super doody
Senior Member
EDIT. Longer and better quality of the slide show is here:
https://youtu.be/_73s6rdDyWE
We just got back from an epic 4 day trip. Some of my fondest memories from my early to late teen years were backpacking in the Sierras with my Boy Scout troop. I got to see quite a bit of wilderness but there were parts I have yet to experience till this past trip.
Night 1. Fraser Flats
We left the bay area around 8:30 pm intentionally to avoid the evening traffic. We got to Fraser Flat a little before mid night. After finding the flattest campsite and popped up for the night. It was nice being late in the season where we didn't have to reserve the spot. I was tired I didn't want to deal with leveling the camper. The new stereo with backup camera I installed made backing up a breeze. Although, my wife still spots me. Good thing she did since there were some low hanging trees. The night time temp was quite cool but we were prepared. I knew the weather foretasted night time temps to be in the 30s.
Day 1 Leavitt Lake
The next day, we skipped breakfast at camp and headed towards Levitt Lake. We topped off on gas right before pine crest and grabbed bagel sandwiches from the pine crest store. Even thought I've done quite a bit of off road driving and on a lot more challenging trails (off camber, rock piles, etc) but it was with my old Tacoma. I have yet to take my tundra and FWC on anything requiring more than 4W Hi.
I've been trying to get up to this lake for 2 years now. The most challenging part of the trail is the first creek which has a short, steep uphill section and shots to the left immediately after the crossing. The correct line was to the right but it had deep ruts. I got out and check out the section and went for it. I had no clearance or traction issues and cleared the section slowly in 4 wheel lo. As my toddler daughter pointed out it quite "wiggley" as she screeched in laughter. After this section, the trail gently climbs up hill but it is quite rugged. Half way through, I stopped and checked on the gear in the camper. When I open the camper door, it was a complete yard sale of gear in the aisle of with the fridge door open. Luckily, the eggs stayed in the fridge and pesto stayed in its container when it came tumbling out. The latch on my dometic is quite finicky. Its not the first time its opened while enroute. For extra insurance on the way out, I tapped the door with duct tape.
The lake is beautiful! The mountains looked like Afghanistan. I was surprise to see a lot of the sites near the lake were blocked off. Even though this is the off season there were quite a bit of vehicle traffic. A group was already there in the closet spot to the lake. We found a flat spot above but there were plenty of spots above the lake with no views. We relaxed and hiked around the lake. I tied a piece of bark at the end of a fishing pole and taught my daughter how to cast.
At around dinner time, the temps dropped pretty quickly. We went to bed around 7:30 pm. I set the furnace at 45 degrees (the lowest setting) but it never kicked on. Lowest temp in the camper was 47.I didn't have a good night of sleep as we were still adjusting to the elevation and neighbor were still up playing some music. I finally fell asleep, then was a woken by some guy yelling "hey, I found a spot!!". I was woken again with what sounded like an air chisel. I thought it was our neighbors but then I realized there were sounds of automatic weapons in the distance, probably at the Mountain Warfare Training Center.
Overall, this lake is awesome! Next time we'll definitely camp away from people. I didn't realize just how popular this spot was. This is the chance you take with more disperse sites. I think the best spot (but the most exposed) is directly north of the lake on the bluffs which still has a nice lake view.
https://youtu.be/_73s6rdDyWE
We just got back from an epic 4 day trip. Some of my fondest memories from my early to late teen years were backpacking in the Sierras with my Boy Scout troop. I got to see quite a bit of wilderness but there were parts I have yet to experience till this past trip.
Night 1. Fraser Flats
We left the bay area around 8:30 pm intentionally to avoid the evening traffic. We got to Fraser Flat a little before mid night. After finding the flattest campsite and popped up for the night. It was nice being late in the season where we didn't have to reserve the spot. I was tired I didn't want to deal with leveling the camper. The new stereo with backup camera I installed made backing up a breeze. Although, my wife still spots me. Good thing she did since there were some low hanging trees. The night time temp was quite cool but we were prepared. I knew the weather foretasted night time temps to be in the 30s.
Day 1 Leavitt Lake
The next day, we skipped breakfast at camp and headed towards Levitt Lake. We topped off on gas right before pine crest and grabbed bagel sandwiches from the pine crest store. Even thought I've done quite a bit of off road driving and on a lot more challenging trails (off camber, rock piles, etc) but it was with my old Tacoma. I have yet to take my tundra and FWC on anything requiring more than 4W Hi.
I've been trying to get up to this lake for 2 years now. The most challenging part of the trail is the first creek which has a short, steep uphill section and shots to the left immediately after the crossing. The correct line was to the right but it had deep ruts. I got out and check out the section and went for it. I had no clearance or traction issues and cleared the section slowly in 4 wheel lo. As my toddler daughter pointed out it quite "wiggley" as she screeched in laughter. After this section, the trail gently climbs up hill but it is quite rugged. Half way through, I stopped and checked on the gear in the camper. When I open the camper door, it was a complete yard sale of gear in the aisle of with the fridge door open. Luckily, the eggs stayed in the fridge and pesto stayed in its container when it came tumbling out. The latch on my dometic is quite finicky. Its not the first time its opened while enroute. For extra insurance on the way out, I tapped the door with duct tape.
The lake is beautiful! The mountains looked like Afghanistan. I was surprise to see a lot of the sites near the lake were blocked off. Even though this is the off season there were quite a bit of vehicle traffic. A group was already there in the closet spot to the lake. We found a flat spot above but there were plenty of spots above the lake with no views. We relaxed and hiked around the lake. I tied a piece of bark at the end of a fishing pole and taught my daughter how to cast.
At around dinner time, the temps dropped pretty quickly. We went to bed around 7:30 pm. I set the furnace at 45 degrees (the lowest setting) but it never kicked on. Lowest temp in the camper was 47.I didn't have a good night of sleep as we were still adjusting to the elevation and neighbor were still up playing some music. I finally fell asleep, then was a woken by some guy yelling "hey, I found a spot!!". I was woken again with what sounded like an air chisel. I thought it was our neighbors but then I realized there were sounds of automatic weapons in the distance, probably at the Mountain Warfare Training Center.
Overall, this lake is awesome! Next time we'll definitely camp away from people. I didn't realize just how popular this spot was. This is the chance you take with more disperse sites. I think the best spot (but the most exposed) is directly north of the lake on the bluffs which still has a nice lake view.
