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View Full Version : Fordyce Again, and maybe again



4.3LXJ
08-21-2012, 12:44 AM
We were off again to the Fordyce Creek area again. This time we stayed at a different campground and had the place to ourselves. We pulled in, set up camp.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Fordyce%20Trails/Aug%202012/2012-08-17_09-47-36_888.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Fordyce%20Trails/Aug%202012/2012-08-17_09-48-49_269.jpg

We had the place to ourselves. Just like I thought after checking this out last year. We had a nice little creek to keep things green and cheerful. But just outside camp, things were a little harsher on the granite.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Fordyce%20Trails/Aug%202012/2012-08-17_09-48-54_257.jpg

I had the first carnage of the trip, bent shackle when it came down on a rock getting into the camp to unload from the camping area. Also lost an E clip out of my transfer linkage, so off to town we went. We made a wee stop though at Cabelas in our never ending quest to fill the XJ to overflowing. Last year we got a camp shower. This year, we weren't sure what we wanted, but an extra water bag for the shower was a good idea. If you haven't been to one of these, they are cool stores that can outfit you with everything to shoot that big game or catch that fish.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Fordyce%20Trails/Aug%202012/2012-08-16_17-55-39_855.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Fordyce%20Trails/Aug%202012/2012-08-16_17-57-38_721.jpg

This Hippo had a unique dental problem

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Fordyce%20Trails/Aug%202012/2012-08-16_17-58-02_919.jpg

Or if you prefer domestic game:

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Fordyce%20Trails/Aug%202012/2012-08-16_17-58-58_929.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Fordyce%20Trails/Aug%202012/2012-08-16_17-59-14_878.jpg

Carves
08-21-2012, 12:50 AM
Nice campsite ... Straight trees too ... :thumbsup:

4.3LXJ
08-21-2012, 12:51 AM
Most of them. But I will show you an example of a bent one later.

cantab27
08-21-2012, 12:53 AM
you got bears or anything out that ways steve...nice pics mate

Carves
08-21-2012, 12:55 AM
sighhhhhh .... didnt you look at his two bottom piccies properly ... :p .. :D

4.3LXJ
08-21-2012, 12:55 AM
you got bears or anything out that ways steve...nice pics mate

A few rattle snakes. The bears are black bears that stick to the more uninhabited areas. I have seen about a half dozen. They always run away.

4.3LXJ
08-21-2012, 01:28 AM
Day Two

The daughter and grandson, even the dog slept in. So, at the crack of noon we got started for Eagle Lakes. On a scale of 1 - 5, this road is a 4. Lots of granite that has had all the soil eroded off. A "bypass" to the concrete steps has been used enough it is now a 5.

Aug 2012 :: MVI_1595.mp4 video by warriorsuspension - Photobucket@@AMEPARAM@@file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid649.ph otobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fuu215%2Fwarriorsuspension %2FFordyce%2520Trails%2FAug%25202012%2FMVI_1595.mp 4@@AMEPARAM@@file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid649.photobucket. com%2Falbums%2Fuu215%2Fwarriorsuspension%2FFordyce %2520Trails%2FAug%25202012%2FMVI_1595.mp4

Aug 2012 :: MVI_1594.mp4 video by warriorsuspension - Photobucket@@AMEPARAM@@file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid649.ph otobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fuu215%2Fwarriorsuspension %2FFordyce%2520Trails%2FAug%25202012%2FMVI_1594.mp 4@@AMEPARAM@@file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid649.photobucket. com%2Falbums%2Fuu215%2Fwarriorsuspension%2FFordyce %2520Trails%2FAug%25202012%2FMVI_1594.mp4

After three hour of wheeling over a level 4 road, we got to the first lake.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Fordyce%20Trails/Aug%202012/IMG_1585.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Fordyce%20Trails/Aug%202012/IMG_1586.jpg

We found a nice shady spot for the XJ with a nice campsite for one tent behind it on an old road that was now submerged.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Fordyce%20Trails/Aug%202012/IMG_1587.jpg

These lakes have no outlets, so they change with weather conditions. Last year was a wet year and the lake rose. Those dead trees, some over 500 years old, are Incense Cedar. They died because their roots died from lack of oxygen. The water lilly area is where there are dead trees and brush submerged. A new feature.

