Dusy Ershim 2010 trip report

[boots4]

Day three was running well. This section has some serious off camber going on. And then at the end was a big tree to miss which you can see in the pics that it hadn't been missed very well.

This was one of those moment you just had to trust your spotter because he could see what I couldn't. Dusty got me through it just fine.

And then we climbed and climbed some more. We were playing catch up and in my hastiness I fogot to throw on the fans so when I smelled some coolant I then saw my engine temp at 240F and my tranny at 230F. I immediated kicked the fans to high and stopped. The engine came down quickly and the tranny lingered for a while. The others were just around the corner so I told Dusty who had stopped as well to go on ahead and we'd be following shortly. We made it to the others but I had lost third gear. I gave it plenty of time to cool down while lunch was eaten and poured in 2 more quarts in my tranny. After lunch and a couple of photos the temps were all good and third gear came back so I may have been a little low on tranny fluid to start with. I'll spare you the cute baby pics we got up here but here are the others.

It was a gorgeous view on a perfect day. I don't remember California sky's so blue growing up in the valley.

My happy little bunch.

I missed the absolute peak but got the next highest one.

The air was thinner up here and running around getting pics took some work. The group kept going but we couldn't resist the urge to stop and document.

After that it was all downhill with some amazing shots on the way down.

Kept Dusty in the shot for perspective. Got drop!

Dusty enjoying the capability of his truck with no trees to knock his stuff off his rack!

 

[boots4]

This is the spot that gave Rick a little trouble, but with a quick yank he was on his way. Seeing the challenge the others had made me nervous and trying to choose a different line. The other lines were not advised with this actually being the easier one so I put it in gear and creeped around the corner using my sliders to pivot. It wasn't as bad as I thought and got down without much issue.

There were a couple of great multi-line sections on the way off of the trail. The end was near.

So near that here it was. When driving a trail like this day after day it's kind of a suprise that it was over.

Ain't that the truth!!

Pulled it out of my lows, back into 2wd and pretty much coasted down to the road where we all got out and started to air up. The invite was extended and plans were made to stop at Dusty's cabin for the night to unwind before heading back to our own destinations. My detune was painful on the road and once at Dusty's I retuned to get my turbo spooling again.

It's always fun to drive on the road after a trail because the truck feels so smooth afterwards. We made it to Dusty's place and enjoyed the comforts of real beds and warm showers. Not only did he let us stay at his place but it was also his night to cook so we all felt like honored guests! He even had a crib for the baby!

We watched some of the footage we shot and that's where I left one of the tapes so video is delayed due to myself until Dusty has the chance to head back up and send it my way. Got some KOH video action in from Dusty that made our adventure look like a trip to the mall.

The next morning we packed up and set out back to the highway to take us back to our own places. What a great trip, great company, and great experience. My wheeling appetite is full which I haven't had before. There are a couple of trails out in that area that also sound like a lot of fun so I definitely want to return to the area someday. I'll just have to plan a few more "family" visits down to Cali.

I'll dig up the thread once I get some videos edited and posted.

 

[Tapage]

Mike awesome trip but more than that, thanks for all pics and your coments to make it nice for us too .. for us far away for that trip .. it's nice to see and " read " the hole trip ..

 

[Dusty's Dad]

Day 3

I still have over 200 pics just from day 3! I won't make you look through all of them but will post a few.
Day 3, Saturday, (actually the 4th day after 3 nights) was more of the same... rocks, rocks, tip into a tree, more rocks, more tipping... I think everyone was getting a little tired and thinking about that warm cozy bed waiting at home. The original plan was to camp one more night but the thought of a warm shower at the cabin started to wear on most. After lunch Andy asked if it were ok accept Dusty's offer to spend the night at the cabin. I was thrilled and would have given Andy a hug if the camera ladies weren't ready to snap a few shots for posterity. After the official announcement of getting off the trail it was more like a race. The exitement propelled the caravan at a fairly good pace except for a few especially lumpy sections.

 

[Dusty's Dad]

Day 3 continued

 

[Dusty's Dad]

Some more Day 3

A few more pics from day 3... might post more later.

 

[Dusty's Dad]

Day 3.5

Don't try this at home! When I was 15 (1965) we were at Dinky Creek camping. All of the teenagers in the campground piled into one cj2a Willys. We had 18 in and on the little jeep including your's truely sitting on the spare tire. A 1956 mercury driven by a lost soul who was very well pickeled came around the corner and hit the Jeep. 17 passengers were thrown out and only one remained, still sitting on the spare tire. I have ever since considered this to be the safest position in (on) a vehicle. PS: all were unhurt except for my best friend David who suffered a broken leg.
***Our camera lady, Julie, caught our 2010 adventures on film.***

 

[Dusty's Dad]

DOWN

Parallel parking is not for everyone!

