Save the date peeps, because this one I am for sure going on. Feel free to stay all or a few of the days (there will be a base camp).

I believe Dean will be helping with the planning on this one, but for now here's some info on the area.

BTW, there are trails of all levels here ranging from 2wd fire roads to hardcore 4wd trails. There may be some days where the group will split up so that people can do trails they are comfortable with.

Older link with some info

We will definitely be doing Bald Mountain as a group: http://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail.asp?trailid=XFT003-062

Stay tuned for more info!

Sign-up!
---------------
1. Huey
2.
3.
4.
5.

Sign-up!
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1. Huey
2. Dean
3.
4.
5.

... Sneaks quietly into the room...

Sign-up!
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1. Huey
2. Dean
3. Matt
4.
5.

MV

Sign-up!
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1. Huey
2. Dean
3. Matt
4. Josh & Porthos
5.

Ruger, nice to hear from you.

Casper

For this trip, here are the rendezvous points and departure times:

July 4
9:30am- Pea Soup Anderson's at the junction of I-5 and Hwy33 in Santa Nella

11:30am- Forest Service Ranger station on Hwy 168 in Prather

Planned return home is on Monday, July 7 (or earlier, per your schedule).

Sign-up!
---------------
1. Huey
2. Dean
3. Matt
4. Josh & Porthos
5. Geoff
6.

Current rumors point to me being able to head out earlier than Friday if anyone else is interested.

I might be interested in earlier than Friday, I need to email Dean and see just what he's planning. Of course, this area is also considered local for me, so heading out early isn't as big a deal. Let me know what you have in mind.

MV

Matt- check your PMs

Just bumping this back to the top. It seems like there are a few people heading in early (Josh, Matt and Geoff?)...Dean can you give them coordinates for base camp?

Also, is anyone interested in potluck dinners? It usually helps to keep the packing down esp on these longer trips. Breakfasts and lunches you are on your own, though I've been known to bring/make too much breakfast . Maybe we can start a sign-up for that?

BTW, if you are thinking of coming please sign-up so we can have a count on #s for dinners.

Friday
Meat: Huey (Tri-tip)
Starch: Huey (Rice of some sort)
Veg:

Saturday
Meat:
Starch:
Veg:

Sunday
Meat:
Starch:
Veg:

I will be heading in on Wednesday afternoon, or Thursday Morning. I would love to know where we are basecamping so I can set up. Ruger, when are you heading in?
Meals, you know me. I'll cook what ever. I may tri something new on this trip.

Friday
Meat: Huey (Tri-tip)
Starch: Huey (Rice of some sort)
Veg: Josh (sauted bell peppers)

Saturday
Meat: Josh (Salmon)
Starch:
Veg:

Sunday
Meat:
Starch:
Veg:

Casper

Josh, do you remember where we aired-up last year? It's +37° 5' 43.75", -119° 10' 3.0" (copy and paste into google maps ), a fairly big turnout on the east side of the road large enough to accommodate several RV's. From that flat turn out, there's a short trail towards the right side of the turnout that leads down to some secluded campsites and a nice water hole.

I spoke with Matt (Ruger) on the phone and asked him to check out that site as well as the sites where he has camped before. He will coordinate with you (and Geoff?) for your early departure rendezvous location.

One thing we forgot to discuss, though, was the FRS radio channel to use for communication. I propose we use channel 8.

Oh yeah, he also mentioned that gas in Shaver Lake was $4.99 last weekend.

Dean,
Sounds good. I think I can find it. I have to look on my GPS and see if I saved it from last year.

Matt, what day are you heading in?

Can you call me.

Casper

Hey, I've got a quick question about food. Are we to supply food/dinner for everyone? That's an important thing to consider.

The # of people is:
Dean+Connie+nephew+niece (4)
Josh (1)
Huey (1)
Geoff (1)
Matt (1)
Matt's friend (1)

That's 9 mouths to feed, but just 3 dinners, if indeed we're doing the community food thing. I think we'll need multiple meals being prepared each night to distribute the effort.

I'm looking to be heading up on Thursday. Haven't picked a particular time yet, I suppose if others are interested in joining, we can come up with something. It's about two hours to Shaver for us, so midmorning or later would be good.

As for food, if we're doing a group thing, there are two of us, plus my friend Phil, who will likely be rolling solo. We were kinda waiting to see what fire restrictions were going to be like, since normally we only cook over the fire. If fires aren't allowed, we'll have to alter our plans.

Casper, I'm not opposed to calling you, but I don't think I have your number. As far as communication once up there, FRS radios are great. We have taken to using a sub-channel to cut down on interference, but not everyone's radios have the ability, so we may have to forgo that option. Cellphone reception in the area should not be counted on.

I did speak with Dean last night to tell him of our scouting trip from last weekend. It was mostly good news for our upcoming trip, no matter how bad of a trip it was for us... Remind me around the (hopefully permitted) campfire and I'll share all of my newfound knowledge regarding closed trails, Shaver Lake battery purchases, and Fresno county/Forest Service search and rescue. Otherwise, the trail was great, hopefully the new changes weren't just for last weekend's Poker Run, and will still be there for us. The main thing I can say about the trail and the surrounding area is "dry". Streams and rivers are low and slow, and the trail is very dry, making traction difficult. Loose dirt/sand on rock makes the going tough at times.

And yeah, gas in Shaver was $4.99 for 87 octane. I paid $5.19 for 91 just because I wanted to. It was my first gas over $5. Now maybe the next won't hurt as bad.

