Sarah and I met up with Kris and his 2 boys William and Alex. We caravaned to the trailhead where we met John. Good thing John left the day before since his fuel pump bit the dust right after he filled the tank. He had it towed to a shop for repairs. He got to the trailhead where he camped around 10PM. After airing down we headed towards Chicken Rock.
First we passed Marmot rock. It's a large slab of granite.
http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c331/FourbangerYJ/Dusy/?action=view&cu...
Then we made it to Chicken rock. The Gatekeeper had been pretty much removed and it was a cakewalk to get on the slab.
http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c331/FourbangerYJ/Dusy/?action=view&cu...
http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c331/FourbangerYJ/Dusy/?action=view&cu...
We slowly made our way to our first camp at Dusy meadows. We got camp set up, collected some firewood and ate dinner. Then Sarah and I went to fish in Courtright. No luck but there was alot of small fish jumping. When we got back the fire was going and we all watched the stars come out.
Next morning we packed up camp and headed towards Thompson hill. We stopped to trim Kris's roof rack, but my inverter pooped out and would not produce any power. So we packed up and kept moving.
http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c331/FourbangerYJ/Dusy/?action=view&cu...
There and a number of tight spots along the way. The above is one of them. We stopped to shovel a long line of gear oil that someone had left in the middle of the trail. It was about 150 yards long or so.
We finally made it to the lower part of the hill. We slowly started the climb. The lower part is getting pretty rough.
http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c331/FourbangerYJ/Dusy/?action=view&cu...
Notice Kris's bumper :) on a lower section I walked ahead to see what the trail was like. I came back to help Kris thru a rough spot and heard a loud POP. The bumper lost that battle.
http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c331/FourbangerYJ/Dusy/?action=view&cu...
Here is John on a diff hanger. That rock seemed to catch all of us for a bit. Once we got over that one we had to get around this one.
http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c331/FourbangerYJ/Dusy/?action=view&cu...
Once past this section we had little trouble getting to the top. Where we set up camp. There is a new pit toilet just off the trail and within easy walking distance from where we camped ( same spot as last year) With all the camp chores done we started to relax when we heard some chatter on the CB. Then we heard some engines. A group of 9 rigs past our camp and camped by Thompson Lake. We enjoyed dinner and sitting around the fire watching the stars come out.
Next morning we started for East Lake. I thought the group that passed us would be gone by the time we left camp at 9 but they had not. So after stopping at a meadow with a creek crossing we waited until they passed us. We heard lots of comments about how they liked Kris's Waggy and wondered how we got it there. Then we went to Summit Lake to try our luck at fishing. It's a short walk from the trail. I had not been there before.
http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c331/FourbangerYJ/Dusy/?action=view&cu...
After a short fishing attempt we went back to the Jeeps for some lunch. Then we headed towards East Lake. This is the most kidney snapping, bone rattleing part of the trail. It seemed like it took forever to get to camp. Once in camp we set up our tents, except for John he was sleeping without a tent. He went to the lake to try his luck. A short time later he came back with a nice Rainbow trout. So Sarah and I grabbed some early dinner and headed to the lake to try our luck. A short time later the rest of the crew showed up. We fished for awhile with no luck. The others headed back to camp. Sarah and I stayed for a bit longer. When we started back to camp we heard some engines. It was near 7 PM so I thought great, we won't be camping alone tonight. But when we got to camp we saw dust clouds going past camp. It turns out the 3 4 door JK's where heading to Ersham Lake. So we enjoyed our campfire and watched for shooting stars.
Next moring my Jeep had a vistor during the night that left many, many calling cards all over. Looks like the mice had a huge pooping party in there.
We started for Ersham Lake where we planned on having lunch. On the way we were following the tracks left by the 3 JK's. I stopped to spot Kris thru a rough section. When I hoped back in the Jeep I looked down and spotted these
http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c331/FourbangerYJ/Dusy/?action=view&cu...
They were fresh too. They were on top of the JK tracks. This was less than a mile from out camp at East Lake.
