A short and not-so-sweet trip report
For the last little while I have been upgrading my truck and elderly truck camper with many trick extras. The last little spurt was to add a lot of block insulation to all the unused windows and inside cupboards and around the propane box. Jeanie and I plotted a plan to spend 4 leisurely days in Hope Valley, a colorful fall 'leaf-peeper' zone for locals. The idea was to camp around lower and upper Blue Lakes. So, we made the 2-1/2 hour trip and got there about 3 p.m. Where is there, you ask? A set of campgrounds administered by Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) a mammoth utility around these parts. There was almost no one there, at least when we got there. A few folks did filter in by sundown. We paid the fee and claimed a fine campsite along a creek that drains from drought intolerant upper Blue Lake, actually a reservoir.
The plot thickened as our closest neighbor fired up his big jobber generator (the one with no soundproofing case) to run his festive hanging lights for the evening. We had stopped for dinner along the way, so took a short hike to get away from the noise and found ourselves in another part of the campground with a few very loud yelling (drug induced, it seems to me) and threatening gestures. Hmm? This is not good. So went back to the TC and retired for the evening playing our usual 5 games of Backgammon. The contractor's generator continued well past our bedtime. Here is a pretty good shot of the new solar array (yeah, right) on top of the TC and the foil-two sides foam blocks:
The next A.M. we pulled up to upper Blue Lake and took a good hike through the forest. This shot is from the top of the spillway. All that dead grass is usually covered by water in wetter years.
We mushed on to a jeep road to another version of Blue Lake. I did put the hubs on and travelled in low range over the rocky sections. We got to Blue Lake2:
During the summer months, many small boats launch right out of the sand:
Now in the second day, we had lunch right on the sand. Then we followed an ever increasingly bad road until low hanging branches made further progress impossible (with a new solar array). So, I backed up, turning sharply up the side of a sandy hillside cut at a very steep angles to make a 2-point U-turn. With the steering at lock and backing up in low range 4Bye, lockers doing their job, all the weight shifted to the front end. This scenario puts the most stress on the outer U-joints of the front axle. Most of the broken axles on my old (and gone) CJ-8 happened while backing up steeply in low range, lockers on. I secretly did want to see if the Dana 70 inners were all they're cracked up to be. This was kind of a test. So, the front end swung around and backed up the hill and I turned to full lock the other way to turn on the wye and get back on the trail. The 10K pound rig stopped cold going down hill. What? I nudged it a little more and went no where, even downhill steeply. Sumpin' wrong here. I backed up one more time and made a sharper turn and we dropped right down to the road. Didn't spin a tire. I got out to see if I had broken a drive shaft or axle when I saw the telltale white road rash on the front pumpkin. I looked at the route and saw the tip of a giant unseen granite rock that parked right in front of the diff. cover. After inspection, the tie rod, drag link, pan hard rod seemed to be in factory alignment and unbent, so I think I dodged the bullet. A least I found the front Dana 70 inners and outers were up to the task. We drove up to a campground that was just closed for the season and turned around to find a non-campground place for the night, just like we have done many times prior. This pristine flat place with great view of the lake and mountains were our reward....momentarily. Jeanie made her famous tacos and I cleaned up when......
A few minutes after I took this shot a lady came up in a white pickup to tell us we could not camp here. This was a learning experience. ALWAYS know who is caretaker or has ownership of the area you are contemplating for an overnight. PG&E hires a couple to manage this Forest Service land as it has some turbines downstream somewhere. This was on a Friday and the whole camping area was set to close down by Sunday. This is the first time we've ever been asked to leave. The problem was it was now almost dark and by the time we pulled up the steps and started away it was dark. Not the best time to find a suitable camp. We powwowed and decided to go to Trader Joe's in Carson City, a scant 40 minutes away. We planned on going there anyway at the end of the 4 days. The schedule was now just compressed. Trader Joe's is in a big box/WalMart area with a few RV's already spread around and parked for the night. After shopping, we decided to just drive home. Total elapsed time of this short TC trip was 32 hours. We did find out once again that it's the traveling that appeals to us, not the plopping down and hanging for many days. Also, our aversion to formal campgrounds has only grown after the trip. The Solar Array seemed to work out fine, controller always in the double green. It did not hurt that I put a shroud behind the fridge vent and the whole trip was done with the fridge on propane. First time ever. The TC is loaded and good to go on another, more remote this time, off-season trip.
