Kennedy Meadows Run – July 2007
As “Trail Boss†I have asked the newer club members to post a report too, so I’ll keep mine brief:
First off let me say, I was on time and have officially shaken my “being late†reputation. J We left promptly at 5AM, which was perfect to avoid driving into the sun and beat the other vehicles to the choice camp spot. J We arrived at camp about 1PM set up camp and had lunch. No, the wheeling was not particularly hard, but it was nice to be off road and in the dirt! We were able to find a few obstacles over the course of the weekend that required lockers. J
Second, this trip single handedly reminded me why I bought a Jeep in the first place! The perfect combination of good weather, good people, camping, virtually no bugs (did not put on repellant), wheeling and relaxing!
Let me put this “trip†into perspective for those of you (Club Members) who could not make it: I drove my YJ almost 500 miles in 3 days (yeah, no trailer!) and my “rock crawler†drove great! No top, no doors, we ran 62 to 70 MPH on the highways and I got 16 MPG. The entire trip including gas & food cost me only $108!!!
Third, we had no issues of any kind (mechanical or otherwise) to dampen our fun. My compliments to the group of guys (7 Jeeps), we had a great camaraderie going on the CB’s and around camp. Everyone was appreciative of me sharing my favorite spot in the mountains with them.
Lastly, I know I am going to try and squeeze in another trip like this before the summer is over. J
- Tony P.
Pictures are posted on my webpage
http://malibuhigh.smmusd.org/facultypages/facultyhome/cary2/Caryhome/4wh...
Tony, this was truly a great trip. You guys that missed it, really missed it.
Well, here is my 2cents.
I, with Nova, arrived at GenRight at 5:05am and Tony was ready, including the pot of coffee he had made. In addition, Ric was there.
We left and headed to Porter Ranch. Damian joined us and we headed out to the Sierra’s.
After a few stops (one was a biological emergency,) we were on our way up NineMile Canyon Road. We stopped at Pearsonville and Tony passed out his card to a few of the locals.
Arriving at the Blackrock Mtn. Ranger station, I left my truck and we picked up a fire permit. Only to find out we couldn’t use it at the campground. Too high of fire risk.
The pictures speak for themselves about the beauty of the mountains and the dusty trail, plus the temperature was in the mid-low 80’s.
We arrived in camp shortly after 1 and setup. We were next to the South Fork Kern River. After lunch and a few beers we relaxed and waited for Hatch, Rubi John, Kevin and James. Early evening TP left to find them and returned about an hour later with them.
After dinner we sat around and chatted., The temperature was in the low 70’s. The camp is at 8,000 feet and we were all short of breath. Approximately 10 that night Dion showed up. He managed to get there without a map, only some great help from some locals made it possible.
Saturday was left to hiking, relaxing and fishing. Again the weather was outstanding.
We did some touring of the various roads in the area and enjoyed the scenery. Saturday evening we actually had a fire and sat around chatting until 11.
Sunday we were up early and packed for the trip home. We decided to do Sherman Peak on the way to Kernville. Sherman Peak is 10,000. The road up was pretty steep all the way to the top. It’s amazing to think people carry materials to the top of the mountain only using horses.
The views were spectacular. On the way down we took another trail which ended up quite steep with a few PUCKER Points on the way down, especially the turns. The trail dropped 3,000 feet in 3 miles.
From there we traveled to Kernville – temp 95, had lunch at a great Mexican Restaurant and headed home.
This trip is truly one of the benefits of 4wheeling. Being able to see the beauty of our country and enjoy the camaraderie of friends.
John Cary
Friday,5.20am at Porter Ranch i xj(Damian)met up with Tony Pyj,Rictj and John Cyj.We stopped for breakfast in Mohave then gas at Pearsonville.9.00am headed up to Kennedy Meadows.Hit the Ranger station at Blackrock.John dropped his tow vehicle there.Then we winged our way to Monache Meadow.We left blue tape to help the others that were coming later.We grabbed a bunch of shady river camp spots after we crossed a low Kern River.It was after noon and we chilled.Later we found Hatch,kevin,james jkand Rubicon Johntj.Later Dion tjshowed up,excited to find us.Next day had us walking up to the dam and fishing then a jeep run.Sunday morning broke camp at 10am then hours later took Sherman Pass and the peak trail to 10,000ft.We took a loop trail and some pucker steep turns as John C would say.Gased up and eat Mexican in Kernville and took the 99 home.10pm in the door,home.Wow.Thanks to Tony P for putting this together and meeting new friends.
Damian Ps.I'm sure i have left stuff out.Chime in anybody.
Well, I got to say that this was absolutely great.
It didn’t take us too long to get there. We left Santa Clarita about 1:30pm, (some of us gotta work). The spot that we went to was probably as close to Heaven as you can get on earth. John caught a fish, and thank you for sharing it.
The trail boss was great. You’re the man. I really enjoyed the camaraderie and laughs throughout the weekend. Thank you Dr. John for the educational discussions. Thank you Tony, for an unforgettable trip. I’ll be there the next time you plan this trip, and I promise to know where my flashlight is at all times.
Hatch