Ok, I'll try to keep you all posted as the date nears. And if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask away.

MV

Have a great and safe trip...Sound like fun

Hey Dean,
Are we planning on using the campsite as a base camp and just doing trips form there, or moving camp every day? I am pretty sure I can find the turn out, so I can save it for everyone. I will be heading up early Thursday.
As for the dinners, I have no problem bringing for 9. What does everyone else want to do?

Casper

Casper, let's get in touch and plan to meet on Thursday. I'm not sure what early is for you, or how long the drive is for you, but I'm pretty certain we can work it out.

MV

Friday
Meat: Huey (Tri-tip)
Starch: Geoff (corn bread) -> Huey I moved your rice since salmon didn't sound right
Veg: Josh (sauted bell peppers)

Saturday
Meat: Josh (Salmon)
Starch:
Veg:
Dessert: Geoff (pineapple upside-down cake)

Sunday
Meat: Geoff (Zippy Sticky Chicken)
Starch: Huey (Rice of some sort)
Veg:

Josh/Matt
I am planning on leaving from that Bay Area on Thursday morning. That will place me at the coordinates that Dean provided at about 1pm.

I'll PM you both my cell #.
Geoff

Hey guys, Brian here were going to be up in Fresno this week so I'm thinking about joining in on the run if that's not sure how many days/night yet.

Is the 7/4 meet still at:
11:30am- Forest Service Ranger station on Hwy 168 in Prather?

Base camp: +37° 5' 43.75", -119° 10' 3.0 at what time the same day?

What FRS or CB Channel?

MV, hows the fishing? Last year on the Dusy we caught some tasty fresh trout. Don't worry about us for dinner(s), I'll bring some stuff.

I've run Swamp Lake, Dusy, Bald Mt. Would be nice to see some of the others such as: Brewer, Strawberry, Mirror Lakes but I'm open to whatever.

Been a while since I've run with NCCX so that would be . Andy still around?

Brian

Hi guys-

For the main course dishes, We'll be bringing meat and veggies for Connie, myself, and my nephew and niece. So, please don't feel compelled to bring meat for my family.

We plan to bring salmon, tri-tip, and chicken legs for the 3 nights, but only enough to feed 4 mouths. We won't have enough space in our fridge to provide our own breakfast and lunch needs and a dinner for everyone.

However, we'd be willing to contribute $$ to the expense of side dishes, especially pasta/rice and salads, as appropriate.

Since it looks like there will be at least three vehicles headed up Thursday, I thought we might like to discuss a meet time/place. Off the top of my head I'd say either the gas station in Shaver (first one you come to, on the righthand side) it has a big sign out front that looks like this:


NOTE: These prices are two weeks old now...

Or perhaps the turnout on the Dinkey Creek road that has all the trail condition signs.

I also thought I'd include a recent pic (weekend before last) of my Xterra on Bald Mountain trail, so folks would know what to look for. It wouldn't hurt my feelings if others wanted to do the same, so I'd know who I'm looking for.



And although it's not a great shot, I look like this:



Other than that, I think we're planning on handling all of our own food, we normally run on FRS/GMRS channel 18, sub channel 18 (but can change if needed), and always top off the tank at the aforementioned gas station. I have no cell phone, but there's usually no service for anyone up there anyway. If anyone has any questions, ideas, or thoughts I'd love to hear them. I can adjust my departure time on Thursday to arrive in area at the same time as others, so if you two want to pick a time that works for you, just let me know.

MV

Matt/Josh

I am ok with meeting at the gas station or perhaps earlier in Madera as I am not familiar with the area at all. We need to pick a target time on Thrusday.

I think in an earlier note Dean suggested FRS8 which I think is the norm for the Norcal group.

If I am interpreting things right for food it looks like 3 are potlucking for dinners and then +4 for sides only?

Geoff

Piett, did you get both of my PM's? I sent one after the other to adress info I fotgot, but in any case, most of it has been discussed here.

I'm afraid the Madera portion is for you two to decide, as I'll be coming from the south. I'm ok with FRS 8, as long as you guys confirm that it is indeed our choice. I'm leaning towards the gas station as a meeting area, as it's easy to find, has gas, has other shops around it so no one has to be bored while waiting, and of course, stocks dang near anything you need to replace the item you realized you forgot about 20 minutes ago...

MV

Ruger1022,
Yes, I got your PMs.

For meeting in Madera I was thinking more of Josh since that is more the direction he is headed from.

Josh,
Can you chime in with what time and location you want to meet.
[img]http://flickr.com/photos/piett79/1370827162/[/img]

Ok,
Just doing some figuring. Looks like it's going to take me a tad over 4 hours to get to Madera, and then just over an hour from there to Shaver Lake. Geoff, how about we meet at 11:30 am in Madera? Then Matt how about we meet you in Shaver about 1:00 to 1:15. I tend to drive a tad slower then most, so I think this gives plenty of time to get to the meeting spots. Pictures, um...I can never seem to figure out how to link those. Can you pm me your e-mail and I can send them that way? Sorry. If not, I am pretty easy to spot. Silver X with matching Adventure Trailer and rather large puppy sticking his head out the back window.

As for dinners, no problem. I do have a change though. My friends came over last night and ate all my salmon so it will either be pork tenderloin or steak fajitas from me. I will know better when I stop by the store and find out what looks good.

Does that al make sense? Any questions or changes?

Yaaaaaaaa, I haven't been wheeling in a month. I can't wait.

Casper


P.S. Geoff if I remember right you drive a rather tall toy pickup, white. Or am I confused again.