Hey, the trip was a blast, who cares if we never made it to our destinations. I got stuck in a lil mud and we had to fix a flat on the trail. To me that made it worth doing.

Had to cut out a bit early so I hope the sunday run went well for everyone.

Also wanted to thank David and John, Lance and everyone else for helping me with my battery troubles at the gas station.

Had a great time.
We want to thank the guys again for setting this up.
It was real nice to finally getto meet some of the cool people on Yotatech.
Definatly need to do this again, next time though i will have a rig ready!
The food last night was outstanding, thank you to all the good cooks that brought those tasty treats.

Hope everyone had a safe trip back.

Until next time,

And thanks Chris for letting me pick you brain about your rig :great:

Any local guys up for a fall run somewhere?
Gonna try to do a tent trip up around Shasta before it gets to cold with my son. Anyone know of any good spots?

It was great seeing some familiar faces again--Bob & Patty, Lance, Scott and John & family and great meeting those that I've seen online for years but never met in person.

Getting sick Friday night really sucked, but at least I had a lake view while...........well, you get the idea.

Not that anyone cares, but we got freakishly good gas mileage on this trip. 22.8 mpg on the way to Mammoth and 21 mpg combined between the second and third tanks.

Bob--thanks again for letting me drive your 4Runner. This helps make my lift decision a little easier.

And our next trip is????? :great:

Ken

:camp: We had a blast! It was great to meet everyone and I can see why people do return trips with this group. Everyone made us feel very welcome. Thanks guys for putting this trip together, now my wife knows what I do on the computer all the time. She was glad that you weren't a bunch of weirdos.

The runner did great pulling the trailer with the 33's. The only problem I had was going back up tioga pass. As soon as I started the grade I had no power in second gear. I did the whole grade going between 20 to 25 mph. No overheating, just real slow. I thought it was the combo of big tires, trailer, and steep grade but I had nothing like that on the way there. I pulled over a little ways past the summit to check everything out. Fluids and everything was good. I pulled out my air filter (k&n) which I just cleaned before I left and somehow I had sucked up a ton of bees into the filter. Hardly any dust but I was able to knock the filter and the bugs just kept falling out. After that everything was fine. Ran great the whole way back.

I hope I get to see everyone again soon!
Chris

Also, do you guys usually post pics in this thread or do you start one in the trail reports?

We also had a great time! It was nice meeting all of you!

I should have some pictures to post tomorrow.

A mod should probably split this thread so these comments go into the trail reports section.

dying for some pictures here :nerd:

Here are a few pics:

Sunrise view from my site
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...6/IMG_4161.jpg

Lineup on the way to Bodie Ghost Town
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...6/IMG_4166.jpg

California Safari
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...6/IMG_4193.jpg

High Speed Scenic Route
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...6/IMG_4206.jpg

Trail to Laurel Lakes
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...6/IMG_4213.jpg

Good Times
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...6/IMG_4208.jpg

I have more photos to post later.

more pics
 

hey guys,

i am a notoriously lazy photographer. i actually dont like taking pics while offroading, but here's a few:

Pavement shot of my truck and campspot
http://www.4runners.org/june06/01_bob_truck.jpg

Shot of Lance's Kitty Mobile (hehe)
http://www.4runners.org/june06/02_lance.jpg

Steve's truck with his float tube on top
http://www.4runners.org/june06/03_steve.jpg

Here's the convoy going to Bodie Ghost Town. From front to back, that's Steve, his friends in a Taurus station wagon, Boogeyman (Russell Russell Russell), VegasKurt (Kurt), and Scottiac (Scott)
http://www.4runners.org/june06/04_convoy.jpg

Here's Slo_surfer (Chris) and his son Jack with his brother David and Slo's amazing three-legged dog, Bruce
http://www.4runners.org/june06/05_slosurfer.jpg

Here's the 2nd day's trail ride to Laurel Lake
http://www.4runners.org/june06/06_laurel.jpg

continued...