We were making great time. Then we got to this spot. It kept us for a few trying to get Kris thru unharmed.
http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c331/FourbangerYJ/Dusy/?action=view&cu...
Once thru we stopped at a creek crossing to fill up our washing water container. Then on to Ersham. When we arrived I thought there was going to be a large crowd there. It was just the 3 JK's. They started the trail the day before and got to camp around 10PM that night. I can't imagine driving that fast thru there. To each there own I guess. Then we headed for Divorce rock. We each made our way down without a problem. Finally made it to our last camp at Lakecamp Lake. It was about 4 PM. Just after we pitched out tents (Kris and me John was sleeping without a tent) it started to sprinkle. Then it started to rain. After about an hour it stopped. We gathered firewood and got the fire going. We dried out Johns sleeping pad and my camp chairs. After dinner we were sitting around the fire when it started to sprinkle again. Then it started to rain lightly. Kris found a frog inside his tent right before going to bed. When Sarah and I went to bed we had a puddle of water between our air matteresses. About midnight the rain pounding the tent was deafening! I felt sorry for John since he was outside without a tent. Then about 2:30 we noticed our tent was leaking and water was dropping on our bags. We were not cold but the rain kept coming. About 5:30 I couldn't take it anymore so I started to get up and pack. The rain was still coming down. I went out to see how John was doing. He was awake. His well everything was wet. The tarp the had above him helped some but water still soaked him. Once it got light enough we started to pack camp. This is what I found under the tent and tarp.
http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c331/FourbangerYJ/Dusy/?action=view&cu...
Ya nice puddle! The inside of the tent was trashed.
Luckily I brought an extra tarp and it kept the inside of the Jeep dry.
http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c331/FourbangerYJ/Dusy/?action=view&cu...
I pretty much just shoved the tent into the back of the Jeep. It was a wreck.
We headed out. Luckily the rain stopped. While driving I was leaving dry tire tracks where my tires moved the wet soil and it was bone dry underneath. I thought it was kinda weird since it rain so much.
We made it past Mikes tree without a problem. We made it to the top of the trail above 10,000 ft. We could only see for maybe 100ft.
http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c331/FourbangerYJ/Dusy/?action=view&cu...
Just before the summit we stopped to tighten one of my TRE's. It had backed off the castle nut a bit and the steering had a funny feel. After a short time we were off again. But Kris ran out of gas...Luckily he still had a 5 gallon can full. So we poured that in.
Once on top of telephone hill we made phone calls to family to update them. Could barely see anything with the clouds. We started down the hill pausing to get some shots.
http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c331/FourbangerYJ/Dusy/?action=view&cu...
Here is a nice one of John. Then we got to the rough section. It took awhile to get us thru. They had changed the trail around a bit making it tougher than in the years past.
http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c331/FourbangerYJ/Dusy/?action=view&cu...
http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c331/FourbangerYJ/Dusy/?action=view&cu...
But we all made it thru just fine. The clouds were so thick it was hard to see. It started to sprinkle again.
We made it out in real good time. We reached the trailhead before noon. Which I thought was pretty darn good. We aired up and headed to town for gas and food.
http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c331/FourbangerYJ/Dusy/?action=view&cu...
We stopped at Huntington Lake so Kris and John could grab a few gallons of gas. I saw this sweet flatty.
http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c331/FourbangerYJ/Dusy/?action=view&cu...
We gassed up in Shaver and had lunch at a Deli across the street. Then we headed home, where we saw the worst traffic jam I had ever seen. The north bound 5 was stopped from the bottom of the grapevine all the way to Gorman. All three lanes were stopped! I John came thru later than us and said a big rig turned over killing 3.
We got home in time for dinner. It was nice to be home. Spent the next day cleaning our camping equipment.
The trip was an absolute blast! We all had a great time. I gotta give Kris props for driving his land barge thru the 33 miles of trail without tearing his Jeep to shreads. There was only a small handfull of times where he needed rocks stacked to get around some trees. Which we removed after he passed. Truely a epic adventure for sure. Something I won't forget.
Looking forward to next year!
Scott
