12:11 am
September 25, 2011
I'm not sure if anyone would be interested in this or not but a neighbor of mine (with a totally tricked out 60s model Toyota Cruiser) and his buddies are going to be running the Dusy Aug 15th - Aug 19th. They have 11 rigs "invited" including me. Ross (my neighbor) said the more the merrier. Some of the 11 may not be able to make it, but the majority will be there. I am checking the calendar and it looks like I can probably make this. The only conflict is my Mom's Birthday (so I'll invite her to come to 😀 which she won't because she is in Texas) So as of right now I am going. Is there anyone else who would be interested in going. To be fair to the group you need to have lockers F/R at least 35s, and decent lift with tow points.
I would be driving down after work Wednesday night and the group is hitting the trail Thursday morning. We are camping at two different lakes one Thurs night and one Friday night, so you need to bring supplies to camp and food for four days. The group is spending the night at Shaver Lake hotel near the end of the trail or camping(not decided) on Saturday night and coming home on Sunday.
For those who don't know about the Dusy it is like the Rubicon in sections, it is 30 miles across so it is longer than the Rubicon. It is at elevations of 9000-10000 feet and has several remote lakes along the trail to fish and whatnot in. Full size rigs (trucks) can not maneuver through some of the tight areas. That is not a test of your man hood, its a fact based on physics. there are several fold the mirrors in areas for a Jeep.
If you have any questions let me know. If for some reason I end up not going and you still want to I can make sure you meet Ross, again he is my neighbor and I often go over to his house to help him work on the Factory 5 Cobra he is building in his garage. Great guy and his buddies are all top notch. Usually sons, nephews, etc.. go on these camp outs so you could bring the family if they were inclined.
You know what I know now..
Huck
12:15 am
Club Member
September 3, 2008
4:02 am
Club President
April 2, 2003
Count me in too!
In general this trail is not as hard as the rubicon. It really only has two challenging sections.
I'd be up for heading out on wed night because two nights on the trail is plenty long. This is an excellent trail for night runs. If we head down by 5 or 6. We'd be the trail around 10.
The run is 100 miles between gas as well. It is a circle that starts and ends a Shaver lake.
Yeah!
4:35 am
September 25, 2011
"BKGM Jeepers" wrote: Count me in too!
Count me in too!
In general this trail is not as hard as the rubicon. It really only has two challenging sections.
I'd be up for heading out on wed night because two nights on the trail is plenty long. This is an excellent trail for night runs. If we head down by 5 or 6. We'd be the trail around 10.
The run is 100 miles between gas as well. It is a circle that starts and ends a Shaver lake.
Yeah!
They are camping wed night and starting thurs morning.
5:33 am
Club Member
September 3, 2008
3:39 pm
Club President
April 2, 2003
Sorry Jason for my post - it looks like I was just copying everything you said.
I am interested in going and will put the days off in today - so I'll be ready to go.
Also, It has rained on me every time I've run the trail but once. So be prepared in that area too.
This is a great trail for coilovers (which I don't currently have on the JK). The trail has long sections that can be done in 4-hi, or even 2-hi.
Is the group camping at the courtright campground? It sits at the trailhead and will be very easy to meet up.
The plan sounds like Thursday and Friday are camping and then Drive out on Saturday? Is that correct? Where's everyone staying on Saturday night?
7:00 pm
September 25, 2011
"BKGM Jeepers" wrote: Sorry Jason for my post - it looks like I was just copying everything you said.
I am interested in going and will put the days off in today - so I'll be ready to go.
Also, It has rained on me every time I've run the trail but once. So be prepared in that area too.
This is a great trail for coilovers (which I don't currently have on the JK). The trail has long sections that can be done in 4-hi, or even 2-hi.
Is the group camping at the courtright campground? It sits at the trailhead and will be very easy to meet up.
The plan sounds like Thursday and Friday are camping and then Drive out on Saturday? Is that correct? Where's everyone staying on Saturday night?
they are camping at court right. The plan for Saturday is still up in the air. Some want to stay at a hotel, while others want to camp again. You could leave Saturday night if you wanted to, everyone is leaving Sunday morning.
Huck
4:43 pm
September 25, 2011
The time is drawing near.. The group is meeting on August 1st at 5:30 to make plans for the trip and coordinate dinners, etc..
Chicago Fire Pizza in old town Folsom on Wednesday the first of August at 5 30 pm
If you are still coming, this is a good chance to meet the group before we get there.
I got a new camping Hammock i can't wait to try out.
Huck
6:02 pm
Club President
April 2, 2003
7:36 pm
September 25, 2011
Is the concern that the pace is too fast or too slow? I haven't seen all the rigs but can tell you that most are on 33-37" tires, most are two door, and you and I will probably be the only ones running coilovers. This group is bringing some wives and girlfriends, they plan to camp in time to make a good dinner everynight and have some time by the camp fire. I think the pace will be casual and fun.
Huck
4:33 am
Club President
April 2, 2003
12:08 am
September 25, 2011
I need a rig count. The group is meeting on August 1st to plan meals and provisions. We want to have an acurate count of people going. If anyone is planning on attending please let me know so I can share this count with the group. I would also like to "Sponsor" one of the meals and would like to split the effort among Posse members. Kind of a Posse 4x4 dinner for the group. I will be providing the "meat" of the meal and woud look to whom ever else is coming to help with sides and everything else needed.
