACK BEAR crossing the road (on HWY16) about 100 yards up in front of me. Within the next hour, I saw a bald eagle perched in a tree. A black bear and a bald eagle….all before breakfast. Pretty awesome stuff.
There was only one other person out on the rocks to see the sunrise that morning. We chatted it up, discussed our travels, pointed different things out to each other. And that’s the thing about doing trips and travels alone; there’s always someone there when you get wherever you’re going. You don’t have to TAKE someone along with whom you can enjoy the adventure. You will cross paths with folks on parallel adventures with whom you can share your experience. No matter where you go, people will be there. And there’s a damn good chance they share your appreciation for that very thing that you’re there to see. That’s one of the main things I like about my trips to the hot springs out in Colorado. It’s also part of what I enjoy about karaoke and disc golf. I play disc golf with strangers all the time. That’s part of the fun.
Along those same lines, I like to stop along the way and chat people up if they’re doing something that piques my curiosity. Last year, I stopped near Big Flat and spoke to those folks out in a field making sorghum molasses. That stands out as one of my favorite memories down in Arkansas. This time, I stopped near Gainesville and chatted a fella up because I saw him out tending to his honey bees. Folks are always happy to tell their story if you’re in the mood to listen.
Sunday’s riding was good. I took HWY16 on over to Marshall and then to Big Flat and eventually up Push Mountain Road (HWY341). I stopped in Mountain Home and used the bathroom at a gas station. The restroom was so clean and I was so happy to be using something other than a vaulted toilet (and relieved to have not needed to dig a “cat hole” in the woods), I actually tipped the guy behind the register for having clean facilities.
My last long push of the day was from Strafford, MO all the way back home to Overland Park, KS. I did that long (mostly boring) 170 mile haul without stopping for breaks or fuel. I was having to ride with purpose as I didn’t want it getting dark on me. Within 30 miles of home, I was riding down the highway standing up on the pegs stretching my legs and doing my best Ewan and Charlie impression when I noticed my shadow on the embankments beside the road. It was a perfect shadow – completely proportionate and crisp. It was such an awesome sight to see at the end of a fun adventure. I get to see a lot of interesting sights along my way, but it’s not often I get to see me doing it.
Like I said, it wasn’t quite what anyone would call roughing it. But it was a full two days of riding (820 miles) and I didn’t spend a dime on lodging. And I’ve opened up a lot of possibilities. If I can do overnights in a tent, then the next question is how many consecutive nights can I do ? It’s a lot of fun thinking about all the options.
