Gold Lake, CA for Labor Day

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SIZZLE

SIZZLE

10 Year
Joined
Feb 6, 2012
Threads
33
Messages
904
Location
Novato, CA
Hey Mudders! :flipoff2:

I'm going to hit up the Gold Lake area for some camping/offroading/exploring Firday to Monday over Labor Day weekend. I've never spent much time in this area of the Sierras but it looks pretty awesome. If you have some advice, or are going to be in the area post up or send me a PM. Thanks!

:beer:
 
Going to be up there Thursday through Sunday this week, can't wait!

If your into hiking, to should take the hike to the top of the lookout tower on the buttes, best view ever.

If anyone reading this is going to be up there this weekend look for a silver 60!
 
I'm definitely doing that butt-buster to the top! I don't know much about other hikes in the area but the Pacific Crest trail goes right thru there.
 
Are you going to be camping at the OHV campgrounds? If so, try to get a spot at little gold lake, it's isolated from the rest of the 4x4 campers and you'll be 10 feet from a pristine little lake.

Im not huge on hiking, but I'd like to go to the tower again, it wasn't too bad of I remember correctly. ...then again I used to skateboard and bike a lot more back then...
 
dang it! how come all these events are on labor day weekend. the one weekend where ill be in the bay area since it is dove season opener!

I live anout 30-45 mins from that area and can get almost anyone on fish real quick in most of the upper lakes like Volcano and Tamarack
 
Hey, Doug, thanks for the suggestion, i'll hit that up. Did you need your lockers on Snake Hill? I got mad skillz but no diff locks :steer:
 
I just played out there about 3 weeks ago. We did the Gold Valley trail starting in Johnsville, found a connecting trail to Snake lake trail and hit the south side of it passing by snake lake and ended up camping at little deer lake with absolutely no one around and had the lake to ourselves. The next day we headed down deer lake trail and jumped up to sierra buttes after that. The gate was open so we where able to drive all the way to the top and then climb up the stairs to the lookout. We then navigated down to sierra city and grabbed the hwy back home. Amazing views, great photo ops, and nice weather. Decent/fun rock crawling at parts but not extreme. Snake lake was the most challenging on our trip.
 
boots4 said:
I just played out there about 3 weeks ago. We did the Gold Valley trail starting in Johnsville, found a connecting trail to Snake lake trail and hit the south side of it passing by snake lake and ended up camping at little deer lake with absolutely no one around and had the lake to ourselves. The next day we headed down deer lake trail and jumped up to sierra buttes after that. The gate was open so we where able to drive all the way to the top and then climb up the stairs to the lookout. We then navigated down to sierra city and grabbed the hwy back home. Amazing views, great photo ops, and nice weather. Decent/fun rock crawling at parts but not extreme. Snake lake was the most challenging on our trip.
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What's the status on the Snake Lake trail? I was thinking of checking it out late September but it says the trail is CLOSED here...

http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/tahoe/recreation/ohv/recarea/?recid=55972&actid=93
 
I'm planning on doing pretty much what Boots did but in reverse. I'll check out the Snake Trail and report back on it's status.
 
SIZZLE said:
Hey, Doug, thanks for the suggestion, i'll hit that up. Did you need your lockers on Snake Hill? I got mad skillz but no diff locks :steer:
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I did use my lockers at the loose crumbly step/ledge that is reinforced with steel netting partway up the climb out of snake lake. I probably could have bumped over it with a bit more speed but erred on the side of caution. Although I went clockwise which is supposedly more challenging, I do remember driving down some very loose dug out axle crossing sections to get down to the lake. I'm not sure they would be any easier to climb up. I ran into a couple guys on quads who were shocked to see me on the trail and told me it was impassable in a large truck like the 80, that the trail was only for atv's. not the most challenging trail but still had a few obstacles and was scenic.
 
im planning to run the snake lake loop this weekend if things pan out. which way would be easier for a solo truck run? Machinist wont be running it with me but will be my backup if I get stuck out there for whtever reason. so its not a total solo thing.

are their any really bad roll hazards? im running a 4 inch lift and 31s. open diffs. if I go ill take pics
 
Devil's Slide Doug said:
I don't remember real bad roll hazards. Though it would be a long tumble if you did. They say counterclockwise is easier. If you have run a trail like the Rubicon this should be no problem.
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the second sentence doesn't make me fele good about that haha

never run the con but I do a lot of wheeling around plumas county since I live there in addition to doing stuff at Hollister hills and a few other offroad parks. I am confident in my abilities to climb It and of worse comes to worse ill need to back up.

I am taking my whole trail kit and spares so hopefully I don't need them.
 
KWalkerM, did you get a chance to run the trail?

I'm also gonna be asking for a report on the dove opener in a couple of weeks!

Thanks!
 
SIZZLE said:
KWalkerM, did you get a chance to run the trail?

I'm also gonna be asking for a report on the dove opener in a couple of weeks!

Thanks!
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no never ran it but did have a lot of fun with the Machinist. I didn't run it because I snapped spider gear teeth and carrier gear teeth being dumb on pavement. :o. so I had to listen to my diff pop every turn until I pulled my rear drive line lol

the camping was fun and we ran into a bunch of other members at the campsite. a Suzuki samaurai on 35s got stuck out there for 7 hours getting the truck back because of a ripped sidewall on the loop, but it think that was mainly because of the copious amounts of alcohol the driver had been consuming through the day and night...

its probably going to be really hot and smokey from the American fire down south and we just had 12 fires pop up from last nights lightning 15 mins from my house (30-40 miles from lakes basin)

fire restrictions are in effect and the campsite fills up really quick so come early to get the good spot at #16 I believe as its one of the biggest. Darrel and I camped at little gold lake away from all that though
 
Cool. Thanks for the report. I'm planning on heading down to Little Gold Lake depending on who is joining me.
 
Hi all,My family and I are staying down in Sierra City labor day weekend. I am planning on running the easy trail from town up to the Buttes lookout sun am. If you see a hundy out there say hello! I will try and post up a few pics. My wife and I last went up there when she was prego with my now 13yr.old boy! We then had a 97 GMC 4wd Jimmy! That road was fun coming up from the Gold lake rd. I am going to return out that way. I have never gone up there from Sierra City but it looks like an easy cruise looking at Northern Ca. Backroads&4wd Trails (by Charles Wells ).Lots of info on all the trails up there. SUPER good book!
 
Last time we were up there we took #49 To gold Lake Highway to get to the short trail to the 4 Wheel drive camp. On the way out we took the trail around the bottom of Gold Lake and past Deer Lake and stayed on dirt most of the way to 49.
 
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