In Attendance:
Jim and Carol B and their dog, Cali
Ron and Pat D and their dog, Hank
Jim L and his dog, Harley
From Jim L:
We met at Wendy's (Grass Valley) and departed for Chico at 11am on Friday. Ron brought his M114 off road trailer with a pintle hitch (trouble to follow). We planned to top off fuel in Chico before heading up Highway 32 into Butte Meadows but the gas station we intended to stop at did not have working pumps. So, we elected to try to top off in Butte Meadows but the tank house in town was also out of fuel. Ron and I had some spare fuel in gas cans and Jim B was starting to run low.
We made it to Cambell Lake around 4pm and started to set up camp. I inadvertently set my kitchen up over a ground wasp nest and fled to relative safety with only one bite from the bee swarm. Cali and Harley chased a few deer around camp and came back covered in burrs; Hank barked his approval. After the bee bite and the added stress from other personal events that happened this last week (taking my jeep into the shop, again, for a bad head (again) and almost being bitten by a rattlesnake under my camping gear- all in the same day!), and the long day on the trail, my nerves were pretty well shot. Hopefully some good rest would revive my spirits.
Needless to say rest did not come. Along with my dog Harley barking at the deer through the night, a coyote howl woke us around 4:30am and the neighboring camp (a family of 5 with three young kids including an 18 month old in a huge 14 foot by 14 foot tent) had several frightened kids to contend with (ah, nature)!
Saturday morning we discussed our options for the day. Since Jim B was so low on fuel we elected to play it safe and top him off with the remaining spare fuel, cut the trip short, and head home, but see some sights on the way out. We took a short hike to Long Lake nearby then packed camp and headed to a nearby ridge line to look down onto our campsite. After seeing the campsite, we turned around and begin heading for home. While getting turned around Ron backed his trailer into a burnt out stump and snapped the tow ring off of his trailer. He decided that he would come back for it later and we moved it off the trail.
On our way out we encountered another wheeler stuck on the big obstacle blocking the trail. So, Jim B hooked up a snatch strap and helped pull him out. We continued to our lunch spot and were eventually greeted by a group of about nine locals from the Pair-O-Dice club partially working to get a new road put in to alleviate some of the trail traffic.
We left the lunch spot and headed back to the main paved road to air up. Ron ran down his battery while using his air pump so I got to try out my new battery jump box and got him back up and running. We decided to make a bit of a loop and exit via Magalia/Paradise where we could top off with gas. Jim and Carol decided to gas up, then head back up the trail and stay Saturday night back at Spring Valley Lake (our lunch spot). They would wait there for Ron to come back Sunday morning to collect his trailer. I headed home to a happily surprised family.
Follow up reports from the events on Sunday:
From Jim B:
After looking around at the Camp Fire recovery in Paradise, Carol and I refueled in Magalia and headed back to Spring Valley Lake, where we felt we got the nicest camp spot there. Our spot was only big enough for one or two rigs, but it was right on the water and a good distance from other campers. Once camp was set and dinner finished, we sat and watched the wildlife. Four otters were the highlight, playing and fishing along the shore. We also saw deer, hawks, geese, and more.
We could watch the trail in from our camp and radioed our location to Ron and Pat when we saw them coming in. We met up with them on the other side of the lake and watched the otters a bit more before heading out to get the trailer. The trip to the trailer was uneventful, as was the repair. Ron quickly changed the hitch and we had an uneventful trip out to a pizza shop in Magalia, and then home.
Despite some hiccups on our trip, we had a great time and would be happy to go again.
From Pat D:
Ron and I arrived at Spring Lake about 8:15 am. The Bowmans camped on the opposite side of lake. They met us on the trail. I was driving to Spring Valley Lake and on the trail the sun was in my eyes so bad I skimmed a tree. A few scratches on the bumper is all. Took us about 45 minutes to get to the trailer. Ron changed the hitch in 20 minutes. No problem heading back out the trail. We bought Jim and Carol lunch at Lyons pizza in Magalia. Best pizza ever. Been wanting to do this one for awhile now. Really did enjoy all aspects except for chuck wagon breakdown. Learned a lot on that and it is now recovered. We are right now in Magalia.
Further update. We are home and putting stuff away. Chuck wagon is home. High Lakes area has been on my list for years. Now I don’t have to imagine what it looks like. I know. We had a great time despite the issues and I plan to organize another trip up to the Highlakes area next year as well, possibly a little earlier in the year. Thanks Ron, Pat, Carol, and Jim for attending!
From Ron D:
This run has been on my bucket list for many years. It was all I expected and more. The only downside was the extensive burn that pretty much touched the whole route. Especially visual. However it will grow back to what it was. Just not in our lifetime. Even burned it was extremely beautiful.
Other than the delay I am happy that I found the weak link in my chuck wagon trailer. There was only one weak link in my pintle hitch and I found it. I towed it out with a ball hitch I had already built for it and found that I liked it better than the pintle hitch. A lot less noisy and articulated more than fine.
We can’t wait for the next off road adventure. It will probably be in Nevada. I would like to explore the Ruby mountains south of Elko. Especially Lomille Canyon.