Half of our group decided they wanted
to head out for Kaiser Pass on Saturday morning while the other
half elected to stay at Ershim Lake another night. We decided
to go with the first group since we didn't want to have to do
8 hours of wheeling and then another 5 hours driving back to the
city all on Sunday. We left a little late, probably 10:00 or so.
This group included us, Mil, Mark, Daryl, and Mike and his wife.
The only mishap on day three was a cut valve stem on Mark's XJ
that was an easy fix. About 6 miles from Ershim lake we ran into
Lake Camp Lake and stopped for lunch. This was a really beautiful
spot with great views but not much of a lake to swim in. The trail
to this point had some challenging sections, nothing tough but
we made pretty good time. Eventually we climbed up through a huge
meadow and above the tree line onto a big dome. At 10,100 feet,
this is the high point of the Dusy and offered panoramic views
of the high Sierras. This would be a nice spot to camp a night
or two just for the views and unimpeded view of the stars after
dark. We ran into another two XJ's who were headed in to meet
up with the rest of our group and camp at the lake.
Starting out for Kaiser Pass, day three
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Stopped on a rock
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Another trail shot with Amy riding shotgun
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Cutting out Mark's valve stem |
Installing a new stem...
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...and airing it back up
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Another trail shot
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Lake Camp Lake
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The high meadow with a few wildflowers left |
Looking north from the top
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Land meets sky
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Group shot up on top
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The view down toward Huntington reservoir
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Another vista |
Getting ready for the descent
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The best part of the trail, at least
in my opinion, is the last mile or so down to Kaiser pass. From
the dome we dropped down a very steep hill loaded with big ledges,
tricky off-camber sections and tight squeezes. This section
wasn't that difficult (though going up it would be!) but I managed
to get some good pictures here of Daryl and Mil coming down.
We had fun trying different lines to see who could get the biggest
air and flex.
Once down this hill the trail turns into a maintained dirt road
that heads back down to pavement. We stopped here and aired
up, said goodby and got our fill of the great views before heading
down toward Huntington Lake.
Amy and I stopped at Shaver Lake for a swim, then scrambled
to find a camp spot off the road to Dinkey Creek before it got
dark. We didn't want to drive too far as we were running low
on gas and couldn't stand to pay the $2.19 per gallon they were
charging at Shaver Lake. Without much problem we did find a
nice little spot away from the road with a good view, clear
area for our tent and tons of wood for a fire. The picture of
me wielding a stick was taken after Amy and I heard some very
loud crackling noises in the bushes nearby after it got dark.
We were sitting there waiting for a bear or something to come
crashing out of the forest. I guess we were still a little spooked
from the two hunters that came sneaking down the road all dressed
in camouflage earlier with bows drawn. Freaks.
Mark drops off a big ledge
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Me starting over the edge
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Easing it down
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Daryle getting a spot from Mil
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The Grand comes down
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Nice flex Daryl!
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Almost down
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Mil has another idea
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Taking the high line
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"I want my tire right THERE!"
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Where were the magazine guys today??
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Mark in a squeeze
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Me coming down another way
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Straddling two very large granite boulders
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Coming down
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Mil takes a similar line
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Lining up
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Coming down
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One last bump and then the parking lot...
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...and the crack in my windshield grows
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A nice CJ6 near the trailhead
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One more great view
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Me remaining vigilant against forset predators
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OK, too much vino, time for bed!
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All in all this has been one of
my favorite trails in northern California. Perfect weather,
great people, beautiful scenery, and a challenging but not
overly killer trail. Yeah, you definitely want to do the Dusy
as a group, and you definitely want to take along spare everything
– just in case – because it's a long drive to
the auto parts store. I was also surprised how warm it was
in the evenings. This trail would be interesting to do earlier
in the season when the wildflowers were in full bloom.
