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Hello everyone! With many shows cancelling out in 2020, including the Overland Expos, I wanted to gauge interest here in having another Truck Camper Adventure boondocking rally this summer? Still not sure where, but I’m open to practically anywhere out West at elevation where it’s cooler.
Thoughts? Opinions?
You bet. Kaibab Plateau is always good. San Juans in CO. There’s also the White Mountains in CA/NV.
It’s something to think about. People are dying to get out of town. North Rim Grand Canyon has been talked about on here for years. It’s @ 7k feet, so would be cooler but dry. There are a couple 2-tracks that lead right to the rim in sagebrush and no tree cover, a saving grace for my new plastic Euro View windows. Depending on the time of year, later in July or August we might see afternoon T-storms, a plus in this dry area. The only downside would be if the USFS decides to do a prescribed burn. That has ruined some TC outing in the early fall to this locale.
What ever you choose, it must have a lot of space, depending on how many TCA-er’s want to attend.
There is Dunderberg Road on the East flank of the Sierra Nevada’s. It’s down a graded dirt road @ 8K feet and has a commanding, 260 degree view of Nevada. There are actually several places to camp in the area. The turnoff to get there is at Conway Summit on hwy 395, uphill from Mono Lake. I would say 15-18 campers would be max for the campsite I’m thinking of. Great Cell service since the tower is at Conway Summit. There is not a lot of flat in the high reaches of the mountains.
What about the forest just east of Flagstaff? Plenty of room there and at elevation.
As advised above, The Bristlecone Pine area of the Inyo and White Mountains are near 10K feet with some large areas to circle the wagons.
I’d be up for any of these.
jefe2020 Ford F-350 XLT FX4 4WD SRW SB SC 7.3L Godzilla Gas TorqShift 10R140 397 amps dual Alt dual batts Frnt Dana 60; Rr Dana M275 E-locker 4.30's 4580/4320/4066# payload 7243# curb wt. 11,300# GVWR 5-er prepped. 2020 Northstar Laredo SC, 12v compressor fridge, cassette, 320w Solar sub zero insulation.
Big fire up on the Kaibab right now – hope they get it under control soon.
I don’t know what it is, but it seems like every single time we’ve gone up to the North Rim over the last five years, the Forest Service has done a controlled burn, starting the morning after we arrived. Plays hell with the photography!
Jefe – Interesting area you’re suggesting. I had a look at it on GoogleEarth – how far up to the west of Conway Summit are you talking about? Our nomination for the White Mountains would be Grandview Campground. A little high-up but a good amount of room to spread out and last time we were there, no fee. (Plus, pit toilets.)
Bryan, from Conway Summit take the Virginia Lakes Road about 3-4 miles to a partially hidden dog leg right turn (N by NW) onto Dunderberg Road. After reaching a small plateau, it’s slightly downhill as you contour NW on the east flank of the Sierra Nevada through occasional Aspen groves and old growth pines and firs. There are several mostly small camping areas along the way with terrific views to the east. The prohibition of open burning has already been announced, so no campfires. Virginia Lakes is a local landmark with a foot trail passing many small lakes and leading to a high pass over the Sierra Nevada crest.
2020 Ford F-350 XLT FX4 4WD SRW SB SC 7.3L Godzilla Gas TorqShift 10R140 397 amps dual Alt dual batts Frnt Dana 60; Rr Dana M275 E-locker 4.30's 4580/4320/4066# payload 7243# curb wt. 11,300# GVWR 5-er prepped. 2020 Northstar Laredo SC, 12v compressor fridge, cassette, 320w Solar sub zero insulation.
By the lack of response at Mike’s proposal for summer TC camp, I don’t think we need to worry about lack of space.
2020 Ford F-350 XLT FX4 4WD SRW SB SC 7.3L Godzilla Gas TorqShift 10R140 397 amps dual Alt dual batts Frnt Dana 60; Rr Dana M275 E-locker 4.30's 4580/4320/4066# payload 7243# curb wt. 11,300# GVWR 5-er prepped. 2020 Northstar Laredo SC, 12v compressor fridge, cassette, 320w Solar sub zero insulation.
