Western Sierra Trek

Trip Report- Fordyce Creek Trail Sunday, July 10 th Report prepared by Mike and Laura W. Attendees: Oellien Family, Mike and Laura W., Ric and Lisa, Dwayne Wilson, Jerome and Mitra, Pat and Norm T. The group left from our South Lake Tahoe campground at 7:00am heading for Fordyce Creek Trail which took about an hour to get there. In route, we had a beautiful view of Lake Tahoe and the Truckee River as we drove to the trailhead. After fueling up we arrived at the trailhead, aired down and started up Fordyce Creek trail. Fordyce is amazing. The challenging trail is beautiful with great views of the surrounding Sierra Nevada Mountains, Redwoods, White and Ponderosa pines and of course, Fordyce Creek. The weather was perfect. After meandering through the woods we arrived at the first water crossing on Fordyce Creek. The amount of water in the creek is controlled by the power company; you really don’t know if you can cross and continue on until you get there. We were all very happy San Francisco hadn't turned on their lights or air conditioning yet as the water level was relatively low and ONLY came up to our rocker guards. Everyone made it through safely. After a brief break we continued on, and the trail became more technically challenging. Fortunately there were no mishaps, at least for us. At a really rocky uphill sluice, we came on a DOA buggy blocking the trail. The buggy was out of commission because of a hole ripped into the cast transmission pan caused by a pointed rock it was still sitting on top of. As we were maneuvering Chad around the buggy to continue up the trail, the buggy's owner arrived with parts to fix his rig. After scoping out the rest of the sluice, we found it ended in a very nasty, steep and potentially expensive obstacle that had numerous oil stains from previous attempts. The buggy owner told us about another rig that flipped at this location the day before; they didn’t get it righted and running again until earlier this morning. We turned Chad around and back down the hill where he turned around again to assist the buggy owner by winching the broken buggy off the rock so the guy could make his repairs. We took the bypass and continued on. After successfully completing more challenging obstacles it was getting pretty late and it became evident we wouldn't make it back to camp until way after dark if we attempted to complete the entire length of the trail. We decided to take the bailout route which entailed another creek crossing followed by a very slippery exit up a steep rock slab. We continued to climb up to Fordyce Reservoir which took us back to where we started and home. Everyone was beat after a very long day. We all gathered at the Oellien's for a little while for refreshments and snacks then all headed back to our motor homes and to bed. A great day had by all with more great days to come. Highway 50 Hills Run By Ric and Lisa Tuesday: Barrett Lake (Forest Service permitting. Usually opens early to mid July). If still closed we will do a scenic drive through the hills South of I50 then back to camp for happy hour! Originally scheduled for Tues., but switched to Mon., 11th of July, since the Fordyce trail was such a long day, and we appreciated the rest / sleeping in a little. Barrett Lake was closed, so Chad ,Joanna, Nash led the way up some local trails. Followed by Chad's friend Kevin from Placerville, Mike and Laura, Jerome and Metra (pls excuse any spelling errors), John and Mary, Pat and Norm, Lisa and Ric. The trails were very scenic and the weather was great. And much to the girls delight, the trails were easy this day. At lunch time, the trail narrowed, some half the group went over to the lake to have lunch, while the other half continued to explore thru the brush. Chad cleared the trail of a large log , with Mikes help : the FJ couldn't break it til Mike jumped up and down on it ! Way to use that testosterone Mikey ! Had some great views at the top of the mountain. Chad and Nash discovered a Memorial Disk from '02. Upon return to camp, Happy Hour in John and Wendy's spot ! Wendy brought out lots of goodies, including homemade Salsa Verde.. Virginia City Run By Jerome The Tuesday trip to Virginia City started out at a little after 7. The group included Chad, Joana and their boys, Bob and Judy, English John, John C., Dwayne, Rick and Lisa, Mike and Laura, and Jerome and Mitra. We left the RV park and drove through South Lake Tahoe toward State Route 207, also known as Kingsbury Grade. A short distance up 207 we turn northward and wound our way up through a residential area to the end of Adria Drive where the Genoa Peak Road trail started. From the start of the trail we were in tall pines and gained elevation to where we stopped at a vista point for some group pictures overlooking Lake Tahoe. Along the trail we had great views of the lake and Carson Valley. We were on the trail for some time until we came to Highway 50, which is part of the Lincoln Highway one of the earliest transcontinental highway for automobiles across America. We entered the highway for a short distance and then exited onto the southern end of Kings Canyon Road, which was the original Old Lincoln Highway grade between Carson City and Lake Tahoe. The trail is a dirt road from the start at Highway 50. The Kings Canyon Road is significant at the state level in three closely-related areas. First, the road was opened in 1852 by the first settlers of Carson City in an attempt to divert emigrant traffic through Eagle Valley and up Kings Canyon. In this regard, the Kings Canyon Road is considered significant for its seminal role in the initial development of Eagle Valley before the founding of Carson City. Secondly, between 1863 and 1875, the road was heavily-used as a major freight and stage wagon toll road between Lake Tahoe and the Carson Valley. Finally, between 1914-1915 and 1928, the Kings Canyon Road was part of the national Lincoln Highway system. (from http://cdn.