Let me know,
Huck
4:15 am
Club Member
September 3, 2008
4:15 pm
September 25, 2011
6:32 pm
Club President
April 2, 2003
6:41 pm
Club Member
September 3, 2008
6:11 am
September 25, 2011
I met with the group tonight. We have 9 rigs committed about 16 people in total. Me and about 3 other people are looking for co-pilots. The group is extremely organized. At our dinner tonight they split up the meals (I got the 2nd Breakfast) and discussed when we would be leaving and returning. They have secured a place to park thier trucks and trailers (it seems almost everyone is trailering but me). They even planned out specific items like a portable welder, whose bringing a dutch oven etc.. This trip is going to be a blast.
I only mention this to see if I can entice one of you to come along. 😀
Huck
11:15 pm
Club Member
September 3, 2008
5:02 am
September 25, 2011
I'm back and what a trip! I can not say enough about the trip, but I will try. 🙂 The trail is absolutely gorgeous but it is crazy long. Its roughly 33-35 miles from pavement to pavement. We camped three nights and wheeled about 5-7 hrs a day in between. We camped the first night at Voyager Rock Camp Ground about a mile in from the pavement so we could start Thursday morning "on the trail". All the camp grounds were nice, clean, and had toilets. A huge plus when you have 16 guys. We encountered other "large" groups of several vehicles but were never really slowed by someone in front or behind us. Every camp ground was by a lake so we always had a place to throw a fishing line in. It was some of the best camp cooking I have ever had. The group mobilized well and all pitched in. With the chain saws that were brought we always had tons of firewood and more bonfires that camp fires. We worried about misquitos but never really saw any. The obstacles were nothing like a sluice or a winch hill but they were relentless. We covered 12 miles the first day and made it up Thompson Hill and camped at Thompson Lake the first night. Thompson hill is probably the hardest obstacle on the trail and it is just a solid rock field. I was over built for this trail as no obstacle "challenged" the Jeep and I only used the lockers twice during the three day trip, and that was because I was getting lazy at that point. Most in the group were riding on 35s with minimal lifts and we only pulled cable once for one Jeep that was just slipping in the dirt on one of the many boulder fields. I was too wide for the trail. Period! I had to go around a couple of spots where I would not fit between the trees. In several other spots (at least 10-15) I had to drive toward the sky with both front tires until the trees narrowed enough that I could fit through. It is a crazy windy trail. There were numerous 3 point turns for me. The shorter wheel based Jeeps were definately at an advantage on this trail. Some spots were so tight I folded both mirrors in and was just inches from damaging sheet metal on both sides. I made it out with no body damage, unless you count scratches. I picked up a ton of new pin-striping. I hope a lot of it buffs out. 🙄 The second day was pretty mild we drove around 12 miles to Ershim Lake nothing major to speak of just a lot of rocks and slow going. it was cool to see the log roads they had in several spots. We stopped at another lake during lunch (there was a lake about every 5 miles) and the guys were fishing with spinners and all caught as much as they wanted. Ershim Lake is nice and there was plenty of spaces to camp even though there were several other groups there as well. The third day was about 9-10 miles to get off the trail. There were 4 "obstacles" and this section is considered the roughest, even though thompson hill is considered the single hardest. Again nothing crazy challenging we had an 83 CJ on 35s go through it just fine. I think the 2 doors used thier lockers more than me and Rob. (the only other person in a 4 door JK, BTW he was on 39.5 PitBullsf and coilovers and a 14 bolt in the rear, just sick) I would not have done the trip any faster than three days. We broke camp every morning at 8:30 and wheeled till close to 4p or 5p every day. We had only minor breaks and that was on day three. A spring bolt on the 83 CJ, a flat tire on one of the YJs, and my PSC Ram came loose and had to be adjusted nothing big. I will pour through the 200+ pictures I took and get some posted. I will also look at the video to see if I have anything worth showing.
I think I'm parking the Jeep for a week at this point. It needs to go in for an inspection. I think the alignment is off at this point and I need to change some of the fluids. I also want to inspect all the bolts and see whats loose and needs to be adjusted. It did great though. I wheeled Fordyce (1/2 way), Slick Rock, the Rubicon, and the Dusy in less than three weeks and still drove home at 65 mph. (BTW its 220 miles from the Dusy to my house) It should be noted that I used up pretty much all my gas and a little of the four gallons I brought on the tire carrier to wheel the Dusy. We had others who used up thier entire tanks plus. Its a around 100 miles from Gas through the trail and back. And 20 of those miles are climbing in the mountains and half the trail is straight up hill to over 10,000 ft. Your MPG isn't so good under those conditions or at least mine wasn't.
What else.... I think thats it for now. If something worth mentioning comes to mind I'll let you know. I would definately go and do this trail again, just not any time soon. At the end of the three days all were happy to be off the trail. Its a must do for everyone. I can't imagine going for longer, but I can't imagine doing it quicker and being remotely happy at the end. Three days is the perfect amount.
Huck
5:12 am
Club Member
September 3, 2008
5:15 am
September 25, 2011
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