Scotts Annual Dusy Ershim Mountain Madness

Well time flies when your having fun!
Another fantastic Dusy trip is already here and gone!
This years trip was attended by Bob Boltner, Mike and Chris W. John Cary, Bill Cavan, Jerome B. Randy with Kevin Hay riding shotgun, and myself with my daughter Sarah.

We met in Shaver Lake getting last drops of fuel and some lunch. We caravanned to the trailhead at Courtright Res. As we neared the trailhead we couldn't help seeing the mass amount of smoke from the Rough fire, near Hume lake. We didn't know there was a fire in the area. We could see it was many miles away, but the thought of getting chased out was always on our minds.
We aired down and started out on our 33 mile journey.
We made our way to Chicken Rock and climbed to the top. We stopped to admire the view and take some photo's. The level of Courtright Res was about what it was last year. Years of drought have really drained the lake.
We made it to our first camp at the Dusy Meadows where we always camp.
The next morning there was a tiny bit of frost. We all had stories of how cold it is sleeping in this camp. We all pooled together and made a large pancake,bacon,sausage, and egg breakfast. Then we set off to tackle Thompson Hill.
Upon reaching the bottom of the hill I promptly got stuck with both diffs hitting rocks and the very dry dust covering everything had no traction. So I had to pull some winch line to be freed. Luckily there are plenty of trees. My tree saver and winch saved me from being stuck.
We all made it around this challenging corner, then we moved up the trail a bit for lunch. After lunch we started really climbing. About half the way to the top I had another diff hanger that required the winch again. As we made progress up the hill we soon reached the open area that is a rock garden. A few rocks were thrown to be able to continue with no issues. We all scratched and clawed to reach the summit. For those that had been before all commented how rough and tough Thompson Hill was this year.
We reached our camp at Thompson Lake. This area has 2 pit toilets, one by the large flat area on top, and one by the lake campsite. Which now has a large table made from downed trees. Kinda handy. We set up camp and relaxed. A few members hiked to a nearby summit.
In the past we have been invaded by others at this camp. But for the first time ever we camped by ourselves.
Next morning we packed up camp after breakfast and headed to our next camp. Which we call "Bob's Beach" after a major repair there last year.
This section of trail is not hard, but is very rough! We stopped at Ju-Ju canyon for a respectful ceremony for safe passage the rest of the trip.
We continued on stopping by a creek to enjoy the views and to pump some drinking water. The creek was very low.
We made our way to East Lake where we stopped for lunch. There is a pit toilet here and a table made from downed trees. This is normally where we camp but last year we tried a new camp so we headed down the road. Shortly after we left we came across a hiker. She was a bit turned around so Bob brought out his tablet with a very detailed map and helped get her on the right track.
We made our way to Quail Camp and just as we were walking up we saw the hiker again. She thanked us again for helping her find her way.
When we returned to our Jeeps Chris had noticed on the side of the trail a Toyota 3rd member laying on the side of the trail. So we picked it up.
We soon were at "Bob's Beach" our 3rd nights camp. I really enjoy this spot. We had our camps set up in no time and enjoyed hanging out. Bob and I were the party animals and managed to stay up until about 9:45. We had a meteor shower during this trip and we tried to stay awake and see some. We saw the most amazing shooting star light up across the night sky. Truly amazing! So we knew it wouldn't be topped by another so we went to bed.
Next morning we packed camp and headed towards Lakecamp Lake, our last night. We reached Ershim Lake around 11. It was a ghost town except for one poor beat to death Toyota pick up. Both sides of the frame were broke at the front spring hangers. There was chains and the winch cable holding it all together. We all scratched our heads and shared theories how such a thing could happen. Then we headed down the trail to Divorce Rock.
Randy had not been on the trip before and was a bit nervous. Mike was chosen as spotter. When Randy reached the point where he needed to make his turn Mike whipped out a cell phone and told Randy to stop a minute so he could take the phone call. We all busted up laughing!
We soon came across a group of 7 Jeeps coming the opposite direction. They pulled over to let us pass. A bit later we stopped for lunch. We could hear a motor so we scrambled to pack up so we could move off the trail. Soon a Toyota Truggy looking rig loaded to the hilt with gear was coming. Turns out the were headed to fix the broke Toyota at Ershim. A group of dirt bike riders was with them. One of them asked if we found a Toyota 3rd member. So we told them we had and turned it over to them.
Just as we were about to drop down the steep hill into Lakecamp Lake we came across a full sized Dodge pickup and a full sized Chevy Blazer. They were heading the same direction as us. We gave them a few minutes to get down the hill. Upon reaching camp we found our spots and set up.
Right after we ate dinner one of the dirt bike riders stopped by and chatted. They had made all the repairs already on the busted Toyota. I was impressed I thought it would have taken days to get it running.
Next morning we packed up for the last time on this trip.
We left camp around 8. We stopped along the way for photo's and some great views. The smoke from the large fire could easily be seen.
We reached telephone hill and stopped for a bit. Then proceeded down the trail. The end of the trail is always fun to drive. Very technical sections. We all made it out just fine!
There is a new trailhead sign so we all got together for a group shot.
I let Sarah drive to the air up spot. She was thrilled to get a chance to drive.
We all aired up and headed out.
We stopped in Prather for fuel. Sarah rode back with Bill since he has a hard top and AC. It was well over 100 and Sarah would have had to ride with me with the afternoon sun cooking her for the next 5 hours.
Just past Bakersfield we had to pull off the side of the FWY due to a bolt backing out of Bob's track bar. Luckily he was able to get it off the freeway and stopped. They found a bolt to make repairs and we were off.

It was a fantastic trip this year as always! Despite not being able to have a campfire for the 3rd year in a row.
Thanks for making it a great trip to those that could make it.
Looking forward to next year already!

Scott