rig of chrishaynesusa

Ice cream on the trail sounds like an excellent idea.

vanilla ice cream in death valley :)

20151003_181145_resized_zpsaxvsx95t.jpg
 
Strawberry, West, Red, Coyote, Mirror Lakes Trip Report ~ Sept 24-25, 2016



SierraOHV.gif


StrawberryLake1_zpsz9ml51rb.jpg


StrawberryLake2_zpsd7d2qlxf.jpg


XKNUT , CALIROCKS and I went in to this area on Saturday.

We staged Friday night in Madera at the Knights INN, had dinner at Cool Hand Lukes steakhouse. Saturday morning we headed up Highway 168 to Shaver lake, gassed up and headed to the trail head. The trail head is 10.2 miles past the tip of Shaver lake right over the bridge at Tamarack Creek. the trail into Sand Flats is mostly Fire-road quality with a few rocky patches.

At Sand Flats we had lunch, then proceeded to try the trail to Red and Coyote lakes. The Sand Flats signage indicated that RED,Coyote and Mirror were rated as MORE DIFFICULT and that West and Strawberry were rated as easy.

AS we all know trails change every season and the three of us turned back at the gate keeper for RED and COYOTE. At this point we decided that MORE DIFFICULT was not suitable for a fishing trip and decided to try West and Strawberry lake trails and there were rated as EASY.

Even though rated as easy........ it was not and it had our undivided attention for 2.5 hours to get to Strawberry lake. A short stop at West lake showed us there were two to three camp sites and that there is a pit toilet there and a few small fish in the lake.

Pushing on to Strawberry we got there around 5pm and XKNUT and CALIROCKS did some preliminary fishing and got a few nibbles. This lake looks very shallow at the edges and would probably be suitable for some flotation to the center for Fly fishing.

This Lake(Strawberry) is at 9000 feet and is surrounded by a granite bowl around 2/3 of the lake. there is a pit toilet built and maintained by the Fresno 4x4 association(thanks) and some flat areas and a Ringed fire pit.

We cooked steaks and mushrooms and potatoes and Jamaican Jerked Pork for dinner and had the usual fine selection of single malts. :grin:

Morning saw a little more fishing, some more nibbles on the lines but not fish pictures... the trail out took 2 hours to San Flats where we had lunch and then drove out to Shaver Lake. We had radio contact with a few people and had a contact out around Fresno while on the way up to Shaver lake.

We heard there was an overland group around Shaver lake and that it was comprised of 75 rigs. They broke into four groups and did Bald Mountain and then camped together. I cannot imagine camping with 75 rigs(crazy).
Markeye412 was part of that group(still sporting his CB) :grin:

As far as rig requirements ... Sliders and belly Armour(with diff cover) and 32/33's. Rear locker is DAMN helpful(but not required) but it will contribute to more time on the trail if you don't have one. There is a lot of loose rocks and climbs that the extra traction would be helpful.

Other notes... At 9000 feet elevation, there were yellow jackets everywhere, some type of flys , .... but no Mosquitoes oddly enough.

Shot the 45-70 for the first time. Left the lever open a little after cycling a round in and sliced my trigger finger on the sharp steel from the recoil.

For a fishing trip to this area I would recommend no more that 6 rigs total.

XKNUT and CALIROCKS have some pictures to post tonight. Thanks to both of them for coming on this scouting trip.

StrawberryLake3_zpsfx4jrkpd.jpg


StrawberryLake4_zpsntclzt7e.jpg



and one Markeye412 sent me from bald mountain.

StrawberryLake5_zpsiixkfy91.jpg




It was a really rough rocky trail and Jenna Jamison got a little loose and fell over on her pole :grin:

........again......

JennaJamison_zpsp6lddn45.jpg


CALIROCKS has a GREAT! photo album here and some videos on Google.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=VU9ZSEZCNDZTUzQ2NGVibS1vOWN5dGN2YXJtZmxn


CALIROCKS
Calirocks1_zpsmjsdy55s.jpg




XKNUT
XKNUT1_zpsr0mdwews.jpg


StrawberryLake6_zpskfaavp3o.jpg

StrawberryLake7_zpsxwphbs3v.jpg

StrawberryLake8_zpsmilk3fbb.jpg



StrawberryLake9_zpsu3vj1ykw.jpg



StrawberryLake11_zpss7w8cjw3.jpg
 
Death Valley November 2016, ... Veterans week.

