rickashay
Explorer
Just happy your sharing Jeremy! I was wondering what happened to you after I missed you at Moab, was expecting a write up for that trip also. haha So far so good, can't wait to hear how easy Dusy was.
Damaged by the Dusy
- Thread starter jeremyk
- Start date
Just happy your sharing Jeremy! I was wondering what happened to you after I missed you at Moab, was expecting a write up for that trip also. haha So far so good, can't wait to hear how easy Dusy was.
Thanks Rick. Yes I was bummed that I missed you on that one. That was quite a adventure after Moab, I got pinned down by T-storms heading up the creek to Lockhart basin. It was a great adventure up on Dark Mesa and I met up with some great guys and did the HITR trail had lots of fun. It was a great trip but I'm so slow writing that it would take about two months to write that one up. Maybe later...
I'm heading out in June this year hopefully to Idaho first and then back to Utah. 25 days this year!!!!
(you were right about the Dusy)
I'm heading out in June this year hopefully to Idaho first and then back to Utah. 25 days this year!!!!
(you were right about the Dusy)
Damaged by the Dusy - Part Two
Trailhead is nothing like the rubicon
We arrived at the trailhead, passing two rigs that looked like they had just finished the trail, and no one else. We weren't really expecting this. The Rubicon trailhead was quite a scene, trucks with trailers, lots of crazy rigs, people standing around enjoying a beer and shooting the breeze sharing their trail stories with lots of animation. This was nothing like that at all. Two rigs, a sign and a gate. That’s it. We pulled in for the obligatory trailhead photo and to made sure that things were still tied down properly and ready to go. We had the usual adrenaline jitters you get when you're facing an unknown road for a few days, and began to talk it out. We went over the trail rules with the boys: take your time - we’re here to have fun, no limbs (arms, legs) out of the vehicles, you guys are the rock-stackers (surprise!), safety first, etc. You know the drill. Our plan was to make it to the north end of Courtright as quickly as possible and make camp for the night, have a great dinner and have some fun. The only challenge we thought we were facing today was Chicken Rock and that was no big deal.
Beautiful Sierra scenery
As we were covering the basics and establishing expectations, we began to gather that all was not well with the other two rigs we thought had just finished the trail. One was a nice Jeep Rubicon, well done up. The other was a highly modified Toyota Tacoma with a long-travel suspension setup. When we looked closer, we could see that they were rolling up a tow strap between them and that peaked our interest. We eavesdropped for a bit and came to understand that the occupants of the highly-modified Toyota were running the trail solo and broke either a front axle or a CV or something else up front so that they could no longer proceed under their own power and had to be towed back from Thompson Hill. The Jeep was the good Samaritan. Perfect, great for the ‘ol confidence factor!
We gingerly started down the trail, not really expecting much resistance, but cautious nonetheless. After some rough, but not too bad driving we arrived at Voyager Rock campground. From there the trail heads through a narrow spot and up on to Chicken Rock. Chicken Rock is very similar to the Granite bowl section of the Rubicon, taller and maybe steeper but really no big deal.
Erik starting up Chicken Rock
FJ climbing Chicken Rock
After that, the trail was tough right off the bat. It was tight between the trees, the rocks were bigger than we expected and they rolled around as you went over them, making things nervously unpredictable. Thinking that we were mentally prepared for this trail, we were surprised by how quickly we got rattled. The Dusy doesn't have lots of named obstacles and sections like the Rubicon does, so we were only expecting to have to climb up Chicken Rock and head to camp. It continued to get a bit tougher and we had to get out a few times to scout the best way through and nervously laugh about how things weren’t unfolding as we hoped, “this is worse than the Gatekeeper section of the Rubicon” I remember telling Erik. We had a new crew with us and 30 miles to go, so we couldn’t express too much weakness.
Tight trail after Chicken Rock
We learned later that this section is sometimes referred to as Little Thompson Hill and that many people bypass it by staying low, next to the reservoir, starting at Voyager Rock CG and rejoining the Dusy at the head of the reservoir, near where we were going to camp. We made it through, banging and scraping a bit, it wasn’t too bad, just worse than we expected.
Camp
Once we arrived at the spot Erik had selected, we showed the boys how to set up the tents and went over camp set up and duty expectations. When that was done they went off plinking with an air rifle while we got to making dinner and looking over each other’s beer selection for the week.
Boys with guns
We camped in a beautiful spot with an incredible vista of the Three Sisters and Dogtooth Peak. Erik loved this camp spot, He’s a neat-freak (unlike his older brother) and loved camping on the coarse granite sand that covered the banks of the reservoir.
