tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70345206687451906582012-01-22T10:58:46.374-07:00Backcountry Byways JournalTony HuegelTony Huegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12536149247605476440noreply@blogger.comBlogger231100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7034520668745190658.post-74540644003350811242012-01-06T23:11:00.002-07:002012-01-19T20:32:52.818-07:00'Backcountry Discovery Route' maps for Washington, Utah span print-digital divide
Utah BDR
Wash. BDR
Two innovative motorcycle-travel maps that depict "Backcountry Discovery Routes" in Washington State and Utah span the divide between print and digital publishing, providing cartographic data and smart-phone access to video.
And they're out now, in time to plan next season's backcountry ride or drive.
Butler Motorcycle Maps' information-packed Washington Backcountry Tony Huegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12536149247605476440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7034520668745190658.post-9630030564360214232011-12-15T10:13:00.000-07:002012-01-21T10:55:07.507-07:00Namibia a land rich in 'Magic Moments'
Magic Adventures Namibia tour. (All photos: Magic Adventures)
My friends at Germany's premier adventure-motorcycling tour provider, Magic Adventures GmbH, are intent on teasing the world into discovering the southern Africa nation of Namibia.
Judging by the alluring photos they've just posted on the MA Facebook site, Namibia is indeed an enchanting desert land -- rich in wildlife, exotic Tony Huegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12536149247605476440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7034520668745190658.post-16778148038104683072011-11-14T11:09:00.000-07:002011-12-15T11:11:10.376-07:00Butler Maps, Touratech chronicle new 'Utah Backcountry Discovery Route'
A 4Runner's moonroof
provides viewing access
to the ancient rock art of Utah's
Nine Mile Canyon, part of the UTBDR.
Just as I put my ADV motorcycle away for the winter, I learned that a north-south backcountry travel route through the wildlands of Utah is now chronicled in a new map and teaser video.
The recently developed, 871-mile Utah Backcountry Discovery Route (UTBDR) is the third Tony Huegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12536149247605476440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7034520668745190658.post-35793197372609608532011-10-27T19:25:00.000-06:002011-10-27T19:25:50.471-06:00Utah's magical Escalante canyon country seems lost to the Moab-bound massesNote: To learn more about adventure driving in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, as well as Capitol Reef National Park, pick up a copy of my guidebook, Utah Byways. This post includes videos and a Google map.
ESCALANTE, Utah -- I may be done with touristy Moab, for there is something alluring about bypassed, overlooked, sometimes remote and often underappreciated portals to Utah's Tony Huegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12536149247605476440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7034520668745190658.post-58285835759783349732011-09-30T20:00:00.000-06:002011-10-31T09:49:18.909-06:00Continental Divide Route travelers see global-warming impacts along the wayTravelers who pass through the northern Rockies on the backroads that comprise the Great Divide Route (a.k.a., Continental Divide Route) can see an ominous effect of global warming: expanses of dead and dying trees, primarily conifers and aspens.
Entire forest ecosystems along Union Pass Road, for example, are being reduced to ghostly tracts of beetle-killed, tinder-dry trees that stand like Tony Huegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12536149247605476440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7034520668745190658.post-23940457407730476822011-09-30T13:34:00.000-06:002011-10-01T11:21:34.601-06:00Study: Global warming impacting prime adventure country of Greater YellowstoneThe negative impacts of global warming are being seen in the vast wildland known as Greater Yellowstone, world-class adventuring country that includes parts of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. A new study has taken a look at what's happening, and what is likely to happen as our children and grandchildren inherit our legacy.
Read about global warming's impact on Greater Yellowstone here.
Montana's Tony Huegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12536149247605476440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7034520668745190658.post-692365889499010142011-09-08T18:30:00.000-06:002011-12-01T10:15:09.127-07:00Usal Road: 'Main Street' through California's alluring Lost Coast
The following tour description is a sample from my guidebook California Coastal Byways, which I researched in a Toyota 4Runner, Toyota Land Cruiser and Lexus LX450. The guide details non-technical backcountry tours suitable to adventure motorcyclists and SUV-borne travelers. For information about the book, contact Wilderness Press @ 1-800-443-7227.
***
Would you like a fuller sense of what Tony Huegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12536149247605476440noreply@blogger.com24036 Kings Peak Rd, Whitethorn, CA 95589, USA40.10328591293439 -124.20043945312539.32354391293439 -125.463866953125 40.88302791293439 -122.937011953125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7034520668745190658.post-81775832612207220302011-09-08T13:15:00.000-06:002011-12-01T10:08:26.575-07:00California's Old Coast Road: Big Sur's little-known 'Beatnik Byway'The following tour description is a sample from my guidebook California Coastal Byways, which I researched in a Toyota 4Runner, Toyota Land Cruiser and Lexus LX450. The guide details non-technical backcountry tours suitable to adventure motorcyclists and SUV-borne travelers. For information about the book, contact Wilderness Press @ 1-800- 443-7227.
