Viggen
Just here...
I would love to run this trail. There have been a few trail reports on Mud where people have run it in 80 series trucks. It does seem that a midsize would be a LOT easier though.
Damaged by the Dusy
- Thread starter jeremyk
- Start date
I would love to run this trail. There have been a few trail reports on Mud where people have run it in 80 series trucks. It does seem that a midsize would be a LOT easier though.
Part 6 - Kaiser Pass and those nasty final S-turns
Part 6 - Kaiser Pass and those nasty final S-turns
All corked up in those nasty S-turns
The last day of an adventure is usually the hardest for me. I love the daily demands of life on the trail; where what's important, is what's happening right now. I thrive on that. No checking email or on-line corporate calendars being populated remotely by unseen demands. No checking the stock market to see if you're achieving corporate-escape velocity (retirement) or not, or wether you're on today's random-drug-test-list. All symptoms of a high-demand society attempting to stuff you into it's little, manageable, uncreative, box. I grew up in Berkeley CA, so you might understand why I have authority issues. I don't do well with external structure and prioritization. The free-form life on the trail suits me just fine. That's where I'm confident that I can mostly make good decisions that will keep me within my capabilities, and that I can fix most anything else.
Twenty years ago, I left the Bay Area for Bellingham, Washington to start a job in the bicycle industry that quickly fell through. I ended up, by virtue of the fact that I could fix things, working in an oil refinery. Probably not the best fit for a person of my temperament. In leaving California, I also left Erik my younger brother and partner in adventure. So these days on the trail with our boys, are sweet and precious as we explore the edges of our abilities together. We get show our boys how to expand the horizons of what can be attempted and won, and the feeling you get when you do succeed. They watch us as we test ourselves and meet challenges they know we are not confident we can accomplish, but are willing, or forced, to try. Days on the trail are a perfect instructor for life; it goes something like this:
"oh boy, I hope we can make that!"
Drive up to nasty section. Look section over and express doubt as to wether or not we can make it. “This seems much harder than what we've done so far - this is going to be sketchy, I hope we can do it, I don't want to get stuck here!”. Next, apply experience, creativity, sweat, several different tactics, lots of discussion and a few attempts. Then, success. Feelings of accomplishment and elation. Repeat in 300 feet. It's all such a great metaphor for life - but with much less complication from external demands and priorities.
This was our last day and I was faced with that usual melancholy. This had been a tough week, our trucks were filled with dust and had several new unexplained squeaks, scratches and dents, but it had been an immensely satisfying journey. We were convinced by now that we were going to make it. Most of the tough stuff was behind us I thought, when Erik mentioned over breakfast that there were:
“some pretty tough S-turns near the end of the trail”.
Me -“oh really?” “Tougher than what we've seen?”
Erik - “maybe, I'm not sure”.
“Great!” - me.
A little bit of dread began to seep in over the top of the melancholy.
Breakfast at Lakecamp - Erik hard at work
We got off to a good start, but were worried about having enough gas to finish. We had both filled up in Shaver Lake, the last gas before the Dusy, and had both filled up a 5 gallon can each to top-off once we got to the trail. Long since gone. It's hard to imagine that less than 30 miles had put us near empty, but that's where we were - both hoping the gas light wouldn't come on too soon.
Another well-used tree along the way
From the 4WDC of Fresno website:
“The next four difficult miles to Whitebark Vista will test driving skills, but the panoramic views make it worth the effort.* The route ends at Whitebark Vista.* Many people prefer use this White Bark Vista as a starting point.* Huntington Lake is about 30 minutes away.”
The trail wasn't too bad on the way to Kaiser Pass, just more of the usual slow-going with the occasional “doozie” thrown in to make sure that we were still awake. We stopped at the highest point on the trail, just over 10,100ft, for a group photo. Further on, the trail began to toughen up as the builders needed to loose about a thousand feet in order to meet up with the paved Kaiser Pass road, only a couple of miles ahead. I could tell that we were beginning to approach those S-turns I was beginning to dread.
