Dusy-Ershim trip report
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 20 Oct 1996 20:26:56 -0700
From: rmurray@gvn.net (Rick Murray)
Subject: Duzy trip - Labor day weekend
To: TLCAL@TLCA.ORG
I prepared this trip report as requested by the editor of FourWheeler
magazine for inclusion in their web site almost 2 months ago. It hasn't
appeared there yet, so I thought I would share it here :
Dusy-Ershim trip report
***********************
Quick Summary :
What : Labor day weekend wheeling trip
When : 8/30/96 - 9/2/96
Where : Dusy-Ershim trail ( aptly nicknamed 'The Duzy' )
about 50 miles east of Madera, Calif.
Who : Mark - 89 Toyota longbed pickup, 22RE motor,
stock 5-speed, Marlin TC, 4.88 gears
33" BFG/MT, 4" lift, 8000# winch,
TRD posi front and back
Rick and Debbie - 84 Toyota 4Runner, 22R motor,
stock 5-speed, Marlin TC, 4.88 gears
33" BFG/MT, 3" lift
TRD posi in back
Trail : Dusty rock-crawling at its best,
33-miles long , peaking at 10,000 feet altitude
for SWB vehicles (narrow, tree-guarded 'S' turns)
many lakes and creeks to pass,
spectacular 270-degree vistas near north end of trail
Our trip began in Sacramento, Friday at around 8 am. About 3 hours
on highway 99 brought us to Madera, last chance for cheap (valley) gas.
Turned onto highway 145 from there and drove another 1.5 hours to
Shaver Lake, where we stopped to top up the tank and have lunch.
We drove on to Courtright Reservoir, crossed the dam (great photo
ops on both sides of the dam), and reached the gated trailhead
around 2:20 pm. There, we aired down, locked hubs, and disconnected
my sway bar. Mark had been here before, so he knew the trail and,
by default, our fearless leader. The altitude here was around 8000 feet.
Then we met a couple from Placerville in an awesome, red
'built-from-scratch' Willys flatfender (box frame, new tub, GMC V6,
SM420, 35" tires, locked at both ends, Toyota springs and hangers,
etc, etc) . Mark and I were in awe of this rig. Since Gerald and
Lois were by themselves, we invited them to join us. Duzy is too
tough of a trail to do on your own. They were grateful for the offer
and brought up the rear of our little group. We waited for a little
while longer, for a group of Land Cruisers I had contacted on the
Internet, but they didn't show up by the time we left.
The first mile or so was easy, but definitely 4WD. Then, the
trail seemingly ended at a smooth rock wall. I asked Mark where the
trail went, and he said, with an evil grin, 'up that wall' (maybe
350 yards at 40 degrees or so). Knowing my crawl ratio was 90:1,
and not seeing any signs of earlier catastrophies, gave me the courage
to continue. Debbie got out to take pictures of start of the ascent,
but insisted on hopping in about 1/3 of the way up, since she didn't
think she had the stamina to walk all the way up the steep incline.
I wasn't too crazy about stopping, but did so, carefully avoiding
touching the brakes, clutch, or shift lever (just turning off the key).
Approaching the top, it looked like Easter Island, with huge boulders
that had yet to roll down the smooth incline, to drive around.
That first obstacle really woke us up, and put smiles on our faces.
We drove for about 5 more miles, over numerous rough spots. The only
mechanical problem was experienced by the Willys. Apparently,
the fuel lines were mounted a bit too close to the exhaust manifold,
causing vapor lock. Gerald had to stop once-in-a-while
to cool down. We were still able to make good time, and stopped
to camp for the night around 6 pm.
The next morning, Saturday, we broke camp and headed for the first
real challenge, Thompson Hill. Its like Cadillac Hill on the Rubicon,
only longer, dustier, and much more difficult. We had to get out to
spot each other on at least 5 sections of this hill. The Willys seemed
to have an easier time on it, with its much shorter wheelbase ( 85" ? )
compared to mine (103") and Mark's (112"), not to mention larger tires.
Several times, Mark had to remind me to feather the parking brake to
help the posi grab the rocks when one rear wheel lifted off the ground.
Amazing how putting on the brakes helped me go forward.
A group of 4 rigs (Toyota, 2 J**ps, Samarai ) caught up with us in
the middle of this hill, but one of them broke down right behind us,
and we never saw them again. Hope it wasn't too serious.
