Since the actual Jerry Counts route starts much further to the east, in Idaho to be precise, near the Montana border, Tom begins by feeding an alternative into our GPS. This will take us on stone tracks through the Cascade Mountains, in the state of Washington, as far as Riggins in the south of Idaho, where we will joint up with Jerry’s original route.

The fact that we’re in the right place at the wrong time – just as winter is starting in the northern hemisphere - makes this whole undertaking a real challenge. Man and machine meet their limits. In the mountains of Washington we feel the winter right away: black ice on Steven’s Pass in the Cascades, snow and icy cold. At night the thermometer drops to -10 C. A big camp fire and a pan of mulled wine prevent us from freezing to death. As we continue south, we fight our way for days through mud and deep water holes.

At a gas station in Ellensburg, Washington, Ramona once again causes a stir with her unusual motorcycle. Someone introduces himself to us as Jonah Street. He says he’s never seen a bike like it. Well, it is a brand new G 650 Xchallenge after all. As we discover to our great surprise, Jonah was on the BMW factory team in 2005 at the Endurance Day in Torgau, where Touratech was also represented: so this was an unexpected encounter with an old acquaintance. He spontaneously decides to accompany us for some of the way on his own motorcycle and shows us a secluded place to stay the night in a canyon.

Stage 1: From Canada into the US

Stage 3: Through the mud to Hell's Canyon

Back to overview