National Parks: WA, OR, CA, NV, AZ, UT, WY, MT, ID

2000m2

Observer
My wife, two dogs and I took off for almost a month (26 days) from May 18, 2016 to June 11, 2016 to visit some of the National Parks in the west. We'd been talking about doing a trip like this for a while and some recent family events pushed us to make it happen. It took a decent amount of planning as we had really only camped a few times on single night trips. We looked at a map and picked out the National Parks we wanted to see, tried to find "scenic" routes between each waypoint and then began reserving campsites and other lodging along the way. I was also interested in some of the backcountry discovery routes, so we mapped some of that as well and managed to travel on several dirt roads. Accumulating the gear took some time, but we initially were in no rush.

Basic set-up:
2008 4Runner V8 Limited 4x4
Tacoma TRD suspension swap w/ FJ Springs for the rear
Cooper AT/3 C-load tires
Frontrunner roof rack
CVT Mt. Cayley RTT
Various recovery devices - TREDs, XJack, Straps & Shackles​

We had two coolers, a Yeti to be the "freezer" and a Coleman as our daily fridge/defroster. My wife cooked up a storm before we headed out and froze some tasty dinners as well as made some granola for breakfasts. We mostly ate lunch on the road. We used two Scepter jerry cans to make sure we had plenty of water.

All of our pictures were taken with our phones, Samsung Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6S. For National Parks, we visited Yosemite, Sequoia, Death Valley, Bryce, Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Glacier, and North Cascades. My first time to all of these parks.

We picked up our tent a couple of weeks before the trip in Bend, OR on a Saturday. The CVT folks were very helpful with our installing it in their parking lot. We stayed in it that night just outside of Bend in Camp Sherman and everything pretty much went well, even with temps in the upper 30s. We sleep up top and the dogs in their crates in the room below.

Installed!
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The tent works in our driveway too! We're ready to go.
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I'd like to thank a few folks for helping us get this together and for answering questions:
1. Expedition Portal - I've been reading various posts and reviews for a long time on here
2. toyota-4runner.org - Many helpful posts on here as well and very helpful with a couple of group buys
3. Das Mule - local to me and very helpful!
4. Touratech - again, local to me and very helpful!
5. CVT - very helpful in getting us our tent & installed​

Departing from Seattle.
 
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2000m2

Observer
Day 1: Seattle to Portland to Pendleton to Indian Lake

We left Seattle bright and early headed south on I-5 to Portland and then east along the Columbia River on I-84. The Columbia River is impressively beautiful and the change in climate and landscape was fun to follow.

Lunch at Bridge of the Gods along the Columbia River.

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In Pendleton, OR, we turned south on route 395 to Pilot Rock. From there we continued southeast on E. Birch Creek Rd/NF-54 to our campsite at Indian Lake. Finally on some dirt roads.

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Nice quiet, relatively empty campground on a gorgeous lake. We talked to a gentleman who does tree inventory for the Indian tribe, trekking through the forest every day. Built a fire, had some dinner. Got comfortable for our first night.

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We had a pretty good rain, thunder and lightening storm. We stayed dry and the tent held up great. The tent kept lighting up with each lightening strike. We even heard a wolf (maybe Coyote?) howling off in the distance. It was a cold night with temps in the high 30s, low 40s.
 

2000m2

Observer
Day 2: OBDR to 395 to Reno

We left Indian Lake southeast to catch a portion of the Oregon Backcountry Discovery Route. We made our way to NF-21 and essentially took that south to route 244. We ended up crossing 244 to drive on some more dirt roads and looped back around to 244 further west. It was absolutely gorgeous out there with open meadows, streams and incredible views.
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The dogs enjoyed racing around a few of the meadows.

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Most of the route was just simple dirt forest roads with plenty of puddles from the rain the night before which made it fun, but some portions seemed to have just disappeared or maybe only motorcycles had been on them a few years ago. We tried to follow the route closely and got to a dirt pile that ended up being a little too tall. Got stuck, bent a running board, backed out and went around.

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The weather was ok, still a bit cold, especially with the wind. Turns out we forgot to close the back window of the truck as we left Indian Lake. This would happen more than once. There should be an idiot light somewhere on the dash telling the driver that the back window is open...
I decided to dip my feet in the stream next to route 244. Maybe they would be less stinky after a dip in the icy snow melt?

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Scenic byway route 395 through eastern Oregon was really beautiful. We stopped for lunch at a brewery in John Day, OR. Our original plan was to camp somewhere along the way, likely near John Day, but it was still pretty cold, windy and starting to rain again, so we decided to push through to Reno where there was a warm house waiting for us.
 

2000m2

Observer
Days 3 & 4: Reno

We took it easy in Reno. Relaxed at the in-laws and had some delicious home cooked meals. We took the opportunity to rinse some of the mud & dirt off the truck.