***
For a more complete sense of what Tony Huegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12536149247605476440noreply@blogger.com046861 State Highway 1, Big Sur, CA 93920, USA36.24870331653198 -121.87133789062535.83973131653198 -122.503051890625 36.65767531653198 -121.239623890625tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7034520668745190658.post-63917135420642041512011-08-26T11:36:00.004-06:002011-12-01T10:09:31.891-07:00Yellowstone's historic dirt roads provide glimpse of travel in park's early daysWith summer finally arrived in the northern Rockies, I packed up my Kawasaki KLR650 dual-sport motorcycle for four mid-August days of exploring and camping in southwestern Montana. But to get there, I opted to ride through Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, and visit the only dirt roads remaining in the park that are open to the public.
Toyota T-100 on Blacktail Plateau Rd
The first is Tony Huegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12536149247605476440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7034520668745190658.post-28040671626532396892011-08-25T15:26:00.001-06:002011-12-01T10:10:32.454-07:00Looking to get legally high? Just drive Colorado's sky-scraping Imogene PassThe following tour description is a sample from my guidebook Colorado Byways, which I researched in a stock Toyota 4Runner. The 80-route guide details non-technical backcountry tours suitable to adventure motorcyclists and SUV-borne travelers. For information about the book, contact Wilderness Press @ 1-800-443-7227. ISBN 0-89997-325-6
***
NOTE: Check out my magazine feature about adventuring Tony Huegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12536149247605476440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7034520668745190658.post-6178354208399496072011-08-25T10:48:00.002-06:002011-12-01T10:11:46.416-07:00Olympic Park's Obstruction Point Road provides travelers a gold-medal drive
The following tour description is a sample from my guidebook Washington Byways, which I researched in a Toyota Sequoia SUV. The 56-route guide details non-technical backcountry tours suitable to adventure motorcyclists and SUV-borne travelers. For information about the book, contact Wilderness Press @ 1-800-443-7227. ISBN 0-89997-299-3
***
LOCATION Olympic National Park. South of U.S. 101 Tony Huegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12536149247605476440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7034520668745190658.post-10069069085559536792011-08-20T11:36:00.001-06:002011-10-01T13:48:44.880-06:00Adventure riders, drivers find remnants of pioneer trails on Wyoming's South Pass
PARTING OF THE WAYS, Wyoming, USA – Alone in the heart of nowhere, I imagined the farewells among 19th-century pioneers who, after surviving a thousand miles or more together, knew they might never see each other again after leaving this fork in the emigrant trail.
Motorcycling legend Eddy Hau visits
Parting of the Ways on a BMW F800 with
German tour company Magic Adventures.
At The Tony Huegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12536149247605476440noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7034520668745190658.post-51840135615725270092011-08-18T09:39:00.000-06:002011-12-01T10:12:29.851-07:00Digging through primordial past just one reason to explore Utah's House Range
The following tour description is a sample from my guidebook Utah Byways, which I researched in a stock Toyota Land Cruiser and 4Runner. The 65-route guide details backcountry tours suitable to adventure motorcyclists, four-wheelers and SUV-borne travelers. For information about the book, contact Wilderness Press @ 1-800-443-7227. ISBN 978-0-89997-424-4
***
Trilobite fossils
NOTE: Read a Tony Huegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12536149247605476440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7034520668745190658.post-55423827548113593822011-08-10T17:30:00.000-06:002011-12-29T12:26:04.675-07:00Mackay, Idaho: The next Moab?
MACKAY, Idaho -- Move over, Moab. This scenic old central Idaho mining town is hot on your wheels. That's the impression I gained during four days of riding adventure motorcycles in the lofty mountains surrounding this yet-to-be-discovered rival to Utah's mecca for dirt-road adventure.
Located on the Big Lost River in Custer County (Google Map), isolated little Mackay (MAC ee) is Tony Huegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12536149247605476440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7034520668745190658.post-15778849016576072552011-03-30T13:45:00.009-06:002011-12-15T10:42:40.616-07:00Washout fixed, Canyonlands National Park reopens famous White Rim Road loop
MOAB, Utah--A big hand to the National Park Service at Canyonlands National Park in Utah, site of the world-famous White Rim Road. A massive washout in August 2010 that I thought could take years to repair is fixed well enough for spring adventuring, although work is expected to continue for some time yet. Go for it!Tony Huegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12536149247605476440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7034520668745190658.post-9494168262705788652011-01-01T13:14:00.015-07:002011-10-31T10:41:26.855-06:00Along 'Forever West', relics of Old West
The ultimate Wild West ride:
Idaho ... Montana ... Wyoming ... Colorado ... Utah ...