We had lunch here, although very late, and went on to the next lakes where we hoped to find a floating island I remembered. We were disappointed though. Whereas the first lake had risen, the next two had all but drained, and there went my island. This also is a new development. No explanation for this.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Fordyce%20Trails/Aug%202012/2012-08-17_14-29-27_327.jpg

But on the way there, we saw some nice old growth forest. These Incense Cedar trees remind you of redwoods.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Fordyce%20Trails/Aug%202012/IMG_1590.jpg

This one had a burned out crack big enough to "babysit" the grandson for us.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Fordyce%20Trails/Aug%202012/IMG_1591.jpg

On the way back, we saw a Snow Flower. It doesn't look like much now with the seed pods, but in early spring it is the first thing to bloom and is completely bright red. It has no leaves or chlorophyl, so is parasitic on the trees around it. So, you cannot transplant them.

We continued on by going back down the trail to the Fordyce Creek trail. The week before it had several hundred vehicles on it. Now it was completely deserted. Since we were by ourselves, we turned around after a few miles before getting to the creek.

Back at camp we had hot chocolate. My wife said I could only have one marshmallow though.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Fordyce%20Trails/Aug%202012/2012-08-18_07-23-10_421.jpg

Carves
08-21-2012, 04:22 AM
You seem to have as much success with photobucket as what I do .. :D

Found the vids & the gnarly tree pic .. good exploring country by the looks .. :cool:


Just wondering tho ...

... All that gnashing and grating of teeth .... was that the locker playing up ... or you teaching the little bloke to :driving: .. :D

Mudderoy
08-21-2012, 04:40 AM
You seem to have as much success with photobucket as what I do .. :D

Found the vids & the gnarly tree pic .. good exploring country by the looks .. :cool:


Just wondering tho ...

... All that gnashing and grating of teeth .... was that the locker playing up ... or you teaching the little bloke to :driving: .. :D

I fixed it. Youtube handles videos much better.

4.3LXJ
08-21-2012, 10:31 AM
Day three.

Flatlander: Def. A derogatory term used by indigenous mountain people to describe lowland tourists who don't know their ass from third base.

Day three found the daughter, grandson and dog wheeled out. So after spending the morning at camp, I headed to Fordyce Lake. On the way, there was this couple in one of those little boxy minivans that pulled into the camp ground. "Do you think this will make it to the lake?"
"Which one?"
"You know, Spaulding"
"Spaulding is that way about 20 mi"
"Well Fordyce, Sterling then"
"I think you better be very careful. There are washouts on the road" (That means rock in this country)

They left. Never did find them. Maybe it was like Charlie on the MTA. (Song by the Kingston Trio) "Well did they ever return, no they never returned and their fate is still unlearned ........"

I left for Fordyce lake. On the way there was this black Honda Civic with a couple of teenage Mexicans. The hood was up and everyone was passing them by. I stopped and found them pouring all their drinking water in the radiator. I topped it off with my distilled water and had the same conversation, then left.

The road is well used by quads and side by sides. They have straight axles so they kick gravel to the outside of the curves, which makes them very banked. I had all kinds of fun chasing and catching the side by sides :D Nothing like that tall bumper looming over them, ready to devour :love0055:

After the turnoff to Sterling, the road turns into a level three road, with no gravel on jagged granite, washouts and just plain fun. I got to Fordyce Lake and found the end of the road. It is here that Fordyce creek is born. Here is the valve that PG&E regulates the flow with. They turn down the flow for the Sierra Trek weekend so it is easy to cross the creek, which is really more like a river.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Fordyce%20Trails/Aug%202012/2012-08-18_13-19-39_886.jpg

I turned around and hooked up with a couple of well set up Yotas. None of us knew what was in the area, but I had been told there was stuff to play on. So we took the only side road we could find and headed down. It turned into a category four quickly and then I got stuck.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Fordyce%20Trails/Aug%202012/2012-08-18_13-49-31_724.jpg

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Fordyce%20Trails/Aug%202012/2012-08-18_13-49-14_870.jpg

The front diff was on there tight. But is it stuck if you drive out on your own power? Stacked a few rocks and backed up without spinning a wheel. But just ahead was some rock I was not set up to take, so I turned around and headed back to camp. On the way out, a steep climb on jagged granite I heard the locker start to click a little. I didn't think too much of it at the time.