 

[Dusty's Dad]

We nearly starved!

A great trip. Enough for now.

 

[boots4]

I still have over 200 pics just from day 3!

Yes, I barely posted a 1/3 of what we have. Thanks for sharing Randy. It's nice to see what others snapped too.

 

[jonb96150]

Thanks for posting guys. This trail is definitely on my bucket list!!

 

[Dusty]

I was happy to go to the cabin as i forgot my sleeping bag and it was getting cold at night at 10k feet.


will retrieve the video tape on 9/25.

on the 24th will be up at shaver for another boy scout run. the scouts sleep outside and the "adults" sleep inside and occasionally heckle the scouts down below. scouts make us brakfast the next day. then each rig takes a couple scouts and we wheel Bald Mtn. any takers?

So far we have 5 rigs going. need a few more

This is the 4th time we have held this event with the scouts. on the first outing i flopped the then pristine 80 with 4 scouts in it (all seatbelted). The 80 went straight home after that flop and went on jackstands for the 1 ton swap.

 

[boots4]

will retrieve the video tape on 9/25.

Thanks Dusty.

Wish I was part of a scout pack growing up that went wheeling! What a fun time.

 

[pinoytoys]

Wow! Great trip and awesome write up. Definitely on the list for to do trails. Thanks for posting.

 

[Big Ed]

Great write up.

I just stumbled on this and noticed that we were on the trail at the same time. I was driving an International 1 ton stake bed. We camped at Thompson and Ershim the same nights.

Just wanted to let you know that a new toilet is already prefabbed for Ershim Lake. It will be very similar to the one at Thompson Lake. Will be installed pretty early this season(if all goes well). Also,we are working on funding for toilets at each of the main camping areas.

Ed Fitzpatrick
Four Wheel Drive Club of Fresno

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Ed-You guys take great care of this trail. It is a jewel among jewels in California. I read back through all of this and it all comes back. What a great adventure.

Seriously, the best trail in California and probably, the US.

With all the snow this year, not so sure we'll be doing it in 2011!


Dusty, Mike, Tom, Rick--- we have to get back out there. I'm going back for a rematch in my Fj40.

 

[Big Ed]

We don't know when we will be able to get it open either. Last years snow pack was 155% of normal at the end of the season. The last I heard for this season was 125% about 2-3 weeks ago. Last year it was opened at the end of July. That might be the best indicator I have.

That's the snow,now for the Forest Service. Their new travel management program doesn't allow Dusy-Ershim to open until August 1st,regardless of snow. There seems to be squabbling within the Forest Service on this. At one meeting we were told that if the snow was gone early,they would let us in early. Now,I'm not hearing that anymore.

We will just have to see what happens. I have been on the last three trail openings and plan to be this year as well. You can check our clubs web site closer up to see what is happening.

Ed.

 

[alia176]

Ed,

I was admiring your rig when you stopped by. It's a very nice "tool", to say the least. I'm going to have to copy your winch cable fairlead winding mechanism. I took pics!

Thanks for the hard work you and your club does on this trail.

 

[boots4]

Dusty, Mike, Tom, Rick--- we have to get back out there. I'm going back for a rematch in my Fj40.

For sure! Hopefully I'll get those videos to all you guys before it turns into a year! Got everything edited (finally) and it just needs a little music now. Sorry we didn't get a chance to do a run when I was down there last month. There'll be more opportunities in the future and now that I'm almost done with my winch mount I'll actually fulfill that requirement.

 

[Big Ed]

Ed,

I was admiring your rig when you stopped by. It's a very nice "tool", to say the least. I'm going to have to copy your winch cable fairlead winding mechanism. I took pics!

Thanks for the hard work you and your club does on this trail.

Thanks for the compliments,The trail is a lot of work,but we are more than happy to do it.

The Dusy-Ershim trail was nominated for the BFGoodrich Outstanding trails Program. The voting kicked off today and goes through May 31st. If we win we will use the money to put more toilets on the trail.

Go here to vote. BFGoodrich Outstanding Trails 2011

Thanks,
Ed.

P.S. You might recognize some of the pictures used in the voting site.