9 /10 rigs, Good people, great camping, did Saline valley, Eureka valley and Death valley.


Landscape-1_zps9rmdgfen.jpg


Landscape-2_zpsstwrtnol.jpg


Landscape-3_zpsa59qny7s.jpg


Landscape-4_zpsb0j0kqrh.jpg


Landscape-5_zpstr0ga7fo.jpg


Landscape-6_zps5riscl0u.jpg


Landscape-7_zpsblsq7du0.jpg


Landscape-8_zpsoz97o1lo.jpg



Landscape-9_zpsthzo12a1.jpg


Landscape-10_zps9snbnpzt.jpg


Landscape-11_zpshi0aakkd.jpg


took 9 rigs over Steel Pass Soth to North over the Veterans day weekend.

nice and clear no obstacles of note.








 



I have been researching the trip and the mileage to the town of Deadhorse AK via the Dalton highway.
dalton_hwy_locator_map_350.jpg


Connects: Elliott Hwy to Deadhorse, AK
Route#: Alaska Route 11
Length: 415 miles
Road Surface: 25% Paved, 75% Gravel
Season: Open all year
Highest Pass: Atigun Pass, elev. 4,800 feet

MILE 0 Junction with Elliott Highway .
MILE 56 Yukon River Camp; food, gas, lodging. BLM Visitor Contact Station and Yukon River viewpoint.
MILE 60.3 Hot Spot Café and Arctic Circle Gifts (email); food, lodging, gift shop. Mile 60 BLM campground and dump station.
MILE 98.1 Finger Mountain BLM Wayside; day-use only rest area with walking path to tors.
MILE 115.5 Arctic Circle BLM Wayside; picnicking, Arctic Circle monument, camping.
MILE 135.7 F 219.7 D 279.3 Prospect Camp, turnout with informal camping.
MILE 150.2 Grayling Lake Wayside; day-use only rest area.
MILE 174.8 COLDFOOT (pop. 12); gas, diesel, food, lodging at Coldfoot Camp. Arctic Inter-agency Visitor Center.
MILE 175 Coldfoot Airport. Alaska State Troopers and Dept. of Transportation to the west.
MILE 179.7 Marion Creek BLM Campground.
MILE 188.6 Turnoff for WISEMAN (pop. 16); Wiseman Historical Museum. Lodging at Arctic Getaway Cabin & Breakfast, Boreal Lodging (Boreal Coffee & Gifts) and Wiseman Gold Rush Camp B&B.
MILE 244.7 Atigun Pass, elev. 4,800 feet, in the Brooks Range, highest highway pass in Alaska.
MILE 274.7 Galbraith Camp (no services); undeveloped public campground with outhouse.
MILE 354.6 Last Chance Wayside; day-use only rest area.
MILE 412.8 Deadhorse Camp; lodging, restaurant, gas, tire repair. Arctic Ocean tours (24-hour advance reservation and ID required).
MILE 414 End of Dalton Highway at DEADHORSE/PRUDHOE BAY; food, gas, lodging. Deadhorse Camp offers lodging, restaurant and Arctic Ocean tours.




it is 3500 miles one way from San Jose CA to Deadhorse.
DaltonHighway_zpsa66fb0bf.jpg


here are some of the resources I have found.
The milepost magazine Dalton Highway - The MILEPOST
The magazine comes out yearly and list all mile post along the Alaskan highway.
I bought an older copy from eBay just for planning/dreaming purposes.
61pDpG%2BCWwL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg



Great PDF's of the Dalton Highway can be found here.

It breaks the map onto two sections that are large.

http://www.blm.gov/style/medialib/blm/ak/fdo/maps_and_documents.Par.65162.File.dat/Daltonmaps.pdf

Here is a smaller map of the complete Dalton Highway.

dalton.Par.83804.Image.-1.-1.1.gif


Good driving tips for driving a rock and gravel Dalton Highway BLM Alaska: Dalton Highway - Tips for hunters

What is the best time to drive the Dalton Highway?

