Dusy Ershim Trail Photos

[WoodsChick]

I'm in! Do you need a plate or green/red sticker for that?

Plates and green stickers are ok, I don't know if it's ok for red stickers or not.
It's funny, there's a really cool jeep trail up off HWY 4 that is closed to green sticker vehicles, but if your bike is plated you're ok. You'd think a jeep trail would be open to green stickers...

If you don't have plates, you'll need to truck the bikes to the trailhead, and you'll need to have a truck waiting for you at the other end, or make arrangements of some sort. We had Dan and Steve's wives waiting for us with lunch, cold drinks, and trucks:teeth Hmm...maybe Eric and I need a wife of our own:laughing

There's a lot of fun stuff down there, but it's all broken up so that it's almost impossible to connect any of the trails (almost all of which are jeep trails)
without riding illegally if you're not plated. It's a dual-sporter's paradise, though.

Here's a photo of the Dinkey Lakes Wilderness map we used. It's the best one to have if you plan on riding the Dusy. The trail (in between the 2 gray lines) is a 600' wide corridor between the Dinkey Lakes and John Muir Wildernesses.

WoodsChick

 

[greener]

Wow, crazy trail for a bike.
I know from snapping pics of 4 wheelers that the your pics dont do justice to the steepness of those trails. I started trying to take all of my pics with the camera level with the horizon so you can appreciate the steep terrain in the photo. This works especially well when the pic is from the side of the trail and you can see the angle of the hill and the angle of the trees in the shot. Do those GasGas have a longer rake in the forks for those steep downhills?

 

[WoodsChick]

Wow, crazy trail for a bike.
I know from snapping pics of 4 wheelers that the your pics dont do justice to the steepness of those trails. I started trying to take all of my pics with the camera level with the horizon so you can appreciate the steep terrain in the photo. This works especially well when the pic is from the side of the trail and you can see the angle of the hill and the angle of the trees in the shot. Do those GasGas have a longer rake in the forks for those steep downhills?

I hear what you're saying about the angle of the photos. In my mind I know that, but I always forget about it when I'm on the trail snapping photos. Thanks for the tips, though...I'll try to remember in the future:thumbup

The GG's have normal rake front ends, with Ohlins forks (a factory option) on the red one. My suspension is a bit more trials-ish with pretty much a 90 degree steering lock. It works great in super tight stuff and is the King of Switchbacks:thumbup In the photo of the KTM, YZ and GG on the granite slab, it looks like the rake is pretty long on the GG, doesn't it? I don't know why that is, but I noticed it when I first saw it.


WoodsChick

 

[Roadstergal]

Absolutely awesome. :thumbup

I've been running a rear trials tire for years, but it looks like the world is catching on. They are like cheating and will make you feel like an enduro hero in the rocks and roots:thumbup

I was going to ask about that - it looks like most there are running a trials rear and a knobby front. How do trials and knobbies compare, and why rear only? Signed, dirt n00b...

 

[WoodsChick]

Absolutely awesome. :thumbup

I was going to ask about that - it looks like most there are running a trials rear and a knobby front. How do trials and knobbies compare, and why rear only? Signed, dirt n00b...

Rear trials tires tend to push the front end, so it's a bit imperative to have a front tire that'll stick when riding off-road. It takes a bit of a smoother riding style to have an enjoyable experience on a trials tire. If you're the sort that likes squaring everything off and roosting out of every turn, you probably won't like it, as they don't slide as readily in the turns. At least, it's not as easy to get them to slide predictably in a turn like a knobby. But if you want to make it through the nasty stuff without any drama (rocky creek crossings, slick muddy roots, log crossings, hillclimbs with no traction, etc.) then a rear trials tire is for you! Try to catch some EnduroCross footage, and you'll see most of the big bikes running rear trials tires. It's not allowed anymore, of course, since Maxxis, the main sponsor, doesn't make a trials
tire:rolleyes but you get the idea.

Dion asked DirtyBarf once to convince him to get a trials tire.
My long-winded response can be found in that thread...

http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=230562


WoodsChick

 

[ScorpioVI]

That's some hardcore riding! Thanks for sharing.

 

[skarkburmer]

Nice! I want to do the Dusy sometime soon. Anyone want to ride it with me sometime in Sept.?

Im on it like a fat kid on cake!
My september weekends are entirely open so whenever works for you.
6th, 7th would be best for me, then i wouldnt be missed on the Friday or Monday, otherwise if we are going to keep it to 2 days it dosent matter.

Wanna start a new thread about it?