We’ve got tons of stuff going on this summer, including the Sept arrival of our first Granddaughter 🙂 , so a long distant excursion will not be in the cards this year, but a short trip to nearby Conway Summit could be a possibility, otherwise we’ll have to unfortunately request a rain check… 🙁
Jefe, thanks for the great directions – that looks like a really nice area with some interesting trails for exploration. We’re game.
For Coly Hope, have you ever camped in the BLM area at Lizardhead Pass? That’s a really nice spot with a nice view of the San Juans. Stuck a photo on below.
As Jefe points out, doesn’t sound like space will be an issue so let’s see if we can make this happen?
Bryan
Lizard Head Pass, huh? For 35 years I’ve been working on a model layout of the narrow gauge railroad that went over Lizard Head Pass. It’s on the model and includes the massive snow sheds that protected the trains. I know the area well. In 2010 Sheep Camp, Whazoo, and myself drove our campers over 7 of the highest passes in the San Juans on jeep trails. We camped near the summits every night for 6 days sometimes, like at Imogene Pass, up to 13,400 feet. It took 3 days to acclimatize and the ONLY time you could do this was the 2nd or 3rd week of September because it’s in the cracks between the end of the Monsoons from the south and the beginning of fall storms from the north. We hit it just right in 2010 with no precip. At that elevation you definitely want an engine with turbo.
2020 Ford F-350 XLT FX4 4WD SRW SB SC 7.3L Godzilla Gas TorqShift 10R140 397 amps dual Alt dual batts Frnt Dana 60; Rr Dana M275 E-locker 4.30's 4580/4320/4066# payload 7243# curb wt. 11,300# GVWR 5-er prepped. 2020 Northstar Laredo SC, 12v compressor fridge, cassette, 320w Solar sub zero insulation.
Given that we’re a very small group looking to meet up in a remote setting, I’m not sure that would be an issue. (“Poster Guy” for pre-existing conditions here – I’m real cautious about this stuff!) We only stop for fuel and have a decon routine for that even here locally.
However, Arizona I’d eliminate at present because for the foreseeable future, fires/smoke present a real problem in the higher elevations such as the Kaibab where temperatures are reasonable enough for a gather during summer.
We’ve mainly done pass-through trips in Utah with stops at the major parks, so I’m not familiar enough with the Forest Service/dispersed camping possibilities there. The exception would be the Uinta Mts north of Vernal. There are numerous camping opportunities there about 8,000′(did some caving there years ago). I recognize that’s starting to get pretty far afield, so does nyone have any suggestions/info on southern Utah? Current daytime highs in S. Utah about 8,500′ are running in the low-to-mid 80s today with nighttime temps in the mid-40s. (Duck Creek Village)
So at present, our input is a toss-up between the Sierra Nevada or the San Juans. Still sounds like a small group, so…
Bryan & Susan
What about Coral Pink Sand dunes? It is in southern Utah. I am not sure what the weather is like in mid to late summer though. I was there last year in May, and it was beautiful. It is really close to Zion National Park.
I am really new to Arizona, and the surrounding area, but thought I would throw that out there, because I have been there before, and it was a lot of fun. Not exactly sure if that is what you guys are looking for or not.
Or maybe Lake Powell, It is North AZ and South Utah. I personally have never been there, but have had an interest to check it out.
Welcome, AzGuy!
Coly has a point about a rally in September, because with current temps, it is either go high or go late(r in the season). Or both. There’s nothing to say we can’t go out more than once. (Oh darn, another excuse to take the rig out! Don’t you hate it when that happens?)
Given that temperature will rise/fall by about 3.5 degrees for every 1,000′ of elevation loss/gain, elevation during this time of year is definitely our friend. Just for an idea of how much of a friend I looked up current temps (6/22/2020 at 4pm) for some of the ideas tossed out.
