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K1100LT - Washington Coast Sunset
The last time I rode my green 93 K1100LT was in June of 2013. A couple of months ago I decided to bring it back from the dead. Since it's the end of summer I decided to take an overnight camping trip to watch the sun set over The Pacific Ocean.
September 24: Home to South Beach - 154 miles I left home at 11AM. For this late in September the weather was quite nice as I headed south along Hood Canal:
101 heading south from Aberdeen - Chehalis River Bridge:
I was about 80 miles from home crossing the Wishkah River in Aberdeen when the bike just suddenly died half way across the bridge. Ruh roh. I coasted over to the side of the road on the downgrade right after the bridge.
The first suspect was the notorious fuel tank connector but when I turned the key on I could hear the fuel pump running so that wasn't the issue. When I tried to start it it would BARELY run with the choke in the #2 position. I took my camping gear off of the rear seat to get to the tools in the tail cowl. I figured it wouldn't hurt to try so I disconnected and reseated the Motronic connector and I'll be darned but the bike then started right up! Phew. Crappy day avoided.
Unlike northern California and Oregon, 101 in Washington does not go right along the coast but is inland so it's mostly riding in trees. (Washington does have a beautiful coastline but you need hiking boots and a pack to see it.)
South Beach Campground in Olympic National Park is about the only place where you can car/moto camp on the northern coast. I arrived at South Beach a little after 3PM. Even though it's the end of the season it's a popular place so I got one of the few remaining campsites in the back row. It's still only a short walk to the beach though.
The ground was hard enough so that I really didn't need a side stand plate but since I had it with me in my tank bag I used it for peace of mind:
This was my first time using my "instant" pop-up tent. It's a two and a half person sized tent.
I put my riding gear out of the way in the back and then my cot:
Since I could fit everything I needed for an overnight trip in my top case and tank bag I loaded up both of my side cases with kindling and firewood before leaving home:
I brought enough wood for a good evening fire with enough left over for a morning fire.
As a Boy Scout and lifelong pyro, I know how to build a fire: 1 - Paper 2 - Cedar kindling 3 - Twigs 4 - Soft wood to get the fire going 5 - Hard wood that burns slowly and has good embers
Took a short walk down to the ocean:
There's quite a lot of big driftwood along the coast:
Since I had some free time until sunset I watched a movie on my Acer 10.1" hybrid Win 10 netbook. The speakers aren't great so I use a Bluetooth speaker which sounds much better. I also use the speaker for campsite music from my phone.
The sun began to set a little after 7PM. Panorama picture:
After the sun set it was time to get the fire going. As luck would have it there was a slight breeze from left to right so I could sit on the bench right next to the fire without having smoke blown into my face:
Stubb's baby back ribs that I brought for dinner:
September 25: South Beach to Home - 164 miles Had a good night's sleep with the sound of the surf in the background. My morning campfire:
I hit the road from South Beach at about 11AM. After a few peek-a-boo views of the coast, 101 heads back into the trees. There's a few decent turns here and there but it's mostly like this:
101 winds along the southern shore of Lake Crescent which is 11.8 miles long and 624' deep. It's the second deepest lake in Washington.
Taken at the bottom of Discovery Bay:
About three miles from home along Hood Canal.
Glad to have the LT running again...
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