This is a 4 day story. Each day is going to be told by a different person.
At 6 AM I meet up with David,Damien,Mike and Laura,Robb,Phil and Jed. We left the P&R about 6:15. Phil and David where towing so when we stopped for fuel in Pixley they kept going. We arrived in Shaver Lake around 11:30 had lunch filled up with gas and waited for a friend of Davids to arrive from Sac (Chris). Meanwhile Joe Volk Jr. and his wife carolyn and hsi Mom and Dad Joe Sr and Susan where there waiting for us. John showed up around noon. Sorry if I miss spelled or got anyones name wrong.
We left Shaver around 12:30 It took around an hour to drive to the trailhead at Courtright Res. We aired down in the parking lot. After a short drivers meeting we headed out.
The trial starts out as a dusty winding road. A short while later we came to Voyager Campground. Then the imfamous Chicken Rock. The rock pile at the bottom was a bit more rough then in the past. A few of us had a bit of trouble getting on to the rock face. It's a very steep climb up. But traction is at a premium. No problems for anyone. At the top we took some PICS. The view of Courtright Res. and surrounding hills is AMAZING! The lake was way down on water.
The backside of Chicken Rock is pretty tight between the trees and lots of sharp turns. There is some fairly nice rock gardens to crawl thru. Around a hour and a half later with a short detour ( I took a wrong turn) we arrived a Dinkey Meadow for our first nights camp.
Everyone found a spot to pitch their tents and set up camp. Those with fishing gear took to Dinkey Creek. Soon a couple of Deer where spotted in the meadow. We gathered up a ton of firewood and fixed our dinners. After dinner we lit the fire (fire paste works wonders) avail at Wal-mart. We sat around the fire and shot the bull for awhile. Just before bed I popped up a porta potty tent thing for Sarah to use. This thing is kinda hard to put back together. So it's a good thing I practiced a bunch before we left on the trip. I didn't want to hold up the group trying to wrestle this thing.
End of day 1
Scott Evans
Day 2
Question: how many men does it take to fold up a handy-dandy porta-potty tent? Answer: at least 4. The plan was to leave Courtright Reservoir Camp at 8 am sharp to face Thompson Hill, the most difficult part of the trail.
At 10 to 8, Scott was trying to do the fine art of 'cross arm fold and twist' as stated in the porta-potty directions to fit it in the cover. There were witnesses that heard him actually say he had practiced the fold before the trip to master the technique. As everyone on the trip was ready-willing-and-able to lend a hand when faced with difficulty [whether it be break-downs, obstacle spotting, or folding a porta-potty tent], help was there for Scott.
At 8:30, the 5 of them had tamed the beast and stuffed it into its cover. Was it folded correctly? Nope. Was the porta-potty tent brought out again for the rest of the trip? Nope. That actually was a good thing, because the tension on the twist that got it in the case was a bit scary. Hopefully Scott will wear safety gear and clear the area when the pressure is released and the potty tent springs back to life.
Thompson Hill was probably the most challenging part of the trail. It took us to 9700 feet over granite boulders the size of Volkswagens (slight exaggeration).
The group experienced no breakdowns all day and all went smoothly. We were expected to arrive at Camp East Lake at 6 pm but made it there by 5:30. After camp was set, Joe Jr. and John caught 10 trout between them at the lake. John would fry them up in olive oil and salt to share with the group on night #3, saying they were "Ab-so-lutely dee-licious". He was right.
Mike Whitington
End of Day 2
Day 3
Last night not as coldÂ…little bit of a late start in the morning.
Everyone could use the well-deserved rest. Packed up campÂ….hit the
trail by 8:30am.
Couple tight corners…John C on radio…reported broken Spring Bolt –
stopped to repair centering pin in rear leaf spring. Everybody
compiled parts til it worked! Then! He lost his exhaust!
Lunch @ Ershim LakeÂ….SPLASH!!!! Enough saidÂ…LOL
Fallen tree branch blocking trail, moved over to open trail.
After a rough entry, we made it to camp around 5:30.
ThenÂ…
We learned a very valuable that dayÂ….
1) Always have a "Camp Fogger" insect repellant
2) Make you have a bee-sting kit w/ your 1st Aid Kit
3) When collecting firewood, look carefully for nests and/or
hives.
The End of a Long DayÂ…
Ps. Jed is on his way to becoming an awesome Jeep pilot!
This was written by Joe Volk Jr.
End of Day 3
Day 4
I read the day stories and I need to add: First night at the meadow, John, Chris and Joe went fishing. Quite a few small ones were caught. Not large enough for cooking.
My report is for the last day.
We got out of camp close to 8. That night was the coldest 25 degrees F. At approximately the same time we had to stop the previous day for my axle, Mike grenaded his front left drive shaft u-joint. Of course he couldn't do it on flat ground, he had to do it on a down hill and right on a drop off. With a winch, high lift jack, and bottle jack we were able to get it out. Thanks to Damian, who had a complete unit we were done in just over an hour. The axle was alloy.
This part of the trail had a lot of rock piles which made it a lot of fun. As we were nearing the top Joe Sr. started hearing funny noises in his transfer case. From then on he was in two wheel drive, except when absolutely necessary to use 4wheel.
We reached the top early afternoon and enjoyed the beautiful views of Edison and Huntington Lakes and the Sierra's. Cell reception at the top was 4 bars for most everyone. Final altitude was 10,200. The was a fire in the area so part of the beautiful view was hazed out.
We arrived at the trail head mid afternoon and everyone aired up. Jed and Phil left real quick as they had to drive to the Rubi. Everyone left for home except me. Wendy, Nova and I spent the night at Shaver.
Jed is becoming a very good driver.
If I left anything out, please chime in.
John Cary
Scott - GREAT TRIP