Here's a few of the guys waiting to hit the trails. That's Steve in front, John, and then Boogeyman. Of note, John has a completely stock 4th gen and he went through this trail with flying colors :D
http://www.4runners.org/june06/07_laurel_air.jpg

David and Slo_Surfer airing down with Lance in the back. David's D-cab Tundra is pretty darn nice. We gotta get him to build it up :)
http://www.4runners.org/june06/08_airdown.jpg

The misses and Steve's wife Miki waiting for a bumpy ride :) The trail ends at the peak of that mountain with the snow
http://www.4runners.org/june06/09_airdown.jpg

Audrey (g/f of Paddlenbike), Paddlenbike (Ken), Steve, Lance, Adam (John's son) and John chatting it up before we hit the trail
http://www.4runners.org/june06/10_meeting.jpg

...and finally, this is a picture of the first trout that i've ever caught! After the Bodie mining trip, Steve and I split from the main group who followed Lance on the 2nd leg of their trip. Steve was gracious enough to let me use his gear and go float tubing for trout. That is Virginia Lake in the background. Talk about amazing. It was at the top of the mountain and the lake was small enough yet large enough to navigate with the float tube. Seeing that i was frustrated, Steve showed me how to fly fish and i landed this trout on my second cast. I was giddy like a mo'fo when the trout hit. i know now when people say that you are more connected to the fish when fly fishing than any other kind of fishing!
http://www.4runners.org/june06/fish_2b.jpg

here's a closeup. not a world record, but it was a keeper in my eyes. besides, i couldn't come home empty handed! the trout did make the grill and i know a few people had a taste at the saturday potluck. i hope you guys enjoyed it :)
http://www.4runners.org/june06/fish_1b.jpg

Can't wait for the trip next year!!!
Bob

Great pics Bob, that's the part of CA that I miss!

More pics
 

Here are some more pics:

Lunch at Bodie
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...6/IMG_4186.jpg

Start of trail that Lance led us on (Thanks for taking us on the Cali Safari, Lance)
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...6/IMG_4191.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...6/IMG_4192.jpg

Lineup while airing down
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...6/IMG_4195.jpg

A little mud (I followed John all day and I was definately impressed with his runner, we may have to look into getting a new one)
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...6/IMG_4196.jpg

creek crossing
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...6/IMG_4199.jpg

shot while Joel was changing a tire, amazingly right where we stopped to air down on the way in
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...6/IMG_4204.jpg

Boogeyman and VegasKurt on the back way from Bodie Ghost Town
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...6/IMG_4207.jpg

I'm not brad!! :pat: I'm Russell... Russell Russell Russell Russell Russell :P

Laurel Lakes pics
 

Steve led us up Laurel Lakes trail, we had a blast and my bro even took his stock tundra d-cab. Trail was still impassable at the very top due to snow. It was a short hike to the lakes from there. Me and my wife did not make it to the lakes due to our son Jack having a complete toddler meltdown. We still had fun and it was definately beautiful. Thanks for leading us up steve!


Bob and my bro David (David said he had a blast and he is already talking about a lift for his truck)
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1.../IMG_4212a.jpg

boogeyman, paddlenbike, bob, and david
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1.../IMG_4214a.jpg

tundra flex
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1.../IMG_4216a.jpg

almost to the top of the first climb
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...6/IMG_4218.jpg

following the creek after first climb
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...6/IMG_4220.jpg

Lunch at the top, parking was probably the hardest thing up there. Not much room, plus there were already 3 other toyotas up there that were not with our group.
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...6/IMG_4224.jpg

Lance (Good Times)
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...6/IMG_4225.jpg

Bob and Steve and snow blocking trail
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1.../IMG_4226a.jpg

Here is the link to the rest of the pics:

http://s38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...ake06/?start=0

a pic of Bridalveil Falls on our way out through Yosemite
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...6/IMG_4230.jpg

I had a blast and it was great meeting everyone. My son had a blast with Bob, he even knew which rig was his. Steve, thanks for helping me put the idler arm brace on. So, when do we start planning for next year?

Stacey and I had a great time as well. It was nice (re)meeting everyone and we definitely plan on attending these trips more in the future. As for next year, I wanted to throw this idea out there.. Stacey and I found some *GORGEOUS* campsites down near mammoth when we explored monday morning before we left. There's this campsite called Twin Lakes that has fishing, boating, a general store there, and there's also cabins nearby for those that prefer not to tent/rv camp. Not to mention lots of little trails around the lakes to explore.