The Crew @ 10,100'
The entrance to the turns is a narrow, boulder strewn chute, that had us both rocking and rolling and scraping and stacking. Me more than Erik. It was very tough and I am convinced that it would have been harder coming up on 285's than Thompson Hill was. The S-turns were absolutely hideous. Very tight, with some of the largest drop-offs on the trail. Not the place for anything but short wheel-base trucks with high clearance. It took us well over an hour to negotiate the 200 yards that made up this whole section.
Above the S-turns
Erik getting tippy entering the S-turns
The easiest line
Erik three wheelin'
By luck, and ambition to do the trail the “hardest way”, we had not done this section at the beginning of our adventure. I would have been very close to throwing in the towel and headed for camping and day-trails in the beautiful surroundings of the Sierra National Forest. I don't believe that the FJ could have made it going uphill, without winching this section. That's a lousy way to begin a six-day adventure. In the end: through the application of experience, creativity, sweat, several different tactics, lots of discussion and a few attempts, we did make it. And almost immediately the trail was done.
Wow! Just like that - the trail is over. The struggles are done. Our adventure was complete. It was a very tough journey and I don't believe that I will attempt anything quite so difficult in my FJ again - we had been damaged by the Dusy.
That's our story and were sticking to it!
Thanks for reading along and for all of your encouraging comments as I posted up. I know the Expedition Portal, as a site, might not be the best place to write about this kind of trail, but readers seem to enjoy the stories and I've met a lot of friends here, gone on some fun adventures with some of them and hope to again many times in the future - Lord willing. Thank you.
Part 6 - Kaiser Pass and those nasty final S-turns
All corked up in those nasty S-turns
The last day of an adventure is usually the hardest for me. I love the daily demands of life on the trail; where what's important, is what's happening right now. I thrive on that. No checking email or on-line corporate calendars being populated remotely by unseen demands. No checking the stock market to see if you're achieving corporate-escape velocity (retirement) or not, or wether you're on today's random-drug-test-list. All symptoms of a high-demand society attempting to stuff you into it's little, manageable, uncreative, box. I grew up in Berkeley CA, so you might understand why I have authority issues. I don't do well with external structure and prioritization. The free-form life on the trail suits me just fine. That's where I'm confident that I can mostly make good decisions that will keep me within my capabilities, and that I can fix most anything else.
Twenty years ago, I left the Bay Area for Bellingham, Washington to start a job in the bicycle industry that quickly fell through. I ended up, by virtue of the fact that I could fix things, working in an oil refinery. Probably not the best fit for a person of my temperament. In leaving California, I also left Erik my younger brother and partner in adventure. So these days on the trail with our boys, are sweet and precious as we explore the edges of our abilities together. We get show our boys how to expand the horizons of what can be attempted and won, and the feeling you get when you do succeed. They watch us as we test ourselves and meet challenges they know we are not confident we can accomplish, but are willing, or forced, to try. Days on the trail are a perfect instructor for life; it goes something like this:
"oh boy, I hope we can make that!"
Drive up to nasty section. Look section over and express doubt as to wether or not we can make it. “This seems much harder than what we've done so far - this is going to be sketchy, I hope we can do it, I don't want to get stuck here!”. Next, apply experience, creativity, sweat, several different tactics, lots of discussion and a few attempts. Then, success. Feelings of accomplishment and elation. Repeat in 300 feet. It's all such a great metaphor for life - but with much less complication from external demands and priorities.
This was our last day and I was faced with that usual melancholy. This had been a tough week, our trucks were filled with dust and had several new unexplained squeaks, scratches and dents, but it had been an immensely satisfying journey. We were convinced by now that we were going to make it. Most of the tough stuff was behind us I thought, when Erik mentioned over breakfast that there were:
“some pretty tough S-turns near the end of the trail”.
Me -“oh really?” “Tougher than what we've seen?”
Erik - “maybe, I'm not sure”.
“Great!” - me.
A little bit of dread began to seep in over the top of the melancholy.
Breakfast at Lakecamp - Erik hard at work
We got off to a good start, but were worried about having enough gas to finish. We had both filled up in Shaver Lake, the last gas before the Dusy, and had both filled up a 5 gallon can each to top-off once we got to the trail. Long since gone. It's hard to imagine that less than 30 miles had put us near empty, but that's where we were - both hoping the gas light wouldn't come on too soon.
