High Sierra BaseCamp - June 27-30

[OTG Ben]

>>> You must have an RSVP/Ticket to attend this event <<<
Tix available on the OTG events/tours page

Dates: June 27-30
OTG Crew will be arriving Wednesday evening to secure our campsites (look for the big, blue Ram w/ camper!).
We may end up setting up specific areas for families with kids (quiet area pass 10pm), and a separate area for folks who would like to stay up later. You're welcome to arrive as early as you please on Thursday or even before. The exact location for camp will not be shared until the week of the vent

Camp Location: We'll be camping in the Hope Valley area near Kirkwood and Markleeville. We recommend using Google Maps to direct you to Blue Lakes Road (at Hwy 88) and then using the GPX file to find your way to camp from there (more on the campsite location below). We will be dispersed camping, so there are no facilities on site. You must bring your own food, water, and pack out all of your trash. Since we are camping near a lake in a relatively well used area, all solid human waste must be packed out.

Campsite Location: CAMP B >> from blue lakes road, look for a dirt road to n your right once you’re approximately parallel with the camp location. Go down the dirt road about 150 yards and then stay right thru the trees and we’ll be there!!

--> Camp will be announced Wednesday night. Be sure to reference the camp location (eg Camp B) in the gpx file as there will be multiple campsite pins in the file. You will need a mapping application like OnX Off Road or Gaia GPS to view the GPX. It is possible to upload GPX files into Google My Maps As weell.

GPX File: High Sierra BaseCamp Download Link

Look for the big blue Ram when you arrive at camp

Campfires
Currently there are no fire restrictions in effect. If you can, please bring firewood. Please note, anyone who operates any type of stove with a flame (propane, butane, etc), charcoal grill, or campfire must have a California Fire Permit. They only take a few minutes to get and you can get one online from Cal Fire for free HERE.


The Basics/ Things to Know

• Bring your best self and be respectful to other campers. We're all here to have fun!
• Tread lightly and leave no trace. Let's leave it better than we found it!
• Driving under the influence will not be tolerated.
• If you plan on target shooting, please stow all guns in a safe and secure (locked) location out of view from others while at camp. If you would like to target shoot, please set up at least 1000 yards from camp, following National Forest guidelines.

Iron Chef Overland Edition - Chili Cookoff
Contest will take place Saturday evening (judging begins at 7pm)
Chili cookoff signup form


Activities

• Bring outdoor games if you have them --> cornhole, frisbee golf, etc
• RC Trucks-- bring them if you have them!
• Swimming (there is a creek nearby that has some nice swimming holes)
• Fishing - Blue Lakes is stocked with trout and the West Fork of the Carson is popular for fly fishing
• Hiking - lots of trails to explore (check the GPX file for more info)
• Mountain Biking / Gravel Grinding -- follow the Indians Road to the gate and keep going!
• Dirt biking (there are some roads and trails in the vicinity) - Check Gaia or OnX in the Hope Valley Area

Water Recreation & Fishing
There are numerous lakes a short 5-10 minute drive from camp (depends on which camp we end up at. Many of those are great for fishing as well as hiking. Blue lakes provides the best swimming opportunities, but other lakes (some like Sunset require a stock 4x4 to reach) like Tamarack and Sunset also provide less crowded access to smaller lakes.

Pets
You're welcome to bring your dogs as long as they get along with other dogs and people. If your pet behaves in an aggressive manner, we will ask you to tie them up safely away from the main camp.

Campfires/Firewood
Campfires are currently permitted in the National Forest. If this situation changes, we'll update this section. Bring firewood if you can and be sure to get your campfire permit from Cal Fire.


Hiking Trails
- Pacific Crest Trail
-Grouse Lake Trail
- Camp Irene Trail
- Thornburg Canyon

MTB Trails
There are numerous options to explore dirt roads, jeep trails, and singletrack in the area. We recommend researching what's in the vicinity of Kirkwood and Hope Valley.
Bring outdoor games if you have them --> cornhole, frisbee golf, etc

• RC Trucks-- bring them if you have them!
• Swimming (there is a creek nearby that has some nice swimming holes)
• Hiking -- lots of trails to explore (check the GPX file for more info)
• Mountain Biking / Gravel Grinding -- follow the Indians Road to the gate and keep going!
• Target Shooting at end of Gravelly airstrip against the hill-- you're welcome to go target shooting.
  We ask that you keep all firearms locked and stowed away in a private location when at camp.

4x4 / Off Road Trails
We'll likely have two different options for trail runs on Friday and Saturday. There is a wide variety of terrain in the area ranging from soft roading to moderately technical. Some of the options in the area include:

- Burnside Lake (1/10, softroading adventure appropriate for nearly all vehicle types)
-Hawkins Peak-- extension of Burnside lake (3/10, stock 4x4, lifted AWDs, and experienced off road drivers in Sprinter 4x4s)
- Forestdale Divide (rating 4/10, stock 4x4)
- Deer Valley (5-6/10, high clearance 4x4 w/ rock sliders)
- Strawberry Pass (5/10, high clearance 4x4 w/ rock sliders)
- Hungalelti Ridge aka Pardoe's Trail (5/10, high clearance 4x4 w/ rock sliders)

 

[scarth_y-405]

Thanks Ben for putting this together. Reminder we are in black bear country (they look brown). Tahoe bears are scavengers and will break into unattended vehicles if they think there is food. Don't leave out any food scraps, deodorant, shampoo, etc. unattended. I personally put Pine-Sol on my coolers and door handles (not sure if it works but bears supposedly dont like the smell). And Bear Spray & Whistle/bells are recommended if hiking or biking in small groups. Remember a fed bear is a dead bear.