Lake Powell, Az/Ut 3,600′ Temp: 102 Smoke likely.
San Juans, Co 9,000 Temp: 68 Temp extrapolated from Mountain Village, Co
C.Pink Sand Dunes, Ut 5,900 Temp: 95 This is a state park, is it open? Smoke?
Conway Summit area, Ca 9,000 Temp: 76 (Prob similar for White Mountains)
Uinta Mt. Ut 8,700 Temp: 73 Temp extrapolated from Vernal, UtJust food for thought, but not real keen on sweating in 100+ deg temps!
Bryan
The current political conditions in our Nation have little to do with the ability of a few truck camper enthusiasts to gather and social distance in some remote place. This has been the first summer in a long time that northern California has not had a pall of smoke lingering over hill and dale. I hope i did not just jinx that condition.
My only gripe is that I’m in the 11th hour of my life and hope I don’t run out of time before the China Virus is snuffed out. There are so many great places to visit and revisit here in the West: so many Compline services to provide; and so many grandkids to coddle.
In the meantime, we’ve had several TC outings all centered around the Eastern Sierra Nevada; the high reaches of western Nevada; and around the Owens Valley and the Inyos.
Further, starting September 5th, Bro John and Krys, with the fetching and talented Miss Jean and myself have planned a 16-day TC odyssey through the Tetons, Yellowstone, the Devils Tower, the Black Hills, Mount Rushmore, and the Badlands, moving every day over as many dirt roads as we can find. I looked up campground reservations for many of these areas and because of Covid, fewer spots and many limitations were attached. There is not a camp reservation to be had in our time grid in Yellowstone. We hope to dry camp this trip the entire time. My two brothers, Jim and John bought me a 7 inch Lowrance Ilite-2 GPS, the same one that Bro John used when he was winning The King of the Hammers off-road race. Maybe one high bucks hotel will be thrown in there to refresh, if one can be found. There is one tunnel near Sylvan Lake campground that has a 10’6″ width and a 10′ 7″ height. The tunnel is a bore through solid rock. Some of you may have done this in your pop up camper. Time to get out the tape measure to make sure we will clear. Last time I checked, we were right at 8′ wide with the mirrors folded in and 10′ 5″ high.
That is all.
jefe2020 Ford F-350 XLT FX4 4WD SRW SB SC 7.3L Godzilla Gas TorqShift 10R140 397 amps dual Alt dual batts Frnt Dana 60; Rr Dana M275 E-locker 4.30's 4580/4320/4066# payload 7243# curb wt. 11,300# GVWR 5-er prepped. 2020 Northstar Laredo SC, 12v compressor fridge, cassette, 320w Solar sub zero insulation.
Jefe, the tunnel you referenced, we went through it about 2 yrs ago during our Badlands and Rushmore camping trip, but due to height our 12’5” (to air cond) camper was not an option – so we rented a SUV for an area wide sight seeing day trip, and for a pass through the tunnel…I saw a 2WD Class C stopped at the tunnel’s opening because it was uber obvious he couldn’t fit, and as traffic began to back up there was no place wide enough for him (on the Rushmore side) to even turn around – nor is there much more room on the opposite entrance…We made it through in our rented SUV with no problemo, and it is a quite beautiful area, as was the hike around Lake Sylvan…Just saying – here’s hoping you have a Great trip Sir!
Phil
Hello to everyone.
Wellllll… Here we are well into September and the heat continues, unless you’re in Colorado in the next few days. And to add insult to injury, the fires roll on as well. We had a couple of possible photo/video trips lined up but canceled them due to poor shooting conditions – too much smoke. I mean, we can do a lot in post-production editing, but this much smoke is just too great an obstacle to producing a video worth the effort.
It’s starting to look like early October at the earliest. Gonna be a thin window between weather wet enough to douse the fires and weather that buries our desired destinations in snow! Meanwhile, another hot day here in S. Arizona… make that “the West”.
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