ToyotaDon
I am here
So I posted in Freds40's thread that we did this, now here's a small report.
It was short notice that I would have Thursday 7/7/11 off, I originally thought it would be Friday the 8th, but I really wanted to get out and do some wheeling. We didn't get as early a start as I planned on, but were pulling out of the Costco gas station around 10 AM, lunch packed in the back of the 80, kid's CDs playing, and heading for the hills.
We stopped by the Squaw Valley Ranger station, and I picked up an OHV map for the Hume Lake ranger district, the portion of Sequoia National Forest we'd be heading to. Now on a regular map, it's easy to distinguish between the main highway and smaller roads, but the OHV map just shows all paved roads the same size. Add in that my 10-year old son was acting as navigator, and we ended up with a bit of a problem.
I kept toodling along the General's Highway, looking for the Forest Service road that was marked on the map. I'd call out the number of each one we passed (some were even marked on the Garmin) and my son kept saying he didn't see that one on the map. We got past Stony Creek and were heading into the Sequoia National Park, when I finally stopped and took another look at the map. 
We were way past where we should have turned, so a u-turn was accomplished and we headed back the other way.
By this time, everyone was starting to get a little hungry, so I turned off onto one of the "wrong" FS roads and we set up for a picnic.
There were some nice views here and the trail goes a little ways, appearing to end in what would be a very sticky mud-hill climb.
After finding the correct route, we turned onto what is called the "Cheater Trail" The map show it as "easiest" and it definitely was nothing hardcore. There is a second "Cheater Trail" which is rated "more difficult" and that connected us to the main trail. It was on this second portion that we encountered what I considered the first obstacle. It is just a granite slab that seems quite a steep drop from the peak, but I asked who wanted to ride, and who would rather walk. My younger son and daughter wanted out, so my wife also got out. She walked over and said, "All you have to do is drive right down here, what's the big problem?"
Okay, it just looked big from the top. But it gave us an opportunity to have her get a video of me and my older son coming down it.
It was also a good time for another break and the rock formations nearby became nice backdrops for some pictures of the kids.
With that, I'm going to have to say, "Stay tuned for the next installment!"
It was short notice that I would have Thursday 7/7/11 off, I originally thought it would be Friday the 8th, but I really wanted to get out and do some wheeling. We didn't get as early a start as I planned on, but were pulling out of the Costco gas station around 10 AM, lunch packed in the back of the 80, kid's CDs playing, and heading for the hills.
We stopped by the Squaw Valley Ranger station, and I picked up an OHV map for the Hume Lake ranger district, the portion of Sequoia National Forest we'd be heading to. Now on a regular map, it's easy to distinguish between the main highway and smaller roads, but the OHV map just shows all paved roads the same size. Add in that my 10-year old son was acting as navigator, and we ended up with a bit of a problem.
I kept toodling along the General's Highway, looking for the Forest Service road that was marked on the map. I'd call out the number of each one we passed (some were even marked on the Garmin) and my son kept saying he didn't see that one on the map. We got past Stony Creek and were heading into the Sequoia National Park, when I finally stopped and took another look at the map. We were way past where we should have turned, so a u-turn was accomplished and we headed back the other way.By this time, everyone was starting to get a little hungry, so I turned off onto one of the "wrong" FS roads and we set up for a picnic.
There were some nice views here and the trail goes a little ways, appearing to end in what would be a very sticky mud-hill climb.
After finding the correct route, we turned onto what is called the "Cheater Trail" The map show it as "easiest" and it definitely was nothing hardcore. There is a second "Cheater Trail" which is rated "more difficult" and that connected us to the main trail. It was on this second portion that we encountered what I considered the first obstacle. It is just a granite slab that seems quite a steep drop from the peak, but I asked who wanted to ride, and who would rather walk. My younger son and daughter wanted out, so my wife also got out. She walked over and said, "All you have to do is drive right down here, what's the big problem?"
Okay, it just looked big from the top. But it gave us an opportunity to have her get a video of me and my older son coming down it.
It was also a good time for another break and the rock formations nearby became nice backdrops for some pictures of the kids.
With that, I'm going to have to say, "Stay tuned for the next installment!"
It's my spare tire chain hoist hanging partway down.
