The GS Giant 2014 - It's kind of a BIG deal!

[Polarbear]

MEDORA Eats

There is one outfit in Medora that cooks STEAKS on Pitchforks. Now that's something ive not seen recently or ever! Sure looks yum yum. If you arrive early there, you may wanna take in some local flavor and maybe even a nice juicy steak cooked over flames on a Pitchfork!! Take pics please

 

[167331]

International Falls meetup

Meetup on Sunday night, depart on Monday.

Perfect! Thank you!

 

[weschmann]

Interesting comments about Medora. Last year, on my ride home (St. Louis) From the Salem rally, I met a herd of Harley riders by chance at a motel in Montana who invited me to ride along with them to breakfast at the Cowboy Cafe in Medora. Now, having never been invited to ride along with a group of Harley riders since starting to ride, I thought why not; and quickly fell in at the back of the group so as not to contaminate the image of the group . It was about a 40 mile ride out of my way, but I was glad to have the company at breakfast, and found Medora to be a gem of a destination on top of everything else. I even survived my comment with the guys when they pulled off the road to gear up for some approaching rain if perhaps we stopped to pick up some fallen off parts. A great bunch of guys with a sense of humor mindful of a lone rider looking for breakfast conversation. If I weren't coming from a different direction, I would definitely meet up in Medora and arrive a couple of days early to experience the area.....

 

[143510]

Pikes Peak

How many people are meeting at Pikes Peak?

How many of the Pikes Peak people are fairly new to off-roading? (Not just me, I hope.)

~Jessie

 

[Snoopy5280]

Medora! Count me in!

I'll be joining you guys at Medora!

Do we need reservations at the campground?

 

[visian]

I'll be joining you guys at Medora!

Glad to hear you're coming.

Do we need reservations at the campground?

Randy may chime in, but I would make a reservation, just in case. Given that the meetups are on Sunday night, most of the weekend people will already be headed home that morning.

Ian

 

[AdventureAnderson]

A

 

[bryanc33]

How many people are meeting at Pikes Peak?

How many of the Pikes Peak people are fairly new to off-roading? (Not just me, I hope.)

~Jessie

I was trying to decide whether to do Pikes Peak or Clay's route. I have done offroad but not with the bike loaded up with camping gear so I'm doing Pikes Peak.

From what I understand, the southern part of the TWAT isn't too bad -- I believe the northern part has more ATV trails, mud, sand, etc.

 

[mack]

Sault Saint Marie-Brimley

The first post in this thread has been updated with information about the GS Gypsy Tours.

If you have registered for the event, you will receive an e-mail with deeper detail soon.

Ian

Can/Should we reserve the "organization" camp area?

How many will be here Sunday?
Thanks Jim Mack

 

[visian]

I was trying to decide whether to do Pikes Peak or Clay's route. I have done offroad but not with the bike loaded up with camping gear so I'm doing Pikes Peak.

From what I understand, the southern part of the TWAT isn't too bad -- I believe the northern part has more ATV trails, mud, sand, etc.

You made a good choice, as there's a difference when riding with your gear.

The southern portion of the TWAT features a lot of ride-around options should you want them.

And... Jessie B meet Bryan C.

 

[visian]

Can/Should we reserve the "organization" camp area?

I looked online a while back and saw it was booked. But I just checked it again and said we have to reserve via phone call to the park management.

so.... I called and they have a group spot available. But I need to talk with the campground manager before finalizing.

How many will be here Sunday?
Thanks Jim Mack

I anticipate no more than 20-25 people.

I'm supposed to hear back from the CG manager later today or tomorrow.

 

[stubdetoe]

International Falls Leg

I am apparently the go-to guy for the northern leg of the Gypsy Tour coming south from the Canadian border at International Falls.

This is the basic plan:

A) Prepare! Download the TMAT Eastern GPS track GPS from DualSportMaps.com ($10 for a one month subscription), and load it into your Garmin; There will be no upload capabilities on site, you have been warned!

http://minneadv.info/tmat/

Note: Have a read of Jim Klas' turn by turn review of the trail, it is worthwhile

http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?71375-Trans-Minnesota-Adventure-Trail-(TMAT)

B) Sunday, July 20th, meet up at Arnold's Campground in International Falls. First come first served, limited sites, pay as you go. This camp is optional, but is a good meeting point near the trail head before heading out Monday morning;

Arnold?s Campground
http://www.arnoldsfishing.com/camping.htm
2031 2nd Avenue West ? Highway 53 South ? International Falls MN 56649 (218) 285-9100
https://www.google.com/maps/place/A...c!3m1!1s0x52bb7b8ca53edd51:0x77270431082eec92

C) Monday, July 21st, depart for first leg of TMAT. It could be mucky and wet what with all they rain they have been having up there (you may want to bypass the first short piece completely because as Jim describes it, it may be very iffy for BigDogGS's). Arrive at Indian Lake State Forest, primitive sites, again first come first served, pay as you go campground with 63 sites, so it should not be a problem as it appears remote on the map. Pick up your first card from me on site;

Indian Lake Campground
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_forests/facilities/cmp00009/index.html
N47 16.355 W91 50.830
Split Rock LIghthout SP - 218-595-7625
stayatmnparks.com
https://www.google.com/maps/place/I...191,8z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x249958587d03db1c