Three hours later as I got near camp, there is this black Honda creeping up the road. They had made it a mile and a half in three hours. The music was blasting and they were oblivious to what was happening around them. Not even a wave. Oh well, Flatlanders.

Got back to camp, and we decided to take the troops to Tahoe and let them get wet in the lake. Traffic was horrible on the interstate, so I decided to take my time and drive around the lake. :driving: It takes about 2 - 3 hours depending on traffic. When we got to the east side we came to the nude beach area. I offered to stop and swim there, but the ladies said no. Oh well. We got to Kings Beach where I grew up and stopped for a swim. But the drive got exciting. The locker went from clicking to skipping a tooth on the highway. This made the Jeep rear end shift, which made it sway like a drunken sailor. Made it back to camp thinking my extreme wheeling was over.

4.3LXJ
08-21-2012, 07:19 PM
Day four

Since my locker was sick, we decided we would take it easy today. The wife wanted to go to Signal Peak again. I figured this wasn't too bad. Back side was maintained, though steep. So up we went. It is a steady climb from about 5800' elevation to about 9,000'.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Fordyce%20Trails/Signal%20Peak/IMG_1423.jpg

This road is a constant 30° slope with loose rock and a 3000" drop on the downhill side. Locker was protesting a little, but held with lots of pressure on it. The view was spectacular from the top as usual. No smoke here from the fires where we live.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Fordyce%20Trails/Signal%20Peak/IMG_1428.jpg

Fordyce Lake where I was the day before.

Driving down the road is a little spooky for me with that drop on loose rock, so I went down the front side. I figured it was going to be a nice uneventful ride. Besides we were looking for potential private camping spots. We took several cool pics of Old Growth Noble Fir forest as we wound through the trees, but somehow the camera didn't save them. So next time. Anyway, we were just idling along when we came to a TJ in the trail. He backed up and got out of the way for me which was nice since we didn't have room. Then we came to a granite slab. We were glad he was there, this sucker was steep and off camber. We intended to bypass it, but somehow the bypass was no longer there.

http://youtu.be/78INpWSKRxQ

To truly appreciate the off camber situation here, tilt your head to match the trees, not the Jeep. Wifey was following the Jeep and the trees get tilted. When that wheel dropped into the hole, the Jeep went to 45°. Lots of pucker factor here.

We continued on down the mountain until I got to my favorite rock. I already had kissed it twice, and sure enough I did it a third time when the rear wheel dropped. My Jeep has just got to stop meeting this rock like this. People will talk. :D But true to form, it got it in exactly the same place, so the dent in the rocker just got bigger. I can see some tubing rockers in my future.

cantab27
08-21-2012, 11:11 PM
vid no worky for me...........................................

4.3LXJ
08-21-2012, 11:21 PM
vid no worky for me...........................................

Patience! 17 minutes until upload complete. Been working on that all day

cantab27
08-21-2012, 11:32 PM
i own a wrangler ...I'm a spoilt brat with no patience ...is it ready yet...











































what about now............

4.3LXJ
08-21-2012, 11:37 PM
It's ready. You can see it now.

cantab27
08-21-2012, 11:50 PM
dont want to now............................................... ..:D

coolies for pics and vids mate........be a bit different with a bit of rain on that climb

4.3LXJ
08-22-2012, 12:37 AM
dont want to now............................................... ..:D

coolies for pics and vids mate........be a bit different with a bit of rain on that climb

Snow, think snow. 6 - 12 feet of the stuff.

Hum Wee JR
08-22-2012, 12:46 AM
dont want to now............................................... ..:D

coolies for pics and vids mate........be a bit different with a bit of rain on that climb
I live about half an hour drive from fordyce entrance. This area gets more snow than rain! It's usually got snow on the ground about 6 months out of the year. In January we have the winter fun fest and go snow wheeling up there. Sometimes it makes the magazines. Lots of fun.