Chris, great pics! thanks for posting :D I'll try to upload some of my pics tonight when I get home from work. I have some nice panoramic shots of laurel lakes.

Bob, pm me your email addy and I'll email that photo of you and Patti at the lake.

Russell

:pat::pat::pat::pat::pat::pat::pat::pat: Sorry, Brad! I mean Russell! :laugh: Hey, if that's not bad enough, i called Audrey Ken's wife! :pat::pat::pat::pat::pat::pat::pat::pat:

Russell,

That campsite you mentioned sounds worth investigating! FYI: I chose June over Mammoth because i wanted a less crowded atmosphere than Mammoth, as I've heard that Mammy campsites can pack you in like sardines. But if you got a good feeling about the site you mentioned, let's take a look :)

My email addy is bobkim AT 4runners.org.

Good meeting you again and meeting Stacy for the first time. And also, I will commit myself to a few electroshock therapy sessions to get your name right, Russell!

Bob

Sounds good Bob, I'll try to post pics of the mammoth area tonight right after I send you that picture :-) We loved the June lake campsite. Thanks to you and Lance for organizing everything. I was impressed with how clean everything was, not to mention the view down by the lake.

Russell

Russell,

Ok, that would be great! Also to note: there were several volunteer organizers and information experts for this trip besides myself and Lance: Robinhood, Paddlenbike, as well as people who couldn't make it including Expat and Calrockx. Give them a hand too!:bigclap:

Also, did you happen to cruise around the Oh Ridge loops and write down the best spots in Squirrel, Duck and other loops?

Bob

holy crap! that looks like a ton of fun! i like all the runners!

I was really impressed with the "Oh Ridge!" campground. We were a little spoiled by having one of the better campsites (read: lake view and shade!), but the entire campground was clean and REALLY quiet. I wouldn't hesitate to camp there again; good choice guys!

It was a pleasure meeting all of the new faces and great grubbin gang! Thanks for the great times :)

As for the safari expedition, that's not quite what I had in mind but I must say we did venture to some remote plates where nobody has been in such a long time. Bummer we never made it thru to the end but it was some impressive sights along the way.

I've got some photos up in my photo gallery on my site : http://www.chaosedition.com/photogallery/index.asp

Enjoy!

Pictures!
 

http://joelrasmus.com/gallery/g2data...h/DSC_9852.JPG

http://joelrasmus.com/gallery/v/events/2006/mammoth/

thanks for all the pics can't wait to make a run out there some time..
sincity (Joel) what kind of pop top is that on top of your rig? that is too cool

It's an Autohome Maggiolina Airland. Thanks.

Oh, definitely didn't mean to leave anyone out. Thanks to Steve & Ken & everyone else that helped make this happen. Excellent work :rockon:

Here's the panoramic shots I took. I didn't post the full size files (cause they're huge) but you can get an idea if you click on the thumbnails:

the lineup for bodie:
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/652...upsmwr1.th.jpg

june lake:
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/458...kesmpa8.th.jpg

laurel lake:
http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/296...kesmsi4.th.jpg

the lineup for laurel lakes:
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/978...upsmlw7.th.jpg

I'll see about getting the rest of my pics hosted somewhere :D

Russell

Nice panos Russell!

so jealous!!!!!

you guys inspire all to drive out there....you guys tell good/short stories. i feel like i was practically there!

NICE PICS

my fav pic

So bummed that I couldn't make it out there. I couldn't get off work for the weekdays and a 6hr drive for only one day just isn't fair.

Everyone who went seems to be talking about the next trip already...kinda like the DV trip :roll:

Great pictures.

That fish was good, I had no idea it was your first one ever. I can't believe you shared it. By the way, when Jack sees your pic he gets all excited and says "hi Bob".


Lance, Joel, and Russel sweet pics! I'll have to hit you guys up for some. I also have some to email to folks once things calm down here.

