Adventure Days 2019 w/ Rawhyde Adventures @ ZAKAR, CA

After driving nearly 18 hours in the snow, the distant Joshua Trees illuminated by our headlights were a welcome sight. We checked in to Adventure Days 2019 a little bit late but made it nonetheless. There was ample room to park our rig in the designated RV parking and our excitement for the weekend grew more as we meandered through parked rigs with motos unloaded and ready for the morning activities. Designed and developed by RawHyde Adventures, Adventure Days is an overland and adventure motorcycle-touring event and was presented this year, for the first time ever, at RawHyde’s new Mojave Desert location – Zakar.

The location of Zakar, outside of the quiet and unique town of California City, California proved to be the perfect location for such an event. Not only is Zakar situated under the vast stars of the Mojave Desert – a quiet and special scene – it’s also in close proximity to many miles of off-road opportunity. 

With all the excitement surrounding the nightscape upon arrival, you’re probably surprised to realize how blown away we were in the morning. Views are vast and distant mountains linger and tease as they long to be explored. We realize that the sun in California is the same sun that graces us in Colorado but after a long, cold and snowy winter, the California sun felt really good.

One concept that we really loved about Adventure Days is that all of the meals were planned and scheduled. It was so easy to just pack and go without having to think about stocking the fridge and planning meals. Every day we were served breakfast, lunch, and dinner and aside from the fact that we were eating really well, it was an incredible time to visit with friends and make new ones. We were up early on day one to check out the schedule and make a game plan for the day.

With Tyson’s back surgery he, unfortunately, wasn’t able to really partake in the off-road activities but he was still able to stay quite busy throughout the day. There is an overland course on the property, which proved to be solid entertainment. We decided that on day one I would participate in some of the mini-clinics and demo rides and hopefully meet someone to head out on an adventure ride with the next day.

In the morning before the clinics on motos, RawHyde offered “classroom setting” type workshops. We attended a talk by Jim Hyde about GPS technology – some tips and tricks and we also attended a talk on Pursuing Financial Freedom. There were so many great classes offered, we just didn’t have enough time in the day to attend them all. We love that RawHyde offered these at the event, as there is so much information to learn in general about adventure motorcycling.

Even though I was one of the few attendees with an orange bike, I was able to partake in the clinics and they even let me demo a new BMW 850. RawHyde works closely with BMW so many of the attendees and event coordinators were on BMWs. Even though there was only a small crowd of KTM riders, we are a force to be reckoned with. The clinics were absolutely the highlight of the weekend. I went to Skidding on Dirt and Riding in Sand and I learned a lot and was able to practice some maneuvers I wouldn’t have done otherwise. Not only did we work on actual skills throughout the clinics, I felt as though the clinics helped build confidence as a rider in general. The coaches were all super supportive, genuinely excited, and very helpful.

After an exciting and fun-filled day, Tyson and I reconvened before dinner. After not being on the moto for quite some time, I was once again reminded as to why riding an adventure motorcycle is one of my all-time favorite feelings in the world. I felt energized and enthusiastic and I don’t think I stopped smiling until I fell asleep.

I wasn’t sure what day two would bring for me but we got up early with the sun, let it flood through the front door of the camper, and headed over to the main tent for breakfast. We happened to sit down with a couple of guys at breakfast and after chatting a little bit, one of the guys said, “oh, you’re KTM girl!” There weren’t many women at Adventure Days and there weren’t many KTMs, so I was unique in those aspects. It turns out that both Matt and Steve were in the clinics on day one with me.

Tyson quickly asked if they had any plans for the day and was wondering if I could join. I am glad I had my support crew with me because I may have been a little shy to invite myself. They welcomed me with open arms and we made plans to meet in an hour to head out on a day ride.

RawHyde had planned a few different “self-guided” rides near Zakar and it was so nice to head out with some guidance and recommendations on where to explore. It cut out a lot of questions and planning. I really didn’t have to do anything because both Matt and Steve knew where we were heading so I was able to just follow along. It was an absolutely beautiful day and my 640 started right up (always questionable).

Our adventure ride from Zakar was one of those rides – well I guess in a way every ride is like this – I just couldn’t believe the surrounding views. The Mojave Desert proved to have such wild and vast views and it was ever changing. At one moment, riding through the Trona Pinnacles, it was as if we were on Mars. There were long, desolate, and straight expanses of highways and though it sounds boring it was very intriguing.

After the Pinnacles, we traveled up to the town of Trona for lunch. We hardly saw anyone else out on the roads (both paved and unpaved) and Trona was also seemingly quiet. We filled up on tacos and then hit the road towards the Burro Schmidt Tunnel. Suddenly on our way to the BST, we were engulfed in rugged mountains and weaved our way up canyons and valleys until making it to the tunnel. It was incredible that in a short time, the landscape had changed so drastically.

The Burro Schmidt Tunnel was really neat to experience! It is a ½ mile long tunnel, dug by one man over the time of 38 years (does anyone these days have that kind of patience?). We were able to walk through the entire tunnel and made it out alive. Always a bonus.

The sun was starting to set so we worked our way back to Zakar. If there was one thing that I took away from this ride, it was that there were so many endless opportunities for adventure in such a small area, and so close to Zakar. We would really like to return to the area for an extended period of time and explore more.

We made it back to camp just as night fell and once again, my smile was wide and I couldn’t wait to tell Tyson about our day. We had a fun dinner and for the last night, there was live music and entertainment. It was quite bittersweet as we weren’t ready for the event to be over!

The highlight of Adventure Days for us was hands down seeing old friends and making new ones and the relationships that form from spending time together while sharing a passion. Not only was Adventure Days fun, educational, and inspiring, it was a weekend to remember and one to look forward to for the upcoming years. There was opportunity for growth, amazing food to eat, and stars so close you felt like you could reach out and touch them. Adventure Days 2019 satisfied what we’ve stood for for so long – adventure often, explore more.

If you would like to learn more about RawHyde or Adventure Days, be sure to check out their site here. They offer courses and clinics all over the world and have two US bases – one in California and one in Colorado. 

We would like to send a huge thank you to RawHyde Adventures for having us experience this incredible event and another big thanks to Matt and Steve for letting me join them on their day of adventure. They also took a ton of photos that day and provided me with those and for that, I’m extremely grateful!