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The weather was a little odd in Reno too. It rained, hailed and snowed. The landscape was unusually green. With the snow, I needed my down jacket, which also came in handy the first night we camped. I couldn't find it in the back of the truck. Seems it most likely disappeared when we forgot to close the window! Luckily, my father-in-law was in a giving mood and happened to have a newer version of the same jacket, so he gave me his to use going forward. They also gave us a comforter that they said was too warm. Both items would come in very handy going forward.
 

2000m2

Observer
Day 5: Reno to Yosemite

We got a reasonably early start to make our way south from Reno to Yosemite. Our original plan was to go through Yosemite from the east side via route 120 Tioga Pass. We checked before we left since the weather had been pretty unpredictable and Tioga Pass was closed. Checking the maps, the two routes north of 120 were also closed, routes 108 & 4. We ended up taking route 88 west to get over the mountains and south on route 49 to enter Yosemite from the west side. Tioga Pass will have to wait for the next trip. Route 88 was very pretty and there was still plenty of snow, but the roads were all clear.

Yosemite was incredible. Very impressive vistas all around, gorgeous waterfalls. It was also incredibly crowded. I thought by going a little earlier in the spring, before Memorial Day, we might miss some of the crowds, but I was wrong. We cruised through Yosemite Valley, got out to walk around a bit, but were pretty limited with where we could go with the dogs. We saw Glacier Point, Half Dome, El Capitan and Lower Yosemite Falls.

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We then went south out of Yosemite Valley via Wawona Road/Route 41 to our campsite in Sierra National Forest at Camp Summerdale. I think every spot in the campground was occupied. It was another very cool night with temps in the 30s. That comforter and down jacket came in very handy!

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2000m2

Observer
Day 6: Yosemite to Sequoia

Woke up, had a good breakfast & coffee and then went on a walk. We followed a simple trail out of the campground along the stream. Nice and quiet and the dogs were able to run around a bit. The campground host gave us a heads up on a few trails to visit: Lewis Creek and Nelder Grove. Lewis Creek had some nice waterfalls and Nelder Grove was for the giant sequoias. Lewis Creek is right on route 41 and Nelder Grove is up some forest roads, so we got to drive on some dirt again.

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In to the grove, where I was happy we had four wheel drive and decent clearance. The roads had some significant ruts.

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Chimney Tree:
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We kept on heading south to Fresno on route 41. We quickly went from mountains to farms. The dogs were unimpressed.
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From Fresno, we went east on route 180, south on route 63, east on route 198 to get to Potwisha on the south side of Sequoia. We passed through many many orange groves.
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2000m2

Observer
Day 6 & 7: Potwisha

Bear boxes required for just about everything.
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Great campground with all of the sites full. Swift moving river next to the campground.
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Woke up to some deer in the campground.
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Time to explore Sequoia!
 

2000m2

Observer
Day 7: Exploring Sequoia

We mostly cruised along route 198 further in to the park. This road was incredibly winding and vehicles were limited to 19' in length due to all of the tight hairpin turns. It was gorgeous and still pretty cold.
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The General! It snowed a bit while we were here. Very impressive trees.
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We drove through to the national forest area so we could do some hiking with the dogs.
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Then came back in to the park to see some more giant trees. Truck looking pretty small compared to these massive trees.
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2000m2

Observer
Day 7: Sequoia, Moro Rock

Don't miss Moro Rock, we almost did!
Incredible 360 degree views at the top.

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Back at the Potwisha campsite for the night.

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2000m2

Observer
Day 8: Sequoia to Death Valley

We got an early start for the drive to Death Valley. Sequoia was incredible and I wish we had had time to visit Kings Canyon National Park. Maybe on the next visit!

We drove south on route 65, then east on 155 to pick up 178 at Isabella Lake. This was a very pretty drive through numerous ranches on rolling hills. Route 155 was interesting as we went higher and higher in to the mountains, it got really really foggy. Made the drive difficult and slow through the winding mountain roads. Had a nice lunch at the Red Rooster Cafe in Isabella Lake. We continued east on 178 through Ridgecrest, around the Coso Range and north to 190 which brought us in to Death Valley. Part of the road was washed out, so turned to dirt for a section. We did not initially plan on camping in Death Valley, but it ended up being much cooler than we expected at elevation. We camped at the Wildrose campground. There were some rabbits in the area which kept the dogs on high alert.

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It was a windy night and it actually rained a little bit. This was a surprise to us in Death Valley. We woke up in the middle of the night just to look at the stars and it was very much worth it. Clear sky, filled with a countless number of starts, just gorgeous.
 
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LuckyDan

Adventurer
Don't visit this section often, but am going to frequent it to see how this entry turns out. Please carry on.
 

mkitchen

Explorer
Nice Trip Report

We have been through much of where you traveled and am enjoying your report. Did you have to make prior reservations at the campgrounds? I have not been to Yosemite for long time and long to go back but am leery of the crowds, how was it when you were there?
Mikey
 

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