Down Baker Street to Moriarty's Lair

Our recent rides have been centered around using the excellent new roads created off 155 main by our friendly outdoors-sharing logging company.  Paul and I took a round-about trip out that way today to see if we could navigate our newly-discovered trail that leads to Moriarty Lake, aptly named Baker Street, without running into TimberPest's gargantuan road blockage.  We walked it during our previous ride in that area and decided that it was quite do-able if the weather remained dry.  So we picked a nice soggy Sunday with lots of running water to attempt riding it.  :)  It was a terrific ride and a great success!

Here's the shape o' the day:

1.  Entered the logging roads at Weigles Road/Doumont
2.  Turned back at the "alternative tank traps" due to wind fall tree across the trail.  We need a quader in here with a chainsaw!
3.  Through the old tank traps, which is nicely cleared, and left turn on branch 142 towards Boomerang Lake.
4.  Turned right and joined the power line trail.
5.  Intended route towards the "hellevator" trail has turned into a pretty rapidly running river.  We decided to head towards 155 main and blast up our recently more regular route.
6.  Rode up Okay Mountain Valley, past the Rhododendron turning and turned left onto 155 main.
7.  Uphill left turn onto signposted 155-160
8.  Left onto connector trail to "Baker Street" (wikilocs track)
9.  Through the connector and right down Baker Street to the logging roads surrounding Moriarty Lake.  Took a quick visit to the Moriarty cabin where Paul was kind enough to share his British Rail type sandwich.  Actually it was very good! (Yes it was - judging by the way you inhaled it! - P)  Thanks mate.
10. Retraced route towards home.  Dumped the bike up Baker Street.  Darn you Moriarty!  Followed 155 main up to a right turn onto branch 142
11.  Back through the old tank traps.
12.  Black Bear Pub for a pint o' IPA and ESB!  Cheers!

Wind Fall timber across the trail through the alternative tank traps (2 on map above)

Colour Coded Altitude Track

New burned out (stolen?) truck appears on route to the Tank Traps on the Doumont side (shortly before 2 on map)

Washed out!  River running down the route towards the HeLLeVaToR (5 on map)

Approaching Moriarty Lake Cabin on foot

Moriarty Lake Cabin at 9

Moriarty Lake Cabin at 9

Moriarty Lake Cabin at 9

Moriarty Lake Cabin at 9 Pack your garbage out...please

Above: Real Time Vid of the "Highlights" of the route to Moriarty Lake.

Time Lapse: Turning off 155-160 onto connector leading to Moriarty Lake ("Baker Street")

 Time Lapse: Back up Baker Street connector trail towards 155-160

Time Lapse: Return trip from 155

 

Track Flyover on Google Earth

GPS Track Playback at 100x Speed

Here's a direct track from doumont to Lake Moriarty.  Use it in conjunction with this track of the connector (Baker St) to get right down to the lake.  The track for the entire route, exactly as it appears on this blog page, can be found here.

  

Auuuuugh... My Bloody Hip!

Great ride today!  I feel like we fooled the weather completely; not a drop of rain for the entire ride.  With that said, there was enough rain sitting in pools and around wet logs to get me flying off my bike.

Here's the route today:

Click Me to Big Me!

We left from Metral Starbucks today and entered the logging roads from the usual direction: We decided to risk going through the tank traps again, boggy pools and all.  Paul wanted to show me an alternate route to Nanaimo Lakes Rd. via the logging trail that leads to the Boomerang "boatramp."  We turned right at the Boomerang Lake Y junction and headed through some really great twisty logging roads, (pink on the map).  That is, without doubt, one of the better local trails in that neck of the woods.  We ended up joining onto Nanaimo Lakes Road at an open gate very near to the main First Lake entrance.  It's a far better ride than my earlier "Behind Benson" route.  We both had our rods with us and we decided to head towards Second Lake where I had seen some pretty busy swirling fish action a week ago.

Second Lake was alive with rising fish again today.  We both clambered down a steep embankment just past the Second Lake Bridge and fished there for about half an hour.  It was frustrating as hell watching masses of bloody fish swirl on the surface while casting into them with every lure in the tackle box.  We both left with nothing but tired legs from climbing the embankment.

First Lake looking right from the fishing spot

Looking left from fishing spot

 We clambered back onto our bikes and flew off down the half gravel logging road to Fourth Lake, (which we nearly missed because some clown has knocked over the sign).  We fished to the right of last weekend's spot.

A normal photo of Paul fishing at Fourth Lake.  He was practicing his highly unusual, (and slightly anti-social), "Gandalf cast" this afternoon, but I wasn't lucky enough to capture it on camera.  Look at those two rising trout to the left.  Trust him to be looking the other way.

Fourth Lake

I caught two monsters in there!  I assure you they would have appeared as monsters to any passing mosquito larvae.  I chucked 'em back in.  Paul claims to have caught a 13" trout of over two pounds, although I never did actually see it.  The only evidence of the catch was his constant flitting around on a nearby rock with a cheap wooden handled knife.  Should you visit his blog I suggest both comparing his new trout shot with earlier posted photographs in addition to heedful checks for flakey Photoshopping technique.

We returned to Weigles Road the same way we had come.  The ride back was equally as good as the ride out to the lakes until we hit the Tank Traps.  I'm well aware that motorbike tires have no traction when riding over wet logs when approached at an angle... did that stop me?  No, I made a stupid error and cleared one of the wet traps only to glance off a small wet log at about 45° as I reached the top.  I dumped it, bending my brake lever and bruising my right hip.  That %^@#& hurt!!  I beeped my horn to get Paul's attention and luckily he heard me and did an about face, leaving his bike between mud holes while carefully placing his helmet where it would roll into one of the muddy pools.  No big damage, except for a lever, a bent mirror, and my damaged dignity... I can live with that.

(Photo courtesy of Paul). The Helmet.  Nothing will ever prevent Paul from being a bit wet behind the ears.  Unfortunately there is no shot of the downed bike.  I wasn't in the mood for photographs, so kudos to Paul for at least taking a snap of his own misfortune.

 Altogether it was a really good ride.  That twisty logging road will be great fun in the summer!

Oh, I nearly forgot...  Here's another cheesy 3D anaglyph image.  (You'll need red/cyan glasses):

View Full Size.  3D view (Made from GoogleEarth images) of the area surrounding Fourth Lake