Dogtooth Peak
Even though it was August, it wasn't very warm because of the altitude and a late Summer storm that was passing through the area. It was so nice to be back in the High Sierra, this is such unique and spectacular country. In our youth, Erik and I had explored the Dinkey Lakes area just west of our camp, only a few miles as the crow flies, hiking cross-country and looking for streams to fly-fish. Great memories.
Unnamed granite tooth
While the boys were gone, we talked over the trail that we had just run, we realized that we were most likely in over our heads again; that last challenging section wasn't even named, what could Thompson Hill be like? We were feeling, once again, at the trail’s mercy, and that as you may know, is an uncomfortable feeling
Next post: Part-3 Thompson Toughness
Trailhead is nothing like the rubicon
We arrived at the trailhead, passing two rigs that looked like they had just finished the trail, and no one else. We weren't really expecting this. The Rubicon trailhead was quite a scene, trucks with trailers, lots of crazy rigs, people standing around enjoying a beer and shooting the breeze sharing their trail stories with lots of animation. This was nothing like that at all. Two rigs, a sign and a gate. That’s it. We pulled in for the obligatory trailhead photo and to made sure that things were still tied down properly and ready to go. We had the usual adrenaline jitters you get when you're facing an unknown road for a few days, and began to talk it out. We went over the trail rules with the boys: take your time - we’re here to have fun, no limbs (arms, legs) out of the vehicles, you guys are the rock-stackers (surprise!), safety first, etc. You know the drill. Our plan was to make it to the north end of Courtright as quickly as possible and make camp for the night, have a great dinner and have some fun. The only challenge we thought we were facing today was Chicken Rock and that was no big deal.
Beautiful Sierra scenery
As we were covering the basics and establishing expectations, we began to gather that all was not well with the other two rigs we thought had just finished the trail. One was a nice Jeep Rubicon, well done up. The other was a highly modified Toyota Tacoma with a long-travel suspension setup. When we looked closer, we could see that they were rolling up a tow strap between them and that peaked our interest. We eavesdropped for a bit and came to understand that the occupants of the highly-modified Toyota were running the trail solo and broke either a front axle or a CV or something else up front so that they could no longer proceed under their own power and had to be towed back from Thompson Hill. The Jeep was the good Samaritan. Perfect, great for the ‘ol confidence factor!
We gingerly started down the trail, not really expecting much resistance, but cautious nonetheless. After some rough, but not too bad driving we arrived at Voyager Rock campground. From there the trail heads through a narrow spot and up on to Chicken Rock. Chicken Rock is very similar to the Granite bowl section of the Rubicon, taller and maybe steeper but really no big deal.
Erik starting up Chicken Rock
FJ climbing Chicken Rock
After that, the trail was tough right off the bat. It was tight between the trees, the rocks were bigger than we expected and they rolled around as you went over them, making things nervously unpredictable. Thinking that we were mentally prepared for this trail, we were surprised by how quickly we got rattled. The Dusy doesn't have lots of named obstacles and sections like the Rubicon does, so we were only expecting to have to climb up Chicken Rock and head to camp. It continued to get a bit tougher and we had to get out a few times to scout the best way through and nervously laugh about how things weren’t unfolding as we hoped, “this is worse than the Gatekeeper section of the Rubicon” I remember telling Erik. We had a new crew with us and 30 miles to go, so we couldn’t express too much weakness.
Tight trail after Chicken Rock
We learned later that this section is sometimes referred to as Little Thompson Hill and that many people bypass it by staying low, next to the reservoir, starting at Voyager Rock CG and rejoining the Dusy at the head of the reservoir, near where we were going to camp. We made it through, banging and scraping a bit, it wasn’t too bad, just worse than we expected.
Camp
Once we arrived at the spot Erik had selected, we showed the boys how to set up the tents and went over camp set up and duty expectations. When that was done they went off plinking with an air rifle while we got to making dinner and looking over each other’s beer selection for the week.
Boys with guns
We camped in a beautiful spot with an incredible vista of the Three Sisters and Dogtooth Peak. Erik loved this camp spot, He’s a neat-freak (unlike his older brother) and loved camping on the coarse granite sand that covered the banks of the reservoir.
Dogtooth Peak
Even though it was August, it wasn't very warm because of the altitude and a late Summer storm that was passing through the area. It was so nice to be back in the High Sierra, this is such unique and spectacular country. In our youth, Erik and I had explored the Dinkey Lakes area just west of our camp, only a few miles as the crow flies, hiking cross-country and looking for streams to fly-fish. Great memories.
