Wilsons Sandbox

Another newby question -- what's the biggest downside for soft versus hard saddlebags. Also, I'm close to ordering the Wolfman Alpha with the duffle, along with the explorer tank bag. Any advice or comments, please [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Took a great long dual sport ride today, on the KLR, with James on his KLR; we left Santa Rosa about nine, stopped at Glenn's TWT shack for a cuppa, then up and over Hopland Grade where I felt the new Karoos breaking in (they do take some break-in). Then it was through old Upper Lake and up Elk Mountain Road to meet our friend Moose at the Middle Creek Campground, he was camped there with his wife and kids. Moose was there with his friends from church, they all have dirtbikes. Moose has a real nice KLR - I know the guy who used to own it, in Elko. So I recognized the bike when I met Moose a couple of years ago, which really surprised him. The three of us wailed up Elk Mtn Rd (quite a road, for the uninitiated) to the top, where it changes to dirt, then we took M10 down into the upper reaches of the south fk of the Eel. We crossed the river a couple of times, went for a swim, were given cold beers by some deer hunters, then we took off up M3 which goes around the north side of Snow Mtn. We climbed up and over so many ridges with awesome views in every direction. From the top of M3 we could peer down into the Central Valley, we were basically right about halfway between Stonyford and Elk Creek, but up at the top of the mountains. Weather was beautiful as were the wildflowers. Moose began to get all in a hurry to get to covelo and then back to his wife at their campsite, which precluded me from getting down to this little lake (Paskett Lake) which is near the top of the range there, surrounded by gorgeous alpine meadows, wildflowers and birds everywhere. I definitely was irked at not being able to check out this lake, but I can tell it is somewhere I want to camp for a night or two. There are a couple of really beautiful and isolated campgrounds there. It is lovely up there - right in our backyard. For those with maps, this is actually Mendocino Pass Road aka Alder Springs road, aka CA 162, but it is all dirt in the stretch from the outskirts of covelo to where it comes out of the mountains over in Elk Creek, from where it heads to Willows and Thunderhill. Altitude is probably 6500 feet or so at the top. We absolutely flew down the 30 or so miles of dusty dirt road to where you meet the Eel, at the entrance to the Yolla Bolly. Moose turned off there on his way back from Covelo to take the dirt (M1) highway into Pillsbury then south to Middle Creek (just north of Upper Lake) Stopped for Mex food in Willits (Super Taco, it's pretty good, in the Ray's Food Place shopping center on the west side of the road), and then a determined blast home non-stop because my doggie told me if I failed to come home without dog food he would do something not so nice. I remembered the dog food. Altogether we roade about 100 miles of high quality dirt backroads, 100 miles of paved super-twisties, and 100 miles of 101. A good day. Salud, Bill