Another well-used tree along the way
From the 4WDC of Fresno website:
“The next four difficult miles to Whitebark Vista will test driving skills, but the panoramic views make it worth the effort.* The route ends at Whitebark Vista.* Many people prefer use this White Bark Vista as a starting point.* Huntington Lake is about 30 minutes away.”
The trail wasn't too bad on the way to Kaiser Pass, just more of the usual slow-going with the occasional “doozie” thrown in to make sure that we were still awake. We stopped at the highest point on the trail, just over 10,100ft, for a group photo. Further on, the trail began to toughen up as the builders needed to loose about a thousand feet in order to meet up with the paved Kaiser Pass road, only a couple of miles ahead. I could tell that we were beginning to approach those S-turns I was beginning to dread.
The Crew @ 10,100'
The entrance to the turns is a narrow, boulder strewn chute, that had us both rocking and rolling and scraping and stacking. Me more than Erik. It was very tough and I am convinced that it would have been harder coming up on 285's than Thompson Hill was. The S-turns were absolutely hideous. Very tight, with some of the largest drop-offs on the trail. Not the place for anything but short wheel-base trucks with high clearance. It took us well over an hour to negotiate the 200 yards that made up this whole section.
Above the S-turns
Erik getting tippy entering the S-turns
The easiest line
Erik three wheelin'
By luck, and ambition to do the trail the “hardest way”, we had not done this section at the beginning of our adventure. I would have been very close to throwing in the towel and headed for camping and day-trails in the beautiful surroundings of the Sierra National Forest. I don't believe that the FJ could have made it going uphill, without winching this section. That's a lousy way to begin a six-day adventure. In the end: through the application of experience, creativity, sweat, several different tactics, lots of discussion and a few attempts, we did make it. And almost immediately the trail was done.
Wow! Just like that - the trail is over. The struggles are done. Our adventure was complete. It was a very tough journey and I don't believe that I will attempt anything quite so difficult in my FJ again - we had been damaged by the Dusy.
That's our story and were sticking to it!
Thanks for reading along and for all of your encouraging comments as I posted up. I know the Expedition Portal, as a site, might not be the best place to write about this kind of trail, but readers seem to enjoy the stories and I've met a lot of friends here, gone on some fun adventures with some of them and hope to again many times in the future - Lord willing. Thank you.
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What a a great view into your adventure. Thanks for bringing us along for the ride. With my boys ages 1 and 4, I'm looking to get them out an a longer offroad journey soon. For now, I settle for the camping and day trips as you may have if you had started at White Bark Vista. Thanks again for a brilliantly shared piece and for the inspiration to push yourself, vehicle, family and friends.
Thanks for your generosity Ace! I'm not sure how I can turn writing into food, so I'll do it for free until I can figure that out. I hope to have an adventure with you soon.
ErikKnight
New member
Thanks Brother, as always, and as with all the other readers, you leave me eagerly waiting for what comes next...and I was there
) Thanks for immortalizing our trip and give me and our boys a way back into a past but very fond memory. Love to you and can't wait for this summers adventure!
For all who wonder, Jeremy is a very accomplished driver and shows very little of the worry and dread that he describes. I have no idea how he gets his turtle (no offense I love the FJ!) through some of spots we come across. For me, I worry about my weak Dana 30 front end stripping out and having to go 2WD the rest of the way otherwise the JK drives itself (please don't have an electrical or other of a thousand things that could fail, failure). But Jeremy, he really has to bronco his rig up and over some major obstacles and he does it with determination and great precision. He has a lot more time behind the wheel on dirt and rocks and it shows...I really was a "Rookie on the Rubicon".
I will go back to the Dusy...this is one of the most varied and beautiful places you can be in the sierras and it was a great treat to be there with my son and family. I am also very grateful to the 4WD Club of Fresno for building and maintaining this sliver between two amazing Wilderness areas, a place where you wouldn't even be able to ride a bike unless they had the fore site and commitment. Better than the Rubicon!