 

[WoodsChick]

Im on it like a fat kid on cake!
My september weekends are entirely open so whenever works for you.
6th, 7th would be best for me, then i wouldnt be missed on the Friday or Monday, otherwise if we are going to keep it to 2 days it dosent matter.

Wanna start a new thread about it?

:rofl Too funny!

Just a word of unsolicited advice, if you don't mind :2cents
The elevation is very high on the trail. 8400' at the lowest and up to over 10000' at one point. Most of it is well over 9000'. As a comparison, Donner Summit is at 7200'. Unless you're used to physical exertion at altitude I would suggest getting there a day or two ahead of time so you can get acclimated before jumping on the Dusy. There's lots of fun stuff to ride from camp on Dinky Lakes Road if you're plated, and it's all at about 8000'. It'll give you time to sort out your jetting, too, as you'll want it nice and crisp for the rock ledges and step-ups.


WoodsChick

 

[luckett]

I'm in! Do you need a plate or green/red sticker for that?

Im on it like a fat kid on cake!
My september weekends are entirely open so whenever works for you.
6th, 7th would be best for me, then i wouldnt be missed on the Friday or Monday, otherwise if we are going to keep it to 2 days it dosent matter.

Wanna start a new thread about it?

6/7 works for me. What about you diablo?

 

[budman]

:wow What a fantastic adventure :thumbup

Great pics and write up! Worthy of the best of barf! :hail

:smoking

 

[kurbycar32]

im thinking ATV that bad boy. is there any camping available? google maps link: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=114827329203942891207.0004438ce09b4bb4f2dd5&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=37.256156,-119.153788&spn=0.012604,0.026886&t=h&z=16

 

[tj-los]

Man, I always wanted to run that trail in my TJ also! nice pics..I may now wanna consider trying that trial with both my TJ and bike. Thanks for those pics:thumbup

 

[WoodsChick]

im thinking ATV that bad boy. is there any camping available? google maps link: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=114827329203942891207.0004438ce09b4bb4f2dd5&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=37.256156,-119.153788&spn=0.012604,0.026886&t=h&z=16

Wow! Zombie Thread!

Yeah, there's camping all along the corridor...as long as you don't need tables, fire rings or toilets. It would be semi-difficult to carry camping gear on this trail, but I'm convinced it is to-able and will do that very thing one of these days. We saw 2 guys on kwads but they did not look like they were having a very good time. I'd much prefer to do it on the much-lighter
2-wheeled machine.

Man, I always wanted to run that trail in my TJ also! nice pics..I may now wanna consider trying that trial with both my TJ and bike. Thanks for those pics:thumbup

It's a blast, for sure! Your TJ would need to be built to the hilt, according to the CA jeepers forums. As it was, we saw a pretty nicely done-up FJ that was stuck on Thompson Hill. His buddies backtracked out to get parts for him, but they ended up breaking down, too, and using the parts they just bought for the guy in the FJ. He'd been there a few days already.


WoodsChick

 

[lemonhead]

bicycling Dusy- Ershim

Hey, Just wondering. I have been riding dirt around the Sierra for a couple of summers now on my camping bicycle and I wanted to do the Dusy. I am curious if there is enough trail between the real technical stuff(which I'd walk the bike), to justify hiking the harder,rockier portions. I am pretty used to riding remote 2 and 3 day-out fire roads and such. I would have asked other cyclists but they always give me a "your crazy" look. --Rob

 

[WoodsChick]

Hey, Just wondering. I have been riding dirt around the Sierra for a couple of summers now on my camping bicycle and I wanted to do the Dusy. I am curious if there is enough trail between the real technical stuff(which I'd walk the bike), to justify hiking the harder,rockier portions. I am pretty used to riding remote 2 and 3 day-out fire roads and such. I would have asked other cyclists but they always give me a "your crazy" look. --Rob

Wow...that's a tough question...:dunno

I know there wouldn't enough trail to make it worth it for me...but that's just me; I prefer a throttle on my bike. There are lots of other trails in the area, and I would imagine the road out to Mono Hot Springs from Kaiser Pass would be really fun on a bike if there were no cars on it. It's pretty remote...I've never seen another car or bike on the road. Bald Mt would be fun if you like climbing. It's not too technical...I did it on my SV650:ride Brewer Lake is a nice mellow one, too. None of them could be considered fire roads, though. Here's a link to some photos of Brewer Lake...

http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=550437

And some more photos of The Dusy...

http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219160

I know I wouldn't want to hike up or down Thompson Hill with a day pack on. I sure as hell wouldn't want to do it with a bicycle on my back:wow



WoodsChick