The trail never lets up. Even though there weren't many more 'fun'
spots on the way to the Ershim Lake camp sites, it was difficult
enough to force us to stay in granny gear, or second almost all the
time. About 2 hours before the lake, we encountered one courageous
dude in a nicely built early Bronco, sporting a 'handicap' license
plate, with his wheel chair strapped to the spare tire, going the
other way. He pulled off to let us by, and we chatted for a bit.
We were slowed down a little, by a CJ5 that was barely moving,
pulling a small trailer. Apparently, his frame had split in two
just in front of the rear spring hangers on both sides. The body
must have been holding the Jeep together. He nursed his rig to
Ershim Lake to camp. There, we saw other guys working on the rear
end of a TLC, and another J**p (burst transfer case) being towed
down the steep, rocky incline leading to camp, with straps
attached to both ends . The trail claimed many victims that
day. We felt very fortunate and slept well that nite.
The next day, we broke camp early for the long drive out. We
wanted to finish up that afternoon and be home in Sacramento
by that nite. Where the trail reached just over 10,000 feet,
it passed over a mountain crest with a magnificent view toward
the east. A short hike up to the point opened up a breath-taking
270-degree panorama of the mountains and Thomas Edison lake
in the far distance. One could see Mammoth Mountain, a row
of mountains referred to as 'The Minarets', and plumes of smoke
|from a forest fire north of Yosemite. Great place for lunch
and a panoramic camera.
The trail dropped down from there, through several more nasty
spots that really tested our ability to pick the right line.
We finally reached pavement above Huntington Lake at about 4pm.
33 miles in 3 days. What a trail ! What made it especially
gratifying, is that none of us broke or got stuck, so we never
had to use our straps, winches, or hi-lift jack.
The weather was perfect. No wind, few clouds, and surprisingly
warm for September at 10,000 feet.
Interestingly, when the trail went thru a creek or had to cross
a meadow, the trail was surfaced cross-ways with smooth logs, to
preserve the trail and prevent rutting. Kudos to the forest
service and the club who maintains the trail ( I think its
'Four Wheel Drive Club of Fresno'). Surprisingly little trash
on the trail, as we only picked up about a half-a-bag worth to
dispose of back at Shaver Lake.
Fun, world-class trail for built 4x4's. If you decide to go, be
sure to bring enough gas, bring a buddy, and 'Tread Lightly'.
################################################################
Rick Murray 84 Toyota 4Runner SR5
CA4WDC stock 22R motor ; 3" ProComp Lift
Rancho Cordova, Ca. 8" steel rims; 33" BFG M/Ts
www.gvn.net/~rmurray/ 4.88 gears; Marlin TCase ; TRD posi
################################################################
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Aug 1997 08:48:27 -0800
From: david fritzsche
Subject: "Doozy"
To: "Toy4x4@tlca.org"
Just came back from doing the 'doozy'. What a wonderful trip. We had
four rigs that went,three Toyota pickups and one Jeep. Hardly any
problems. All of the rigs had different setups, the one that I was in
was stock gears, locked front and rear, Marlin transfer, 35" BFG MT's,
four inch lift, doors removed--Had no problems, truck looks like h**l
but wheels great. Next one had seven inch lift, locked front and rear,
5:29 gears, 35=94 BFG MT=92s. He broke the arm that the drag link
connects to, fixed and back on the trail in forty five minutes,
look like a 'show & shine' truck but he takes it anywhere. Next truck
had 5:29 gears, no lock front or rear, seven inch lift, 35" BFG MT's
and one h**l of a driver, clogged fuel filter after we got of the
trail. I do not know how the CJ was set up, it did fine except that
it lost one front hub, unlocked that side and continued on our way.
This was a first class trip, trail was outstanding, well maintained,
clean (as far as trash), dusty, challenging and long. Take your time to
check out all of the scenery. Take plenty of water, gas. If you go
during the week you will have most of the camp sites to yourself and be
courtesy to the other wheelers. We had one group of Jeepers that
pulled in to one of the camp sites lead by an Willy's Over lander, right
at dinner time, the leader of the group, Who looked like he was drunk
and stoned, stomped right through are campsite, did not say a word to
us, just called his dog who followed him through all of the campsites.
This guy was just a real a**hole and it did not break our hearts when
the starter stuck on his Willy's.
The trip was Great, cannot wait to go back next year with my wife and my
rig,
David Fritzsche
1990 Toyota ex-cab V-6
4:88 gears-ARB rear, Tru-Trac front
Body by the Sierras
------------------------------
Back to the top of this thread
Back to the top of the Trip Report group
Back to the top of the Toy Thread Tree