Chris

chris,

yeah, that was a great experience catching that trout. many thanks to steve for his patient instruction and providing me the opportunity to do so! and i'm glad you had a piece of the fish. nothing beats FRESH fish!

hehe, give little jack a high five for me :) he's the best!

bob

Great photos guys. Sounds/looks like you had a great trip. Hopefully see some of ya at Pismo soon.

Cheers
Mark

Ok, finally got my pictures up.
The pictures are best viewed with IE so you can see the thumbnails. High resolution images available upon request.
http://www.robinhood4x4.com/gallery2...ammoth%202006/

I'll tell ya why I didn't recommend twin lakes at mammoth for camping...

My group stayed up there until Tuesday in a condo at Mammoth. On Monday we slept in until noon and then went out and hit twin lakes at mammoth for a little fishing. It was a little crowded on the water so we ended up going up to Lake Mary but didn't get a single bite. So then we went back to twin lakes and people had started to leave because it was threatening to rain. I jumped in the water with my float tube while Miki, Hiromi and Xavier fished from shore.

After about 45 minutes I had made my way around the lake and was getting close to where they were on shore, maybe 100 yards away. All of the sudden I heard somebody whistling and then the dogs started barking. I looked over and didn't see anything. I kept fishing. Then I heard my wife, Miki, yell at me to ask if I can see the bear. Bear?!? I look over and sure enough there's a bear on the water's edge about 50 yards from them. It disappears and then about 20 seconds later I see a bear off to my right about 50 yards from me swimming in the lake. Hmmm...2 bears!

Well, it starts swimming sorta toward me and I slowly paddle away. There's no way I can out paddle a bear. But I wasn't too worried. Damn thing probably scared my fish away. Anyway, it turned out there were 3 bears. The first bear was about 3 feet away from my wife, my friends and my dogs. The dogs were barking at the bear and the bear freaked out from the barking and the whistles and in trying to get away went straight toward the dogs. Miki grabbed the dogs in time and got out of the way.

In talking with some other people from the campgrounds, they said a bear attacked their tent at night and went for the dog food they had in the tent.

http://www.robinhood4x4.com/gallery2...%20(Small).JPG

Anyway, that was the excitement for the day. The weather cooled off dramatically on monday and tuesday. Monday it sprinkled a little here and there. Tuesday when we were driving back home through yosemite it rained pretty hard.

On to the pics.

We had a visitor at the gas station and Miki freaked out at what she saw on my seat.
http://www.robinhood4x4.com/gallery2...%20(Small).JPG

Bodie ghost town
http://www.robinhood4x4.com/gallery2...%20(Small).JPG

The snow that stopped us
http://www.robinhood4x4.com/gallery2...%20(Small).JPG

Walking down to Laural Lake
http://www.robinhood4x4.com/gallery2...%20(Small).JPG

Coming back down
http://www.robinhood4x4.com/gallery2...%20(Small).JPG

Bob caught in the act of vandalizm.
http://www.robinhood4x4.com/gallery2...%20(Small).JPG

http://www.robinhood4x4.com/gallery2...%20(Small).JPG

It was nice meeting everybody.

Oh, and basically, the reason I chose June lake for this event is because it's the best campground that can handle large groups. There are many campgrounds in the area that are much better than June, but they're either too small, don't take reservations, or have some other problem. For example, twin lakes at mammoth (I keep saying mammoth because there is also a twin lakes at bridgeport) has lots of bears, mosquitos and tourists. I'm not sure which of those are worse.

Makes sense. i've never camped at twin lakes mammoth before.. Stacey and I just drove around that area a bit Monday morning before we left and were awed by the scenery. It did look like a lot of people were camped there but the sites seemed to be pretty well segregated. As for the bears & mosquitos, i don't really care to mess with either one of those :chair:

p.s. Nice pics Steve :D I saved off a few of my taco. I'm still trying to find the best way to post my pics.

Russell

Russell, I just added this to my post, but if you want some high resolution images let me know.

Damn you, Steve! :chair:


...and to all those wondering about the significance of the kitty, you'll have to ask Lance's girlfriend...or Lance :laugh:

Tisk Tisk :soap: lol

hey, it could've been worse! :D