Unnamed granite tooth
While the boys were gone, we talked over the trail that we had just run, we realized that we were most likely in over our heads again; that last challenging section wasn't even named, what could Thompson Hill be like? We were feeling, once again, at the trail’s mercy, and that as you may know, is an uncomfortable feeling
Next post: Part-3 Thompson Toughness
Thanks I'm happy you like it. I just posted a short section to finish the first day and will post Part-3 Thompson Toughness hopefully by Friday evening.
If you click on the pictures they will go full screen, I have to figure out how to attach them from an online source...
Ace Brown
Retired Ol’ Fart
I am finding this trip report so cool because I'm seeing photos of places I barely remember from 40 years ago. Your second photo of the big sequoia is the same tree I parked under and posted on FB recently. The photo of chicken rock is unchanged. But your description and photos of the rocky trail is much different as back then most of those rocks were dirt covered.
ErikKnight
New member
Great story brother can't wait for the next chapter and beyond. I am especially looking forward to your description of our winch use...there sure were a lot of places to tie on too!!!
ElangTimur21
New member
I am looking forward to the pics/reports
Thank you! That's my goal, to give people a feeling for how the trail was for us and our equipment, and to give what helpful information I can in the process should they decide to give it a try.
Part 3 - Thompson Toughness
Part - 3 Thompson Toughness
The road down the valley
We got off to a decent start the next day not too early, not too late, just about right we thought. About 10am. Our objective was to make over Thompson Hill and to make camp at Thompson Lake which is just beyond the summit of the famous hill. About 7 miles for the day. It was our belief that this was going to be our toughest day, but we were happy to be getting it out of the way early in the trip. If you have never been on a multi-day “rock crawling” adventure, take my word for it, as the days wear on, you get very tired. And cranky. It’s the mental and physical stress. Making and breaking camp. Stacking rocks and walking trail. It all adds up and tends to cause you to make poor decisions and potentially bad mistakes.
After viewing the Jeep Wayalife video ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqkxVi2D9Ng ) and seeing one of the two vehicles we had seen so far attempting the trail, broken down (the modded Taco being towed at the trailhead), we were on high alert. I couldn't get stuck, I had to drive back to Washington when all this was done. I had to be cautious.
A rather long but very descriptive quote from realcruiser.com explaining troubles along the way
(http://www.realcruiser.com/dusy04/tomhill/index.php?intro=1)
“Thompson Hill
Most people say that Thompson Hill is the toughest part of the trail. Thompson Hill is deceivingly difficult because it doesn't look that bad, especially in pictures. Several factors come together to make this hill climb challenging. First, it's steep, and it gets steeper the farther up you go. The trail climbs to 10,000 feet elevation by the time you reach the top. The trail surface is loose and rocky. Many of the big rocks are loose and tend to roll around under your rig. It's a challenge to maintain momentum and a challenge to stay on line. Lastly, it's a long hill with few breaks along the way. This hill will test both driver and vehicle.
Andy led the way and he had few problems. The loose rocks rolling around under his FJ40 did cause a few problems, including a nicely striped driveline. Fortunately, the damage was mostly cosmetic and he was able to continue.
The rest of our group had trouble with a few spots and we resorted to stacking some rocks to help the rigs get over some of the bigger boulders. One of the biggest rock outcrops found its way well into Alvaro's wagon's under carriage. The big wagon slid off line and high centered onto the huge rock leaving all four tires without traction. Alvaro relied on his Hi-Lift jack, some precisely placed rocks and a tug backwards from Jeff to remove himself from this impressive stuck. Fortunately, the skid plates and armoring did their job and damage was minimal.
Jeff also needed a few attempts and some rock stacking to clear a few of the tougher spots. He lost his power steering mid way up the hill. Fortunately, a leak was identified at a hose connector and fixed. Once the system was topped off with fluid it started working properly.
The high altitude takes it's toll on man and machine. For man, it's tough to run ahead to spot or to toss a rocks and carburated vehicles often have problems with the thin air. We suspected such a problem when Rob's FJ40 died and wouldn't start. However, we determined the problem was caused by a plugged fuel filter. Swapping in a new fuel filter quickly solved that problem. The importance of carrying spare parts on this trail can't be overstated. The first day we travelled about 10 miles and it took us about 10 hours! Much of that time was spent on Thompson Hill.”