regards, as always, jefe
The plot thickened as our closest neighbor fired up his big jobber generator (the one with no soundproofing case) to run his festive hanging lights for the evening. We had stopped for dinner along the way, so took a short hike to get away from the noise and found ourselves in another part of the campground with a few very loud yelling (drug induced, it seems to me) and threatening gestures. Hmm? This is not good. So went back to the TC and retired for the evening playing our usual 5 games of Backgammon. The contractor's generator continued well past our bedtime. Here is a pretty good shot of the new solar array (yeah, right) on top of the TC and the foil-two sides foam blocks:
The next A.M. we pulled up to upper Blue Lake and took a good hike through the forest. This shot is from the top of the spillway. All that dead grass is usually covered by water in wetter years.
We mushed on to a jeep road to another version of Blue Lake. I did put the hubs on and travelled in low range over the rocky sections. We got to Blue Lake2:
During the summer months, many small boats launch right out of the sand:
Now in the second day, we had lunch right on the sand. Then we followed an ever increasingly bad road until low hanging branches made further progress impossible (with a new solar array). So, I backed up, turning sharply up the side of a sandy hillside cut at a very steep angles to make a 2-point U-turn. With the steering at lock and backing up in low range 4Bye, lockers doing their job, all the weight shifted to the front end. This scenario puts the most stress on the outer U-joints of the front axle. Most of the broken axles on my old (and gone) CJ-8 happened while backing up steeply in low range, lockers on. I secretly did want to see if the Dana 70 inners were all they're cracked up to be. This was kind of a test. So, the front end swung around and backed up the hill and I turned to full lock the other way to turn on the wye and get back on the trail. The 10K pound rig stopped cold going down hill. What? I nudged it a little more and went no where, even downhill steeply. Sumpin' wrong here. I backed up one more time and made a sharper turn and we dropped right down to the road. Didn't spin a tire. I got out to see if I had broken a drive shaft or axle when I saw the telltale white road rash on the front pumpkin. I looked at the route and saw the tip of a giant unseen granite rock that parked right in front of the diff. cover. After inspection, the tie rod, drag link, pan hard rod seemed to be in factory alignment and unbent, so I think I dodged the bullet. A least I found the front Dana 70 inners and outers were up to the task. We drove up to a campground that was just closed for the season and turned around to find a non-campground place for the night, just like we have done many times prior. This pristine flat place with great view of the lake and mountains were our reward....momentarily. Jeanie made her famous tacos and I cleaned up when......
A few minutes after I took this shot a lady came up in a white pickup to tell us we could not camp here. This was a learning experience. ALWAYS know who is caretaker or has ownership of the area you are contemplating for an overnight. PG&E hires a couple to manage this Forest Service land as it has some turbines downstream somewhere. This was on a Friday and the whole camping area was set to close down by Sunday. This is the first time we've ever been asked to leave. The problem was it was now almost dark and by the time we pulled up the steps and started away it was dark. Not the best time to find a suitable camp. We powwowed and decided to go to Trader Joe's in Carson City, a scant 40 minutes away. We planned on going there anyway at the end of the 4 days. The schedule was now just compressed. Trader Joe's is in a big box/WalMart area with a few RV's already spread around and parked for the night. After shopping, we decided to just drive home. Total elapsed time of this short TC trip was 32 hours. We did find out once again that it's the traveling that appeals to us, not the plopping down and hanging for many days. Also, our aversion to formal campgrounds has only grown after the trip. The Solar Array seemed to work out fine, controller always in the double green. It did not hurt that I put a shroud behind the fridge vent and the whole trip was done with the fridge on propane. First time ever. The TC is loaded and good to go on another, more remote this time, off-season trip.
regards, as always, jefe