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/nv/nv0100/nv0124/data/nv0124data.pdf) Along Kings Canyon Road we climb and reach an elevation of 7000 feet at Spooner Summit. Once past the summit we descend into Carson City. Near Carson City, the road becomes a paved road that extends into Carson City. The only tough part along the trail was a tight off camber turn where the right rear wheel started sliding down hill. This was followed by a tight little rock climb. These two obstacles would normally have not been that interesting but with a down slope drop of a couple of thousand feet you pay a little more attention to them. We wound our way through Carson City and up the paved road to Virginia City. At Virginia City we walked the main road like the rest of the crowd and had lunch. After lunch about half of the group headed back to the RV park while the rest of us poked around a little longer and then the rest of us headed back via Highway 50. Back at the RV park it was happy hour and preparation for our next day. Rubicon 2016 By Nash ​ This wonderful journey all started on Thursday, July 14. We started up our engines at 7:00 am and headed out onto highway 50 west. We continued on highway 50 for about 15 minutes until Mike told us to pull over because he said he heard a strange sound coming from his truck. He described this sound as if he was “driving over gravel”. Once we were all stopped, Mike popped up his hood and took a look in his engine compartment. Mike noticed that his belt was starting to shred apart. So there we were, for about 30 minutes watching Mike dig to the bottom of his polished tool box searching for his spare belt. Once Mike found the belt, he got a towel to wipe off all the oil that spilled on the belt and inside his storage box. Before we knew it, we were back on highway 50, for another 45 minutes. Eventually, after Mike’s belt problem and getting some gas, we made a right turn on Ice House Road. After making that right on Ice House Road, we continued for about 45 minutes. Finally, at about 10:00 am we made it to the Rubicon trailhead where we met up with Scott and Mark (one of my dad’s friends). Once everyone aired down, we began the trail. Within 3 minutes or so, our rig was hung up on the gate keeper. My dad wasn’t paying attention to the road and was paying attention to his doo-hikee tablet. We had to be pulled off a rock. 30 minutes later we were out on the slabs where we tooled around for a couple minutes. A short while later we heard John Carry on the radio complaining of not having any brakes. It turned out to be just the brake booster. After everything was situated we continued for a good hour and a half till we made it to Little Sluice. Recently they blew up Little Sluice which made it super easy compared to what it used to be like. Those that took the bypass to the Little Sluice, took the hard route. At the end of it was a large drop off where Mark almost rolled when his front passenger sunk down and the rear driver lifted up. After the Little Sluice, we all headed to Buck Island for lunch. But as we pulled along Buck Island, Dwayne tore his front driver control arm off. By that time, it was already 3:00 pm. We ate our lunch while repairs began. As John continued to weld the control arm, Mike, Mark, Scott, Rick, my dad and I headed to go find a good spot at the Springs. Once we started going, we hit the Big Sluice which is when my dad took a hard line off to the right of the main trail. The outcome was our rig getting turtled. Our rig was in gear and all wheels were able to move with no throttle. So, we asked Scott to push us off. Scott got out of his vehicle and gave us a small shove which moved us right off of the rock. Shortly after that incident, we were rolling into the Springs. My dad was leading us to the good camp sites, but people were already in them. So, my dad went to talk to one of the groups and they said that they were leaving. Once they left, we swooped on in and took their spot. There were signs that said “no fires”, but when Bob passed the Caretakers, they offered him some firewood. They stated that it was ok to have a fire as long as we kept it small. So we had a fire and relaxed before going to bed. The next day everybody packed up and left. Scott left at 7:00 am but the rest of the club hung out until 10:00 am before leaving. Shortly after we headed out, we hit Cadillac Hill. On one of the obstacles, Ric got caught between a rock and a hard place and needed to be winched out. There wasn’t too much trouble beyond that but a bit of spotting was required throughout the group. After we were up Cadillac, we stopped for a couple of group pictures at the overlook. Beyond that point it was a long bumpy ride out. Some people pulled off the road by one of the three lakes and ate lunch. But quickly decided to eat and get out of there. The mosquitos there were crazy, at least that’s what my brother’s arm told me. Once we got to the end of the trail, we aired up and headed back to camp for a wonderful happy hour.