About Tahoe Bears — Keep Tahoe Bears Wild

www.tahoebears.org

"If it is brown lay down, if it is black fight back, if it is white say good night"​

 

[OTG Ben]

@scarth_y-405

We are not camping in in the Tahoe Basin, which has a well deserved reputation for having dozens (maybe hundreds) of nuisance bears. In fact, any sizable tract of vacation homes is several miles from where we'll be set up, so I'm not anticipating the sort of brazen bear shenanigans that happen in the Basin. Definitely all food and food scraps should be stowed away. The only bears I've come across in the woods are scared bears-- which is a good thing. Tahoe is different, but we'll be a ways away from the summer hordes.

 

[scarth_y-405]

Thanks Ben. I don’t know where the Tahoe bears end and the scaredy bears begin . Just a reminder to be prudent. See you there. Brian and Ko.

 

[Ragin_Ronin]

I'm not terribly worried about the bears but I'm sure they'd be great judges for the chili competition if you all need some more help.

I am curious if that "swimming hole" has trout in it though. I might bring my rod.

 

[Jkbeachum]

I'm not terribly worried about the bears but I'm sure they'd be great judges for the chili competition if you all need some more help.

I am curious if that "swimming hole" has trout in it though. I might bring my rod.

There are several lakes in this area that have rainbow, brown, Brooke and cutthroat trout. Lower and upper blue have always been pretty productive

 

[DANNER]

Looking forward to this!

Will be bringing my family (10 year old girl and 12 year old boy). Hoping there will be other kids they can hang out with. Not sure about bringing bikes though. I'd love to explore the trails, but the hitch rack really screws up the departure angle.

 

[luxylux]

We'll be there with kids! (nearly 12 year old boy, 9 year old girl, 7 year old girl). Looking forward to it!

 

[OTG Ben]

GPX file has been posted. Please make sure you can load it up into your favorite mapping app ASAP. The campsite location will be posted in the original post on Weds night (be sure to read that post). All sites are accessible to various types of vehicles (trailers, sprinters, trucks, AWD, etc).

 

[Kris]

Looking forward to it!

 

[schultzp-8939]

Hi Ben --- once you establish camp, maybe you can give us an idea as to the (time-wise) shortest way to reach that campsite.

 

[schultzp-8939]

I hope to be there with Kiefer(14), Hanna(12) and Penny the dog ----- if I can get the truck back from the shop. I've been fighting with mysterious braking issues for the last 4 weeks. I should know by the end of the day today. Unfortunately I sold Goldie (my other truck) about three weeks ago, so I don't happen to have a "spare" truck at the moment ....

 

[OTG Ben]

Hi Ben --- once you establish camp, maybe you can give us an idea as to the (time-wise) shortest way to reach that campsite.

Hopefully you get those pesky brake issues resolved! I take the 37 to 80, so Hwy 50 is fastest for me. Not sure what it is coming from the Penninsula but you can take the 50 and cut over at Meyers and begin working your way to Blue Lakes Road, or perhaps just taking Hwy 88 is faster for you. I'd check to see what google says is the fastest way to Hope Valley Campground, as we'll be in that general vicinity.

 

[Steve H]

Looking forward to this trip. Ben, thanks for organizing!

For all, I'll be bringing an outdoor movie projector, portable screen and have Shrek and few other PG family friendly items for viewing downloaded on the projector. BYOP: Bring your own popcorn!

 

[joefroms-7951]

Unfortunately I won't be able to make it to the High Sierra Base Camp gathering. We were looking forward to it but we are both sick at the moment. My wife is on the tail end of a week-long illness and it seems like I am on the front end of the same bug.

Hope you all have fun in the high country. I haven't been up in that area in about 15 years when we explored it on dual sport motorcycles.

--Joe

 

[OTG Ben]

No fire restrictions right now. If you can, please bring firewood. I've got my chainsaw, so we'll likely do a bit of gathering downed trees/wood as well.

 

[Steve H]

Hi All,
Will see you up at Camp B on Friday afternoon Can't wait!

 

[Hbsurfdad]

Home safe, 8:30 drive time. Going thru Markleeville we saw a pretty fat bear just stroll across the road in front of us. Looked like it was coming from the campground on the south end of town next to the river.

Ben and everyone, thanks again for a great time, hope to see you all again soon.

 

[Chief Brody]

Fun times! Great meeting everybody. If anyone's interested, I posted a few photos mostly from our explorations outside of camp on the ol' IG. I tagged OTG and used the hashtag #otghighsierrabasecamp if ya want to track them down. Would love to see others' photos as well! Can't wait for the next one! -Brian

 

[OTG Ben]

FYI-- I've created a new thread in the trip reports for folks who'd like to share photos:

OTG's High Sierra BaseCamp (June 2024)

Thanks again to everyone who made it out to the High Sierra event this past week. It's always great to see familiar faces and old friends, and met lots of new folks as well. The vibe was fantastic, with everyone bringing their best self and enjoying our time in the mountains! Highlights for...

community.overlandtrailguides.com