) Thanks for immortalizing our trip and give me and our boys a way back into a past but very fond memory. Love to you and can't wait for this summers adventure!For all who wonder, Jeremy is a very accomplished driver and shows very little of the worry and dread that he describes. I have no idea how he gets his turtle (no offense I love the FJ!) through some of spots we come across. For me, I worry about my weak Dana 30 front end stripping out and having to go 2WD the rest of the way otherwise the JK drives itself (please don't have an electrical or other of a thousand things that could fail, failure). But Jeremy, he really has to bronco his rig up and over some major obstacles and he does it with determination and great precision. He has a lot more time behind the wheel on dirt and rocks and it shows...I really was a "Rookie on the Rubicon".
I will go back to the Dusy...this is one of the most varied and beautiful places you can be in the sierras and it was a great treat to be there with my son and family. I am also very grateful to the 4WD Club of Fresno for building and maintaining this sliver between two amazing Wilderness areas, a place where you wouldn't even be able to ride a bike unless they had the fore site and commitment. Better than the Rubicon!
Ace Brown
Retired Ol’ Fart
Take exactly what you have written and with photos then send to one of the off road magazines. You won't get rich but it's nice pocket change. Having already "published" this I'm not sure if they would accept it as not being original material. Worth a try.
hankincolorado
New member
:clapsmile
Excellent writing style and most excellent adventure!
Excellent writing style and most excellent adventure!
Great write up.
I'm the "Andy" mentioned in the Jim Brantley realcruiser quote about Thompson hill. I'm a 7 time victim in both an FJ40 and FJ60. I did lots of body damage to the FJ60 the last time through.
I love reading and reliving this adventure, but, I hate to see this great trail get a ton of publicity. What makes it great is the challenge, coupled with the remoteness, coupled with the lack of other rigs on the trail.
This trail is no joke. It cracks me up when people claim it's easier than Rubicon because it's both easier and harder. I've seen more breakage on Dusy than Rubicon, for sure, including broken diffs, broken frames, broken transfercases(on a Bronco), broken drive shafts and several broken axles. One of our guys even broke the sector shaft in his steering box just before divorce rock. That made for a sketchy trail repair. This is a trail that makes a Ready-welder almost mandatory. We have used a welder for something every time through.
Kudos for a great write up. Probably not a lot of FJ Cruisers have made it through there, so kudos on that too. If you got front and rear axles through unscathed, you are doing something right.
I'm the "Andy" mentioned in the Jim Brantley realcruiser quote about Thompson hill. I'm a 7 time victim in both an FJ40 and FJ60. I did lots of body damage to the FJ60 the last time through.
I love reading and reliving this adventure, but, I hate to see this great trail get a ton of publicity. What makes it great is the challenge, coupled with the remoteness, coupled with the lack of other rigs on the trail.
This trail is no joke. It cracks me up when people claim it's easier than Rubicon because it's both easier and harder. I've seen more breakage on Dusy than Rubicon, for sure, including broken diffs, broken frames, broken transfercases(on a Bronco), broken drive shafts and several broken axles. One of our guys even broke the sector shaft in his steering box just before divorce rock. That made for a sketchy trail repair. This is a trail that makes a Ready-welder almost mandatory. We have used a welder for something every time through.
Kudos for a great write up. Probably not a lot of FJ Cruisers have made it through there, so kudos on that too. If you got front and rear axles through unscathed, you are doing something right.
Thanks for that Andy! I do worry about the publicity thing; fearing that I might encourage people who would abuse the privilege to run trails like this. If a wheeling trail could be called "pristine" the Dusy might be it, so I am concerned. I try to be honest about the challenges that we faced and how much work it was to finish and that we both were damaged by the trail. My truck required two new body panels and one new door after our adventure in the area; fortunately my insurance company agreed to cover the damage to the tune of nearly $9,000. My axles were fine though - I do carry a half-shaft, tie rod and all of the tools to replace them.
I do believe that the audience on the Expedition Portal is probably the most conscientious and aware of access issues and maybe the least likely to bash and crash and shoot things up (the boys had a pellet gun and were harmlessly plinking stumps in the reservoir). I would certainly encourage anyone who thinks they'd like to do the Dusy, to do the Rubicon first and then mentally double the distance, and realize that there may be no help out there and certainly no one at Rubicon Springs with a welder...