Back to our story…
I’m not quite sure why I do more research after the trail, when I’m writing a story, than before, when I will be faced with it’s challenges. When I do a solo trip, I do lots of research and mapping, but when I’m going to be driving with Erik, I don’t. Maybe I just don’t want to know. Probably it’s because I just want to go have an adventure with my brother and the boys and hope that we’ll just work things out.
We were hoping that the trail up the Dusy Creek Valley to the bottom of the Hill would be fairly easy going and that we could make decent time. This was not to be. It started out tough and just got tougher. The trees along the trail are quite dense for the Sierras. It appears that when the trail was established it was routed between the trees with minimal cutting, if any at all. This has created two conditions that are apparent to me. The first is that they form a rather formidable barrier to making by-passes - there are none. The second is that in the nearly 50 years since the trail was built, the trees have gotten bigger and closer together. Almost every tree next to the trail is missing some bark and wearing some expensive paint. Even the ones that seem to be well out of harms way have seen some action. Lots of people have hit lots of trees on this trail.
Over the rocks and through the woods
After leaving camp it took nearly 7 hours to cover the 6 miles to the bottom of Thompson Hill. I know we weren't making any sort of record time. Lots of stopping, getting out, throwing rocks in holes on the leading edge of boulders; filling holes made by larger, spinning tires. It was becoming very apparent that running this trail on 285’s was not a good plan. We weren’t encountering the more spectacular ledge and drop-off obstacles that are normally associated with tough trails and rock crawling. That’s what was making it so frustrating. The trail was tough, sure, and loose, definitely. Large rocks that could be rolled over with your front tires, would roll and leave a hole for the rear tires while they (the rock) shifted and wedged the rear differential. We would then have to stop and reassess, pick a new line, start over, try again. The Dusy is not very photogenic. Just tough enough to be a real pain in the ***.
Always tight going
The view at lunch
We found a beautiful meadow under a beautiful granite peak that we could make out an Goldman’s face in and we stopped for a late lunch. And maybe a beer.
Once we got up the courage to get going again, almost immediately we hit a “gatekeeper" that Erik had some difficulty getting though and proved nearly impossible for me.
Gatekeeper after lunch
Erik in a small rock garden
We could sense that we were approaching Thompson as the trail began to hug the left side of the narrowing canyon and began to get progressively tougher. I was having to “bronco” more and more sections in order to get through. I suppose that we could have stopped and winched some of these obstacles and that that would have been easier on my rig, but the sun was getting lower in the sky and with it our sense of urgency was increasing. We did not want to get stuck on the Hill in the dark. We were careful as we could be not to make mistakes, but if I could bounce the FJ through, that’s what I did.
It's not an FJ it's a bronco
Minefield at the bottom of Thompson Hill
After another hour or so we hit the big turn at the bottom of Thompson and the tough driving really began. There were lots of rocks of all sizes, littering the trail and none of them seemed to have any sort of anchoring. Large or small, they all seemed to be more than willing to shift when you drove over them. Several times the section of trail we were driving would change as large rocks would roll under our vehicles, as they were dislodged by our passing. We would have to stop in the middle of a planned line and have to figure out a new way through, or pry the rock out from under the vehicle.
Erik on Thompson
Most of Thompson Hill is a blur. A four hour blur. It took us nearly four hours to cover the nearly three quarters of a mile up the Hill. It was a piece of genuine human struggle. The five of us turned into amateur stone masons, building stone ramps and bridges just to keep the “trail” at bay. The first rig, always Erik’s, would make it through the section only to have our creation collapse, forcing us to rebuild it for my truck to make it through. It was stack, drive, repeat for four hours. There was plenty of evidence that many had just peeled out the winch line and strapped the trees and completed the hill “mountain climber style” - but we never did. We “drove” it all and payed the price with exhaustion and sore backs. We were so preoccupied with our challenge that after the first hour, we stopped taking pictures and devoted ourselves entirely to the struggle. After three hours, without being aware of the passing of time, we found ourselves still on Thompson Hill, but in the dark. Lights were on and the going stayed tough, so spotters were still required, only now they had blinding lights to contend with; along with the usual slipping and falling that occurs when you attempt to walk backwards up a steep hill covered in loose dirt and rocks.
Finally we pulled into the camp area at Thompson Lake. My truck was damaged from impact with trees and we were all scraped up from stacking rocks and slipping and falling on the trail. This was by far, the toughest day we have ever experienced on the trial. It was nearly 10 o'clock when we pulled into camp, we had been on the trail for nearly twelve hours. We were emotional and exhausted after such a serious struggle - finally achieving success. The boys set up the tent as Erik and I (mostly Erik) set up and cooked a late dinner. We had a small fire to keep warm, even though it was August, we were camping at 10,000 feet.
