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Since I’d missed the Rubicon this summer I was determined to tackle the Dusy-Ershim trail. 33 miles from Courtwright Resevoir to White bark Vista, the Dusy traverses some of the most spectacular scenery in the Sierra Nevadas. The trail winds through the mountains starting around 9k feet and peaks at 10k+feet through Kaiser Pass. The remoteness, difficulty and length of the trail makes it one that should only be tackled by solid, well maintained swb vehicles with 33+� tires and at least one locker. Many have run it... this is my story...
I knew a group of friends in a “mostly� Toyota club that were planning a Dusy trip in the middle of September. Since it was a trail I’d wanted to do for some time, I took some vacation and made plans to join them. Knowing it was very important to be covered with spare parts and extra gas, I contacted a friend (who will remain nameless for his own good
) to borrow some axle shafts, hubs and spare fuel packs. Although I don’t like wheeling with doors, I knew the temps were going to be down in the low 30s at night and I figured I should get some soft doors and windows just in case. Thank you Tam and Chris for letting me borrow some.
At the last minute I decided to go with out any windows... I’d live to regret that.
Thursday finally arrived, the Jeep was packed and I was off. Up the 5 to the 99, the 41 out of Fresno to the 168 toward Shaver Lake. One last stop in Prather to top off the tank and fill the fuel packs gave me a total of 25 gallons of gas for the trip, plenty for my fuel injected 4.0. I made it to camp at Courtwright Resevoir around 8pm, met by John K, Neil, “the other John� and his friend Art. We sat around the campfire cracking jokes while “the other John� made some gourmet mac and cheese in a Dutch oven, yummy!!! Everyone decided to forgo putting up tents and elected to crash in their sleeping bags under the stars. It was cold but bearable. Ross K and Dave arrived after we’d gone to bed. In the morning we’d start the trail.
We awoke to a brisk morning ready to tackle what was ahead. The weather turned out to sunny and warm.
Courtwright Resevoir...
Ready to roll...
It wasn’t long before we had our first problem, John K pinched and tore a driver side break line...
Luckily Neil had a spare.
Later we hit some slabs and lined up for a group shot...
Then on to Chicken Rock, not quite “launch pad�, but steep...
Later the group got a bit spread out, mostly because I drive to damn slow. :yay: Anyway, this was a stop for everyone to regroup...
Friday’s lunch break....
Domes...
After lunch we proceeded to the difficult rocky climb called Thompson hill. To everyone’s relief we all made it up without a breakdown, although I needed a bit of spotting to get “un-stuck� a couple times and ended up with a bent tie rod.
Here’s camp at the top of Thompson hill...
Thompson Lake...
A view on the granite domes and Courtwright from above camp...
A neato “Jeep� sign...
The next day would be the easiest of the trip. Don’t forget to pay attention though, or you’ll do some body damage on a tree. Lot’s of tight maneuvering on this trail.
A poser rock on the trail...
Ross K...
John K...
Me...
The “Other John�...
At lunch we realized why you shouldn’t put YJ shackles on a Crusier...
Saturday’s campfire at Ershim lake...
While sitting around the campfire (read: me taking crap about Jeeps) it started to snow. We woke up to about 30 degrees and this the next morning...
The last leg of the trip has many technical rocky sections. While climbing out of camp I had my first big scare. I turned on my rear ARB only to see my air pressure steadily drop. After crawling under the Jeep we figured out that I was losing air inside the diff, an O ring must be leaking. I was bummed to say the least. I guess I’d have to try and make it out using only the front locker.
Not far down the trail Dave and John K had some tire problems. We stopped awhile for the repairs...
As we climbed higher in elevation the snow got worse. By the time we made it to Kaiser pass (10k+feet) we had blizzard conditions. The wind and snow was brutal. I should have brought those windows!!!... The good news was, after my rear axle warmed up, the ARB seemed to hold air!!! :yay:
At the end of the trail we realized how bad the weather really was. The forest service had closed the trail!!!
Great trip. I’ll do it again in a heartbeat.
Brian.
I knew a group of friends in a “mostly� Toyota club that were planning a Dusy trip in the middle of September. Since it was a trail I’d wanted to do for some time, I took some vacation and made plans to join them. Knowing it was very important to be covered with spare parts and extra gas, I contacted a friend (who will remain nameless for his own good
) to borrow some axle shafts, hubs and spare fuel packs. Although I don’t like wheeling with doors, I knew the temps were going to be down in the low 30s at night and I figured I should get some soft doors and windows just in case. Thank you Tam and Chris for letting me borrow some. At the last minute I decided to go with out any windows... I’d live to regret that.Thursday finally arrived, the Jeep was packed and I was off. Up the 5 to the 99, the 41 out of Fresno to the 168 toward Shaver Lake. One last stop in Prather to top off the tank and fill the fuel packs gave me a total of 25 gallons of gas for the trip, plenty for my fuel injected 4.0. I made it to camp at Courtwright Resevoir around 8pm, met by John K, Neil, “the other John� and his friend Art. We sat around the campfire cracking jokes while “the other John� made some gourmet mac and cheese in a Dutch oven, yummy!!! Everyone decided to forgo putting up tents and elected to crash in their sleeping bags under the stars. It was cold but bearable. Ross K and Dave arrived after we’d gone to bed. In the morning we’d start the trail.
We awoke to a brisk morning ready to tackle what was ahead. The weather turned out to sunny and warm.
Courtwright Resevoir...
Ready to roll...
It wasn’t long before we had our first problem, John K pinched and tore a driver side break line...
Luckily Neil had a spare.
Later we hit some slabs and lined up for a group shot...
Then on to Chicken Rock, not quite “launch pad�, but steep...
Later the group got a bit spread out, mostly because I drive to damn slow. :yay: Anyway, this was a stop for everyone to regroup...
Friday’s lunch break....
Domes...
After lunch we proceeded to the difficult rocky climb called Thompson hill. To everyone’s relief we all made it up without a breakdown, although I needed a bit of spotting to get “un-stuck� a couple times and ended up with a bent tie rod.
Here’s camp at the top of Thompson hill...
Thompson Lake...
A view on the granite domes and Courtwright from above camp...
A neato “Jeep� sign...
The next day would be the easiest of the trip. Don’t forget to pay attention though, or you’ll do some body damage on a tree. Lot’s of tight maneuvering on this trail.
A poser rock on the trail...
Ross K...
John K...
Me...
The “Other John�...
At lunch we realized why you shouldn’t put YJ shackles on a Crusier...
Saturday’s campfire at Ershim lake...
While sitting around the campfire (read: me taking crap about Jeeps) it started to snow. We woke up to about 30 degrees and this the next morning...
The last leg of the trip has many technical rocky sections. While climbing out of camp I had my first big scare. I turned on my rear ARB only to see my air pressure steadily drop. After crawling under the Jeep we figured out that I was losing air inside the diff, an O ring must be leaking. I was bummed to say the least. I guess I’d have to try and make it out using only the front locker.
Not far down the trail Dave and John K had some tire problems. We stopped awhile for the repairs...
As we climbed higher in elevation the snow got worse. By the time we made it to Kaiser pass (10k+feet) we had blizzard conditions. The wind and snow was brutal. I should have brought those windows!!!... The good news was, after my rear axle warmed up, the ARB seemed to hold air!!! :yay:
At the end of the trail we realized how bad the weather really was. The forest service had closed the trail!!!
Great trip. I’ll do it again in a heartbeat.
Brian.
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