It's here! The adventure-ride report for Forever West -- the epic 2,800-mile, 98.6-percent dirt motorcycle journey through some of the American West's most remote, spectacular and historic wildlands.
It was researched by myself and Frank Reinbold, a.k.a. Dockingpilot, America's leading long-distance Tony Huegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12536149247605476440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7034520668745190658.post-6435228886325614682010-09-02T09:05:00.007-06:002011-12-15T10:40:57.725-07:00August '10 washout temporarily closes Canyonlands' famous White Rim loopFrom the Canyonlands National Park website:
"On August 19, severe storms caused flash flooding and rock falls that blocked or washed away roads throughout the Canyonlands area. One of the more dramatic washouts occurred on the Mineral Bottom Road switchbacks (see photo), where signifcant portions of the road were obliterated. This damage will affect all groups traveling the White Rim Road or Tony Huegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12536149247605476440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7034520668745190658.post-50381943380491189542010-08-31T17:03:00.017-06:002011-12-14T18:38:24.668-07:00Bridge projects impose temporary 2010 closure on Wyoming's Greys River RoadThe Greys River Ranger District of Bridger-Teton National Forest (307-886-5300) has closed the southerly segment of Greys River Road until Oct. 1, 2010. The reason is to replace three bridges.
But you can still make the north-south ride or drive by detouring over Thompson Pass (road 10128) and McDougal Gap (road 10125), which are linked by scenic road 10046 over Bare Pass.
I learned about Tony Huegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12536149247605476440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7034520668745190658.post-42183078131678754402009-10-12T18:02:00.004-06:002011-10-01T13:57:26.209-06:00Canyon Country backroad mishap offers lessons in resourcefulness, awareness
Downtown Moab
NEEDLES DISTRICT, Canyonlands National Park -- The day was full of promise -- until "it" caught up with us.
My wife, Lynn, and I had arrived for a long, early October weekend in Canyonlands National Park's relatively unpeopled yet spectacular Needles District, a long way from touristy Moab. The weather was clear and crisp, the kind that makes October so busy in that mountain Tony Huegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12536149247605476440noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7034520668745190658.post-81476511547848690392009-10-06T13:30:00.004-06:002011-10-01T14:09:32.618-06:00Autumn makes up for wet summer of '09
The summer of 2009 will be remembered in southeastern Idaho as a wet one. So when a September dry spell finally arrived with the colors I look forward to, it was time to mount my KLR 650 and ride mountain roads that were new to me.
I packed tools, spare tubes, a hand pump and other items for roadside repairs. I also stowed clothing for inclement weather, a possibility anytime in the northern Tony Huegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12536149247605476440noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7034520668745190658.post-57640728032487036422009-09-29T21:34:00.004-06:002011-10-28T22:09:00.550-06:00Alternate routes enhance adventuring along the Great Divide Route in Montana
CENTENNIAL VALLEY, Montana -- America's Great Divide Mountain Bike Route is a series of rural backroads from Banff, Alberta, Canada to Antelope Wells, New Mexico that together form a premier route for adventurous bicyclists and, increasingly, motorcyclists.
Following a network of primarily unpaved backways, it traverses some of the most rural regions of the Rocky Mountain West.
At its Tony Huegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12536149247605476440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7034520668745190658.post-15117326030693758242009-09-29T12:37:00.005-06:002011-10-01T14:13:49.956-06:00Crossing Montana and Idaho's Centennial Mountains easy on dual-sport motorcycles
Red Rock Pass Road
CENTENNIAL VALLEY, Montana -- I long wondered whether there is a route across the Centennial Mountains, a unique east-west-trending Continental Divide range that rises more than 3,000 feet above the valleys that flank it along the Idaho-Montana border.
My goal has been to cross from the Idaho side to connect with Montana's scenic Red Rock Pass Road (in the photo), in Tony Huegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12536149247605476440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7034520668745190658.post-81080935356082184902009-09-22T15:44:00.076-06:002011-10-31T10:43:38.444-06:00Historic Bannack Road an exhilarating backway linking Idaho and Montana
Bannack Pass
One of the backcountry routes I enjoy the most is the 19th-century road over Bannack Pass, in the Beaverhead Mountains along the Continental Divide between eastern Idaho and southwestern Montana.
More than a century ago, the old Bannack road linked Montana's territorial capital, today's ghost town at Bannack State Park, with Corinne, Utah, not far from the Transcontinental Tony Huegelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12536149247605476440noreply@blogger.com1