Further up Thompson
Next time: Part 4 - To Ershim Lake.
Part - 3 Thompson Toughness
The road down the valley
We got off to a decent start the next day not too early, not too late, just about right we thought. About 10am. Our objective was to make over Thompson Hill and to make camp at Thompson Lake which is just beyond the summit of the famous hill. About 7 miles for the day. It was our belief that this was going to be our toughest day, but we were happy to be getting it out of the way early in the trip. If you have never been on a multi-day “rock crawling” adventure, take my word for it, as the days wear on, you get very tired. And cranky. It’s the mental and physical stress. Making and breaking camp. Stacking rocks and walking trail. It all adds up and tends to cause you to make poor decisions and potentially bad mistakes.
After viewing the Jeep Wayalife video ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqkxVi2D9Ng ) and seeing one of the two vehicles we had seen so far attempting the trail, broken down (the modded Taco being towed at the trailhead), we were on high alert. I couldn't get stuck, I had to drive back to Washington when all this was done. I had to be cautious.
A rather long but very descriptive quote from realcruiser.com explaining troubles along the way
(http://www.realcruiser.com/dusy04/tomhill/index.php?intro=1)
“Thompson Hill
Most people say that Thompson Hill is the toughest part of the trail. Thompson Hill is deceivingly difficult because it doesn't look that bad, especially in pictures. Several factors come together to make this hill climb challenging. First, it's steep, and it gets steeper the farther up you go. The trail climbs to 10,000 feet elevation by the time you reach the top. The trail surface is loose and rocky. Many of the big rocks are loose and tend to roll around under your rig. It's a challenge to maintain momentum and a challenge to stay on line. Lastly, it's a long hill with few breaks along the way. This hill will test both driver and vehicle.
Andy led the way and he had few problems. The loose rocks rolling around under his FJ40 did cause a few problems, including a nicely striped driveline. Fortunately, the damage was mostly cosmetic and he was able to continue.
The rest of our group had trouble with a few spots and we resorted to stacking some rocks to help the rigs get over some of the bigger boulders. One of the biggest rock outcrops found its way well into Alvaro's wagon's under carriage. The big wagon slid off line and high centered onto the huge rock leaving all four tires without traction. Alvaro relied on his Hi-Lift jack, some precisely placed rocks and a tug backwards from Jeff to remove himself from this impressive stuck. Fortunately, the skid plates and armoring did their job and damage was minimal.
Jeff also needed a few attempts and some rock stacking to clear a few of the tougher spots. He lost his power steering mid way up the hill. Fortunately, a leak was identified at a hose connector and fixed. Once the system was topped off with fluid it started working properly.
The high altitude takes it's toll on man and machine. For man, it's tough to run ahead to spot or to toss a rocks and carburated vehicles often have problems with the thin air. We suspected such a problem when Rob's FJ40 died and wouldn't start. However, we determined the problem was caused by a plugged fuel filter. Swapping in a new fuel filter quickly solved that problem. The importance of carrying spare parts on this trail can't be overstated. The first day we travelled about 10 miles and it took us about 10 hours! Much of that time was spent on Thompson Hill.”
Back to our story…
I’m not quite sure why I do more research after the trail, when I’m writing a story, than before, when I will be faced with it’s challenges. When I do a solo trip, I do lots of research and mapping, but when I’m going to be driving with Erik, I don’t. Maybe I just don’t want to know. Probably it’s because I just want to go have an adventure with my brother and the boys and hope that we’ll just work things out.
We were hoping that the trail up the Dusy Creek Valley to the bottom of the Hill would be fairly easy going and that we could make decent time. This was not to be. It started out tough and just got tougher. The trees along the trail are quite dense for the Sierras. It appears that when the trail was established it was routed between the trees with minimal cutting, if any at all. This has created two conditions that are apparent to me. The first is that they form a rather formidable barrier to making by-passes - there are none. The second is that in the nearly 50 years since the trail was built, the trees have gotten bigger and closer together. Almost every tree next to the trail is missing some bark and wearing some expensive paint. Even the ones that seem to be well out of harms way have seen some action. Lots of people have hit lots of trees on this trail.