D) Tuesday, July 22nd, depart for St Croix Haven campsite, also first come first served, limited sites, pay as you go, but if you say you are with the GSG Gypsy Tour you should get a $10 rate. Pick up your second card from me on site;

http://www.stcroixhavencampground.com/
Directions: 40756 Grace Lake Road
Hinckley, MN 55037

Note: According to them: "if you try to put our address in your GPS, it probably won't get you right to us"

320-655-7989
800-280-0166
info@stcroixhavencampground.com

Directions from Minneapolis/St. Paul area, but you should be able to figure it out:
Take 35W North to the Hinckley Exit (#183). Go East (right) on Hwy 48 for 23 miles. Just before the Minnesota/Wisconsin border is County Road #173 (also known as Grace Lake Road), take a left and go 1 mile, we are on the right hand side. If you cross the St. Croix River, just missed County Road #173.

E) Wednesday, July 23rd, depart for MOA Rally site and pick up your last card from myself or Ian at the GSG designated campsite. I will ride out early, directly to the rally site as I have an 8 am MOA Board meeting, so you will be on your own for the last day.

Have a great time!

Bill Hooykaas
Frog Bayou Boy

 

[visian]

This is the basic plan:

A) Prepare!

Bring bug spray...

 

[stubdetoe]

Bring bug spray...

And a mosquito jacket for the camp!

 

[visian]

Brimley State Park and Gypsy tours from there

I'm supposed to hear back from the CG manager later today or tomorrow.

We are good to go.

Brimley State Park will be the starting point for a number of GS Giant Gypsy Tours:

• The adventurous way across the UP - hosted by Claude Gagne, the 2013 GS Giant
• The paved Way across the UP
• The paved way across Superior's north shore (part of a Lake Superior Circle Tour)

First and foremost, we need to give it up for Bryan Much, Cannonshot on ADV. The links above will take you to his route pages, where he describes each route and provides .GPX files for you to download. Scroll down to find the GPX file download links.

IMPORTANT NOTE: these routes do not go exactly to the ending point at St. Croix Haven Campground, so be sure you know how to get there (there'll be a waypoint in your scorebook).

Let me tell you, these are **world class** routes, Bryan has put a whole ton of time in laying out options, showing where there's gas and food... we are lucky to have something this good.



Here are some pics of the routes from Bryan's site:

Adventurous way across the UP

Paved way across the UP

Paved way across Lake Superior's north shore

 

[RIK]

adventurous way

doing this route from Mack bridge, will be on trail Sunday AM. how do we get scorebooks?

 

[visian]

The scorebook will be coming out on Sunday afternoon, July 13, is that soon enough?

 

[RIK]

yes. as there was no date for Sunday to be sent I wasn't sure. sorry.

 

[Polarbear]

Medora, North Dakota;

July 20 is our day to meet and camp at Medora, ND.. Monday up early, break camp and ride by 8AM latest(I hope). Earlier if youre early riser like me. The RIDE; Taking in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, some offroad that I hope mostly dirt byways, easy. My first time in there. We will pop out onto HWY200 Eastbound and make our way crossing ND out of the Badlands and into the plains. ND has dirt byways everywhere, most all of which are straight and long gravel roads. The shoulders and centers are deep gravel quite often. If we encounter these, we will take caution for riders not with the experience. Others can go fast and meet up at camp, night two. Time frames will keep us on pavement when time needs made up. A long day crossing this state can catch up to us and we lose an hour crossing time zones. Two options exist for CAMP, night two. One is very recent add, so LOOK! Buffalo River State Park is the original option, still exists for those making good time crossing ND. Its East of Fargo in Minnesota, Hwy10. Easy find. NEW option is Town of Hannaford,ND, Hwy1 just off Hwy200 to the South. City park there has full facilities and IF we run into trouble with weather or bikes, consider this camp in Hannaford. It will be on my list for overnight if I an running tardy crossing the state. CARDS and playing GSGiants Poker? You earn one card per camp, so by the time youre in St.Croix Haven Campground, you'll have three cards and can increase that to 5 card hand by participating at Rally GSGiants activities. Whether you camp with me or are making your own route on GSTour, your proof of camp en route to St.Croix gets you your total three cards. Just ask me when you arrive at St.Croix Haven Camp, show me your proof of something neat en route. IF something happens to ME and my GSA, I will pass on the task to a fellow rider. ENJOY yourself, travel well and if ya find your way to MEDORA, JULY20, we welcome you. ME; 559-288-2555 or gsarbear@gmail.com Randy"Polarbear"Owens PS; Im on the road very soon now and Im debating how I wanna pack my computer, etc.. I have IPhone 5S with much capability and will be available during the days in travel mode. See yall.

 

[Polarbear]

Dakota NOTE;

My backbone of my GSTour is HWY200 crossing ND, so if we stray off that its not far and Hwy200 crosses all the way. Look for the camps and towns mentioned above, you'll likely find me or a GS in adventure mode. Make contact if ya need to. Ive posted my data a few times. Minnesota crossing will be wild and small roads I wont post again, due to much alternatives crossing MN.. I am exploring the Mississippi River as its headwaters flow that region. Only time frame I am concerned about is making St.Croix Haven Campground by a reasonable hour to camp. I have a long list of byways that I will encounter and you want off the beaten path, better be in my group of riders. You're very welcome to beat your own trails, just find us later anywhere. Ride safe, stay dry.