June:
a lot of mosquitoes, muddy and slick sections due to late breakup make it a little more challenging in May and June; long daylight is a plus already early in the season.

July: the road is drier, long daylight hours make driving easy; there are less mosquitoes by the end of July

August: less mosquitoes, it can be dry or rainy (August generally has more rainy days than July); fog in the early morning hours around Atigun Pass can be very thick be the end of August. Always check the road conditions before you drive.

September: conditions are usually pretty good until mid of September, although snow storms are possible, especially around Atigun Pass. Almost no mosquitoes anymore but it gets dark at night

October - April:
winter conditions


2017 Calendarhttp://www.thenewx.org/forum/usercp.php
DeadHorseCalendar_zps3f8cpoo6.jpg


23 days total
15 business days
mosquito's are on the wain.






Current List.
Contact/N0. NAME CITY STATE HAM license PASSPORT
C1 chrishaynesusa San Jose California yes YES
C2 snelltaylor Los Gatos California yes YES
C3 grelliott Sacramento California yes YES
C4 LNXPenguin Oakland California Yes ?




This is a proposed route.
I am still working on daily destinations but generally I want to do between 300-350 miles per day.
The proposed route has a length of 4516 miles total(excluding your access mileage to start and finish points).
4516 miles / 15 days = 301 ish...../ per day.....


MEETING PLACE: Dawson Creek, British Columbia. Canada
NorthernDestination: Deadhorse Alaska USA
Southern Destination: Anchorage Alaska USA
Finish point: Prince George, British Columbia, Canada

DawsonCreek_deadhorseAK_zpsqbh3v3l4.jpg


Dawson Creek starts the Alaskan highway and offers highway access from mid to south central United States of America.
Prince George as a finish point offers some new vistas while still offering access to the mid to south central routes that accessed Dawson creek, namely CA16 access to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Daily destinations in rough form look like this.
First table is four days to get to Dawson Creek From my locati of San Jose California.
Your mileage may vary
:)

DAY Driving Mileage Location Activities
Saturday 22st July drive to Grants pass 424miles
Sunday 23nd Drive to Seattle 418 miles
Monday 24rd Drive to Prince George Canada 558 miles
Tuesday 25th Drive to Dawson creek Canada 250 miles



Second table is the trip itself.
still in work to smooth out daily mileages.


DAY Driving Mileage Location Activities
Wednesday26th Drive to Tetsa River Rgnl Park Canada 341 miles
Thursday 27th Drive to Rancheria Lodge Canada 334 miles
Friday 28th Drive to Kluane Lake Canada 351 miles
Saturday 29th Drive to Delta Junction Alaska 338 miles
Sunday 30th Drive to Fairbanks Alaska 95 miles
Monday 31st Drive to Coldfoot Aklaska 254 miles
Tuesday 1st August Drive to Deadhorse Alaska 241 miles
Wednesday 2nd Drive to Coldfoot Alaska 241 miles
Thursday 3rd Drive to Fairbanks Alaska 254 miles
Friday 4th Drive to Anchorage Alaska 358 miles
Saturday 5th Drive to Tok Aklaska 321 miles
Sunday 6th Drive to Haines Junction Canada 296 miles
Monday 7th Drive to Nugget City Canada 353 miles
Tuesday 8th Drive to Meziadin Junction Canada 351 miles
Wednesday 9th Drive to Prince George Canada 397 miles



Last four days is get back home time, for me this is to San Jose California.
Your mileage may vary
:)

DAY Driving Mileage Location Activities
Thursday 10th Drive to Kamloops Canada 327 miles
Friday 11th Drive to Seattle Washington 289 miles
Saturday 12th Drive to Medford Oregon 446 miles
Sunday 13th Drive to San Jose California 395 miles







another good read..
The Alaska Canada Highway | Guide | Road Trip Planner | AlCan | Photos

Alaska's Dalton Highway Road Trip | Fairbanks | Deadhorse | Driving
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,530
Messages
2,875,570
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top