Over the rocks and through the woods
After leaving camp it took nearly 7 hours to cover the 6 miles to the bottom of Thompson Hill. I know we weren't making any sort of record time. Lots of stopping, getting out, throwing rocks in holes on the leading edge of boulders; filling holes made by larger, spinning tires. It was becoming very apparent that running this trail on 285’s was not a good plan. We weren’t encountering the more spectacular ledge and drop-off obstacles that are normally associated with tough trails and rock crawling. That’s what was making it so frustrating. The trail was tough, sure, and loose, definitely. Large rocks that could be rolled over with your front tires, would roll and leave a hole for the rear tires while they (the rock) shifted and wedged the rear differential. We would then have to stop and reassess, pick a new line, start over, try again. The Dusy is not very photogenic. Just tough enough to be a real pain in the ***.
Always tight going
The view at lunch
We found a beautiful meadow under a beautiful granite peak that we could make out an Goldman’s face in and we stopped for a late lunch. And maybe a beer.
Once we got up the courage to get going again, almost immediately we hit a “gatekeeper" that Erik had some difficulty getting though and proved nearly impossible for me.
Gatekeeper after lunch
Erik in a small rock garden
We could sense that we were approaching Thompson as the trail began to hug the left side of the narrowing canyon and began to get progressively tougher. I was having to “bronco” more and more sections in order to get through. I suppose that we could have stopped and winched some of these obstacles and that that would have been easier on my rig, but the sun was getting lower in the sky and with it our sense of urgency was increasing. We did not want to get stuck on the Hill in the dark. We were careful as we could be not to make mistakes, but if I could bounce the FJ through, that’s what I did.
It's not an FJ it's a bronco
Minefield at the bottom of Thompson Hill
After another hour or so we hit the big turn at the bottom of Thompson and the tough driving really began. There were lots of rocks of all sizes, littering the trail and none of them seemed to have any sort of anchoring. Large or small, they all seemed to be more than willing to shift when you drove over them. Several times the section of trail we were driving would change as large rocks would roll under our vehicles, as they were dislodged by our passing. We would have to stop in the middle of a planned line and have to figure out a new way through, or pry the rock out from under the vehicle.
Erik on Thompson
Most of Thompson Hill is a blur. A four hour blur. It took us nearly four hours to cover the nearly three quarters of a mile up the Hill. It was a piece of genuine human struggle. The five of us turned into amateur stone masons, building stone ramps and bridges just to keep the “trail” at bay. The first rig, always Erik’s, would make it through the section only to have our creation collapse, forcing us to rebuild it for my truck to make it through. It was stack, drive, repeat for four hours. There was plenty of evidence that many had just peeled out the winch line and strapped the trees and completed the hill “mountain climber style” - but we never did. We “drove” it all and payed the price with exhaustion and sore backs. We were so preoccupied with our challenge that after the first hour, we stopped taking pictures and devoted ourselves entirely to the struggle. After three hours, without being aware of the passing of time, we found ourselves still on Thompson Hill, but in the dark. Lights were on and the going stayed tough, so spotters were still required, only now they had blinding lights to contend with; along with the usual slipping and falling that occurs when you attempt to walk backwards up a steep hill covered in loose dirt and rocks.
Finally we pulled into the camp area at Thompson Lake. My truck was damaged from impact with trees and we were all scraped up from stacking rocks and slipping and falling on the trail. This was by far, the toughest day we have ever experienced on the trial. It was nearly 10 o'clock when we pulled into camp, we had been on the trail for nearly twelve hours. We were emotional and exhausted after such a serious struggle - finally achieving success. The boys set up the tent as Erik and I (mostly Erik) set up and cooked a late dinner. We had a small fire to keep warm, even though it was August, we were camping at 10,000 feet.
Further up Thompson
Next time: Part 4 - To Ershim Lake.
csclifford
Outside of Comfort
Loving the updates! Spent last night reading through your Rubicon trail report and am loving this one as well.
Ace Brown
Retired Ol’ Fart
Wish I could remember the trail better. Example I don't remember Thompson Hill at all but both times we ran the entire trail we would have been going down it. I do remember comments like "get a good nights sleep, tomorrow's going to be a rough one." We did stop at a lake and spent two nights there. Did some fishing and climbed a nearby mountain with a very pretty young lady. The picture you showed of the granite peak I also have in my photos.
None of your photos show any serious tippy spots. Maybe your were just too busy to grab the camera.
Great report and anxious for chapter 4.
None of your photos show any serious tippy spots. Maybe your were just too busy to grab the camera.
Great report and anxious for chapter 4.