Barrett Lake Trip Report
Date: Mon, 14 Oct 1996 22:01:46 -0700 From: rmurray@gvn.net (Rick Murray) Subject: barrett lake To: TLCAL@TLCA.ORG David Allen posted : > i would like any information i can get about barrett lake trail in northern > california. This is a short, but intense, 4wd trail near Wrights Lake off of HWY 50. Very tough trail, comparable to the Rubicon and Fordyce trails. Take 50 towards Lake Tahoe, go past Kyburz, and turn left on the Wrights Lake road (not marked very well , bring your map). Go past Wrights Lake campground , staying to your left and go past Dark Lake (very small, but fishable) on your left and the road will end in a turnaround with parking spaces. The gate on the left is for private housing . The gate on the right, very strong and brand new, guards the Barrett Lake trail head. The gate is exactly 79 inches wide, designed to prevent vehicles wider than that from getting through. Full-size rigs CANNOT pass. For sure, the following rigs WILL be able to pass through the gate : all jeeps, mini-trucks, 4runners, FJ-40's, Suzuki's , early Broncos. The trail is a dead-end, so you leave the way you came in. Not sure, but I think it is about 6 miles long. It is usually closed until mid August, when the last of the snow melts, and the USFS deems it driveable without damaging the trail and surroundings. Re-closed when the first snows fall. Call the USFS before driving up (or down ?). Sometimes , the trail never opens after a severe winter. ################################################################ Rick Murray 84 Toyota 4Runner SR5 CA4WDC stock 22R motor ; 3" ProComp Lift Sacramento 8" steel rims; 33" BFG M/Ts www.gvn.net/~rmurray/ 4.88 gears; Marlin TCase ; TRD posi ################################################################ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 Aug 1996 23:09:37 -0700 From: rmurray@gvn.net (Rick Murray) Subject: Barret Lake trail (N. Calif.) To: offroad@off-road.com, TLCAL@TLCA.ORG Trailhead at Wright Lake off HWY 88 in El Doradao Forest Just got back from a day trip to Barrett Lake and back (6 mile long trail, 12 miles total for round trip). Long day, but a lotta fun and proved quite interesting. Its a 4+ rated SWB (short wheel base) trail high in the Sierras near Lake Tahoe and the more-famous Rubicon Trail. The reason for this post, is not for a run report, but to let all you listees know about a new feature of the trail just installed at the gated trailhead by the Forest Service. They have replaced the original gate (normally locked for 10 months of the year due to snow) with a new, much-beefier gate designed to allow only smaller 4x4's through. Apparently, full-size rigs have gone on the SWB trail, and behaved in a less-than-admirable manor (damaged the trail, created bypasses, driven through meadows, etc), one too many times. This gate will force 'Tread Lightly' on those who don't intend to (ie - now they won't be able to tread at all on Barrett and will have to re-route to nearby Rubicon, Bassi, or Strawberry trails). I measured the width of the gate ( 79.5 inches ) and YOU CANNOT GO AROUND IT. While the trail is open, the gate will be open, but is designed to not allow rigs wider than 79 inches going thru the open gate .... kind of like a filter. As an example of how tight this is, my buddy's 89 Toyota pickup HAD TO BE SPOTTED going thru the gate to avoid scraping sheet metal on the gate. FWIW, I AM IN FULL SUPPORT OF THIS. This trail is in a sensitive, high- altitude area adjacent to a designated wilderness, and should be better protected. The only problem that I see, is passing this information on to the public. The USFS employee at the local HQ, when asked by phone 2 days ago if the trail was open, did not mention this gate and its restriction. I hope the USFS spreads the word among their employees, at least. People could be planning their vacation around doing Barrett with their big rigs and drive a long ways to be told that they can't . That would be a shame. I hope that CA4WDC and TLCA will include a little writeup in their respective newsletters about this just to spread the word. I am posting this to both the ORD list and the TLCA list. ################################################################ Rick Murray 84 Toyota 4Runner SR5 CA4WDC stock 22R