By Doug & Tristan

I called and checked in with Randy & Diane on Thursday evening. As it turned out, the trip was just going to be Randy & Diane, and myself and Tristan. Our original plan was to rendezvous in Mojave at 7:00 AM on Friday morning. I just didn’t want to get up that early, and we knew exactly where we were camping, so we told Randy that we were going to get a late start. Randy said he wanted an early start, so they went ahead of us, and we tail dragged a few hours behind. When we arrived at Kennedy Meadows Randy & Diane had already set up at the location we were at last year. Tristan and I set up under “Our two Juniper Trees”. These trees are perfectly spaced apart for our hammock, and provide an excellent shade canopy. We made lunch, and then puttzed around with the dirt bikes, and went exploring a bit.

Here’s some PCT FUN FACTS:

Gold Mountain Trail in Big Bear crosses the PCT.

The PCT crosses Polique Canyon Road and Van Dusen Road in Big Bear.

Cleghorn Ridge crosses the PCT and shares a few hundred yards with the trail.

McIver’s Cabin run crosses the PCT.

I’ve hiked a section on Black Mountain (San Jacinto Mountain) with my family.

I’ve hiked a section in Red’s Meadow/Devil’s Postpile Nat’l Monument (Mammoth Lakes).

I’ve hiked a section in Yosemite, Tuolumne Meadows.

DRUMROLL Please……………and of Course, Kennedy Meadows!!

Last year, we hiked a short section south of our campsite along the Kern River to an old Beaver Dam pond. This year, I hiked a section in the dark under a full moon in the meadow next to our campsite, no flashlight required, just lots of moonlight. Tristan and I went to the store this weekend to get a bag of ice, some ice cream, and I bought a PCT Sticker to put on my camper. I think I’ve earned it.

Back to camp. After exploring on the dirt bikes, a ride down to the bridge and the river and looking for a good swimming hole, and generally goofing around, Tristan migrated to the hammock which seemed to engulf him in laziness. I made dinner, and developed plans for our big dirt bike day on Saturday. After dinner, we joined Randy and Diane at the campfire for a few drinks, and good camaraderie. Unfortunately, mother nature blessed us with an absolutely full moon, so the incredible star gazing and Milky Way that we enjoyed last year was not in the cards. In fact it was so damn bright, that’s why I decided to take a hike in the dark on the PCT thru the meadow just for the fun of it.

Saturday morning greeted us with beautiful weather. I didn’t want to do any extreme dirt biking and run the risk of injury, so I talked Tristan into doing a long dirt road that ventured along a mountain ridge, and deep into the wilderness. The locals recommended Chimney Creek Road which is all gravel, and eventually dirt. Along the route, we rode into the Chimney Creek campground and checked it out. It is a National Forest campground that is really spread out with very few sites. Not your typical high population campground. Hardly anybody was there.

We continued on the dirt road until we found a fork in the road called Chimney Basin Road. The road is SIGN’d as “ROAD CLOSED” but the locals told us to go anyway. According to the sign, the road is washed out “15 miles from this point”. No worries here. This road twists and turns up the mountain until we reached the summit with some amazing views. The best thing about this road was there was absolutely ZERO traffic. We took a break on the summit and then descended into the valley on the other side of the mountain. We came across one lone vehicle on our descent, it was a white pickup truck – National Forest Service Ranger. We waved, he didn’t care, so we kept riding. We found out from the locals that today was the first day of deer hunting season. That’s one reason we took this route at their advice, to stay away from the hunting crowds on top of the mountain by Monache Meadows. I’m sure the Ranger was in this back section of wilderness looking for hunters and checking on licenses. He could have cared less about a couple of guys on dirt bikes.

Our long trek into Chimney Peak Wilderness eventually led us to a stream crossing and Long Valley Campground. Unfortunately, this area has suffered a recent wildfire. The landscape is a balance between blackened tree trunks, some trees that had survived and green vegetation recovering in the landscape. It still did not feel welcoming or like a beautiful place to stay. This “Campground” only has 2 sites. One was very exposed, and the second offered the shade of some big pine trees. Each site had a single steel fire ring and a picnic table. Tristan and I enjoyed a short lunch at the picnic table in the shade and checked our mileage. I’m using ON X OFFROAD Maps, and I have an iPhone mount on my handlebar. Boy, does this help when you’re adventuring in unfamiliar territory. My map told me that we had ventured 19 miles to get to this point. The campground is a dead end, so we prepared to re-trace our path all the way back to the truck. I must say, if this was really your destination, you had no idea where you were going, or you really wanted to get away from everything. If you saw a “Campground” on a map and you ventured out here, I think you would have been highly disappointed because of the fire landscape. Maybe this will be a nice place again in 10-20 years.

The ride back to the truck was uneventful. We logged 38 miles and 3 hours total on our ride. On the way back to the main road, we pulled off on a little dirt spur for lunch. The flies were unbearable, so we decided to skip it, and just eat lunch back at camp. The one surprise I did see was several fresh deer prints! No Deer to be seen, just their footprints in the dirt!

Back at camp we decided to do some target practice before the sun went down. We know from last year where the “acceptable” gun range is in Kennedy Meadows. Just across the meadow, and down the road a bit, there is a dirt road that heads back into the woods. At the end of the road, there is a big turn-around loop, and a huge dirt bank that the locals use as a backstop for target practice. Tristan and I both shot until we had our fill. Before we left, I put my RAM pickup truck in 4-low with rear lockers and proceeded to climb the giant dirt bank. Tristan asked “where are you going dad?” I said, “I’m 4-wheeling”….Well, Tristan told me that this was a dead end because had had explored this area on his dirt bike, and he said that the turn around sucked. I took his word for it and backed down off the bank, but I must say that I was quite impressed with the RAM’s performance for being a stock 4-wheel drive pickup truck. We went back to camp and told Rany and Diane that we went 4-wheeling, so the weekend in Kennedy Meadows was officially in the books!

We finished our evening with a nice dinner, and another evening at the campfire with Randy and Diane. Sunday morning was pack & leave time on a very slow schedule. This campsite is quite beautiful and peaceful, so I was in no big hurry to leave. Tristan made sure to get trapped in the hammock one last time for some lazy time before we left. Once we finished packing, we bid farewell to Randy and Diane and wished them continued luck on the trout fishing adventures.

By Randy & Diane Javonillo

On Friday morning Randy & Diane arrived at Kennedy Meadows ahead of Doug & Tristan.  We drove to scope-out other camping spots, but the location we were at last year had the best shade and nice and flat for our trailers.  Both Randy and Doug had their 4 wheel drive trucks and small trailers.  We set-up camp on Friday, and the local volunteer ranger came through camp and helped direct us to fishing locations and dirt bike trails.

On Saturday, Randy & Diane went out on their hunt for the native “California Golden Trout” which is the primary reason for the creation of the Golden Trout Wilderness.  This species is known to be found in Fish Creek about 1 hour from camp.  When we arrived at the dirt road that went to the creek, Randy walked about ¼ mile to check and see if it was safe for the truck.  After he resolved it was okay to travel, we proceeded down the dirt road into the valley where there was a trail head, and we walked a mile to the creek.  The creek was barely visible, but we could see it through the tall grass in the meadow.  Because the creek is small the golden trout are only a few inches long, but they are very aware of any activity so we had to sneak-up to the creek to catch them before they got spooked.

We were successful in catching 4 fish and have our first pictures for the Heritage Trout Challenge!