2022 NorCal Wheeling, Camping, and Fuckery Thread

Great pics from Usal, def gonna have to check it out when we're there in August. Doing Tahoe, Ft. Bragg and possibly Chico. Wife's family is out there. We used to live in Chico but left for $ greener pastures and bad weather in MN. I was stationed at Fort Ord (Monterey) for 3 years also back in the 90s.

 

SwagThor!! You are an awesome dude! It was nice hanging out with ya! Sexy rig!

 

Hey @SwagThor was great to meet and campout with you
I really enjoyed that area and I'm going back Sunday for a few more days.

Edit: It did get cold at night, burrr.

 

How cold was it you ask.

It was so cold I'm bringing the wife and both dogs this time

 

I'm going to Uncle Tom's on Saturday, and probably out to Loon Lake.
ECV chapter 86 is putting on and organized snow run, fee is for lunch, and Overland Bound also has a run planned for the same day and location so there will be plenty of folks out.

 

It was almost an unofficial TW trip to Usal last weekend with with @TacoEspecial and @71tattooguy, ran into @CrashN'Burn and @techfinsoup



@SwagThor great meeting you dude, your Runner has some epic leans on the road, also thank you for taking these pics

 

what up!!! Great time with all of you. Look forward to next time

 

Just chilling at camp

 

Who's run the Mojave Trail before?
Any good recommendations on things to do, shit to see there?

 

Looking into possibly running it late next month.

Last time I was out that way was before the "my cellphone has GPS" era, so I don't have anything specific, but there's definitely a ton of cool geology out there. I could PM you a recent field trip guide for that general area, if you wanted that - I missed the trip myself, so I can't give any guidance on which stops are the most interesting for someone not in the industry, though.

 

Love it up there. You see any elk? I've seen them there before, but not last time. I did find fresh bear tracks on the north side of the beach though. I've driven a few miles north of Usal but always wanted to continue all the way north to go out another way. Not sure if that is possible though, or if you can make it all the way to Shelter Cove through Sinkyone?

 

That may be one of only 2 or 3 trees left in California you can drive through.

 

"Drive thru" a normal vehicle yes.. but I think if i went 10 psi I could have done it, so cheers to that 2400 year old tree. Then again, cutting a car sized hole in a few thousand year old tree shouldn't seem like a good idea in todays world.

 

I'm guessing that's the Chandelier Drive-Thru Tree at the south end of the Redwoods in Leggett, California from 1937?

There's the Klamath Tour-Thru Tree on the Yurok Reservation near the mouth of the Klamath River. The Wawona Tree in Yosemite fell in 1969. The Tuolumne Grove tree was a dead tree and is held up by cables. The Pioneer Tree in Calaveras Big Trees State Park fell a few years ago in a storm. There's a few more, but most are stumps or have fallen.

 

I was able to complete the drive from Usal Beach to Needle Rock Visitor center, all dirt. North from there it is all paved to Shelter Cove but yes, it can be done. I was expecting great views but was sort of unimpressed, possibly one or two places where a view warranted a stop. The trail itself is mostly a dirt road with one or two notable sections of rocky terrain and a washed out portion. It was a good time nonetheless and I would recommend it, Needle Rock is a great area to hike around and get away from people.

 

My favorites were Kelso dunes, Mojave mailbox, and the volcano lava trail.

 

Second on Kelso, especially if you can setup at the little tree "grove".

 

Road to Uncle Tom’s

 

Moved from 2021 thread:

I'm looking at hitting a few notable peaks in the Shasta area come spring. Shasta Bally and Bully Choop. Looking for some pre-trip advice.

1) Is April a good time to go? I'm hoping for a window that is Post-Snow, but Pre-Fire season.
2) Can folks confirm the routes up to these will be open? (from latest knowledge)
3) Any good camping in the area?

 

Had a similar experience when we drove it. Thought we would get some epic views but the road is on the wrong side of the ridge. Didn't explore any of the side roads to see if they went anywhere, but it was a pretty meh experience, and probably takes longer than just driving around. IMO very doable with a Subaru.