motor ; 3" ProComp Lift Sacramento 8" steel rims; 33" BFG M/Ts www.gvn.net/~rmurray/ 4.88 gears; Marlin TCase ; TRD posi ################################################################ ---------------------------- Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 21:37:15 -0700 From: rmurray@gvn.net (Rick Murray) Subject: Barrett Lake trail To: TLCAL@TLCA.ORG Tami Cowart wrote : >Hey Rick, can ya tell me what makes this trail a 4+? I'm very unfamiliar with >the trail rating system that folks use. I have seen 2 different ratings , 1 to 10 and 1 to 5. In magazine articles, the Rubicon is rated a 10 in the first scale, Barrett Lake and Fordyce are probably a 9+. The Moab trails usually seem to be rated 1 thru 5, with 4++ being the most difficult (they don't seem to use 5, must mean impassible). Even though the Rubicon is a 10, you can avoid the really tough spots and it may be effectively an 8. I'm not sure which rating system is most common. It can be confusing. a 4-rated trail could be easy on one scale, but tough on the other. >I'm looking for a new adventure...something with a "body damage optional" theme. >SWB rated I see, As far as the Barrett Lake trail is concerned : Unless you have at least one locker/posi and nerf bars, or a lot of experience on tough trails, body damage is "likely" . Only one obstacle has a bypass, and we ended up using it . We tried for a while get over one spot and didn't take the right line, i guess. If we had more time we could have done it, but we were running short of time and wanted to get off the trail by nightfall. >how'd your Runner do? Did great, except for that one spot. No body damage, scrapes on all 4 corners (on the bumpers), some scrapes on both pumpkins, and the transfer- case skid plate. >Any info you can give me on this trail would be great. What are the most >difficult obstacles,...what sort of terrain,...rocker damage potential,... >narrow trail all the way through,....potential for testing roll cages????? Trailhead is at Dark Lake, next to Wrights Lake (off Hwy 50, past Kyburz). Usually not open until mid-August due to snow and the USFS decision. Adopted by the Hilanders 4x4 club. Tough spot about 100 yards in from the gate (narrow, offcamber, boulder-strewn, trees-all-around spot), so you can decide right away if this is what you want to subject your rig to. About a mile in, there is spot with large boulders at the top of a rise, with few trees, good photo op. Potential for body damage here, good air, must have a spotter, gotta go slow. (Its on the cover of the 10/94 issue of IN GEAR, published by CA4WDC). Next fun spot is called The Rock Garden, a quarter-mile of non-stop large dusty boulders on an incline. Toward the end is the toughest spot (with the bypass). Hard to describe, have to climb up large elongated boulders, avoiding a tree and sheer rock face on the right and more rocks on left. Very tight squeeze. Sheetmetal contact hard to avoid, without some experience. ( Even the bypass is tricky, with its hairpin turn. Only a Samurai wouldn't have to do a 3-point turn. ) One spot that gets most larger rigs, is guarded by 2 large trees on either side, maybe 8 or 9 feet apart. In between, off to one side is a ... you guessed it .... large rounded boulder. If you are narrow enough to not have to put a tire on the boulder, you can get through. Otherwise, you are likely to tilt into the tree. I call it the Rainbow Tree, because of all the splotches of paint left by rear quarter-panels of less-fortunate 4-wheelers. There are several spots like this. It is possible to tilt into a tree and bust out the rear window of a 4Runner (i know of which i speak). Not much camping area at Barrett Lake. OK for about 15 vehicles. There were 25 in there on Saturday. There is an 'open-air' out-house at the lake. Don't go by yourself, take a couple of other rigs. Nothing larger than an early Bronco can get past that new gate. ################################################################ Rick Murray 84 Toyota 4Runner SR5 CA4WDC stock 22R motor ; 3" ProComp Lift Sacramento 8" steel rims; 33" BFG M/Ts www.gvn.net/~rmurray/ 4.88 gears; Marlin TCase ; TRD posi ################################################################Back to the top of this thread
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