Well, my family is leaving you all at the end of July for greener pastures. Northeastern Oklahoma in fact.
Arial view of Illinois River

Clayton OK Wheeling pic -->
Robber\'s cave area
Little Sahara State Park

We want to go on one last wheeling trip with you all before we go.July 2,3,4 should work out to be a good weekend to take off before the moving van comes. Barney Riley is MUCH easier now with the go around at the one nasty spot. Any stock 4x4 X w/o mudflaps and step rails could do it (provided at least some off-road experience).

Bob, what does this mean? You're not going? Hope all is well for you and your family.
You can count on me for a trip into BRT. In fact, we will be planting a rock for Chris about that time, might as well do it then.

I think he meant to say "My family and I are leaving you all at the end of July."

I hope you're right...
But, I'll still be there for BRT

I've been gone all weekend...
Yes, My family and I... :rolleyes:
Literalist: Olebiker
So yes, BRT is the plan so far, but I'm game for somewhere else if BRT is too far or too much for some folks. Any other suggestions? Let's hash it out a little.

From what I've seen on previous photos of BRT, it looks like the camping area is pretty exposed and offers little privacy. Is this a place where you'd want to spend 2 nights?

I'd much prefer to spend a couple of days on the Deer Valley trail, to be honest. Scenic forest, secluded campsites among pine trees, nice meadows and a stream to frolick in (if you can handle the water temperature!) The trail is awesome, too.

The only possible snafu is whether the snow will be melted enough by then...

Hmmm, that's right, Deer valley has that stream at the end (if its too high) of the trail. I keep hearing about that run and haven't done it yet. Snow huh? Anybody know how much snow there is right now? 3 weeks 'till then... there shouldn't be too much left.
Anybody else interested in going?

July 2nd & 3rd weekend is good. I was in fact thinking about posting a camping trip...on Hell Hole .

A few of us attempted last October... A tree blocking the trail preventing us to get to the fun part...

DV sounds good, but still the snow might be a problem... :rolleyes:

Actually, it's not at the end of the trail, it's at the mid-point. On one side of the stream, the trail is moderate. On the other side of the stream, the trail becomes more difficult.

I left a message with PG&E, who operates the Blue Lakes campgrounds at the northern entrance to the Deer Valley trail, to find out what the snow level is like up there, and if those campgrounds are even open yet. Hopefully I'll hear back from them soon. Since Lower Blue Lake is higher in elevation than most of the trail, if it's open, there's a high likelihood that Deer Valley is runnable.

Probably the only downside to running any trail that weekend is that it may be crowded, and we might have to hunt around for campsites if we have a lot of vehicles.

The start of the trail, from the North at Blue Lakes, is elevation 8040 (according to the Topo map). The snow depths can be monitored here . Deer Valley is a fun run and maybe by then, and with some of the clubs beating their way through, the trail will be free of snow. I'm up for it!

I just got a phone call from the recreation services department at PG&E. The Blue Lakes campgrounds are not scheduled to open until mid-July. The lady said the snow level is still quite deep there.

So, that means that the northern entrance to Deer Valley may not be accessible.

The only way to know for sure would be to scout it out the week prior.

Well, that leads us back to BRT. I know what the snow level is there: 0. The campground is really quite nice with trees and river a plenty (if we get the best one). The trouble is: everyone else will want to get it first, and unless someone goes up on Thursday, I doubt we'll get it (unless we really move... ) As for the scenery, look at these pics from Oct 2003: BarneyRiley 2003
It takes a good 3 hrs to get from the road to the campsite, and they are well spent hours that I wouldn't rather spend doing anything else.
Having said all that... I quite like snow, and I'd like to run Deer Valley if we can do it. One thing is definite: I'll be camping in the Sierra Nevadas July 4th weekend and y'all are welcome to join in.

We could always enter the Deer Valley trail from the Highway 4 side, camp, and then exit the way we came in.

- Matt

Bob's truck only has a t-bar-crank lift. I'm not sure it's equipped to run that part of the trail without significant assistance.

I'm in for either of these trails. I have never done Dear Valley, but would love to. As for BRT, I love that trail as well. If you chose BRT, I can get to the trail head early (say 7:00 am) and head in the get the good camp site. I might even be able to go up the day before. We shall see. Let me know.


Casper

The Sierras are supposed to get some rain this weekend. Hopefully it will help melt the snow, and Deer Valley will be runnable by July 4!

Hey, that just might do the trick to get the snow level down. I'm game if it looks like we can get in there.

Just so you know, its SNOWING up here.
I am over the whole snow thing, but thats just me.


Casper

P.S. I'm at 6500 feet.

I want to take this time to lay down the theme and mood for this outing:

1. This is a family outing. My wife and 9 yr old daughter and I, Dean and his wife, and Ken and his girlfriend are all fairly mellow campers. We aren't wanting a beer swilling stay up all night party trip.
2. BRT is ~ 3 hrs each way of fairly rigorous 4x4 required rocky trail.
3. We're quite a friendly bunch and if the above is to your liking, we'd enjoy your company.

Dang! So throwin' whiskey bottles in the air and shootin' 'em with me ol' 44 ain't gonna cut it?

Dang, what am I suppose to do at night around the camp fire. All I have left is cranking the heavy metal music and playing with a can of starter fluid and the fire. j/k.

Hey olebiker I'm in for a twilight run the night before. Should be interesting.


Casper

Hahahaha FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE...

Seriously though, twilight run sounds fun.
Oh yeah, Music while camping = pet peeve. Sorry, I guess I'm a bit boring that way.

What about DVD movies? hahaha OK, maybe not.

BTW, I looked at the elevation profile for the Deer Valley route. The highest point is indeed Blue Lakes. Huey and I are planning to scout the trail on Sunday, so we have an idea of whether it's doable or not in 10 days.

Sheeze Bob,
You're startin to scare the passengers here.