Thursday–Sunday, 13–6 Sep 2018
Marc writes
Thursday
I left the house about 7 AM Thursday morning to be at the Cozy Cup around 8:15 to kick off the annual Kings Canyon and/or Sequoia Park campout. Tom and Russ were already at the restaurant when I got there about 8:12. Tom was camping. Russ joined us for breakfast and part of the ride. Carl begged off the night before.
This is the 20th Kings Canyon and/or Sequoia Campout since I resurrected the ride back in 1997. But that was 21 years ago, you say counting on your fingers. Yup. For some reason there was no ride in 2012. I don’t remember why. Fires? I am counting the 1998 ride where Rob broke down on the way there and we spent a night in Santa Nella instead of camping as one of the 20. Hey, we tried!
After breakfast we headed down SR 25 to Paicines where we picked up Panoche Rd. The condition of Panoche Rd hasn’t improved in the last year. I switched my suspension setting to soft. The ride was still rough. It got better as we turned onto Little Panoche Rd. We stopped an the Little Panoche Reservoir a few miles before I5. That’s were Tom and I said good bye to Russ. He was going to take I5 to SR 152 and head back toward Gilroy. Tom and I kept going east, picking up SR 180 at Mendota. We stopped for fuel at Squaw Valley then continued into the park and down the 30 mile ride into the Canyon. No traffic. Sometimes you get lucky.
We got to the Sentinel campground about 1:30. It was about 1/3 full. There were plenty of good sites available. We grabbed a site with room for at least 6 tents on flat ground. The back of the site was situated along a meadow. Neighboring sites were far enough away to make for quiet evenings. We set up camp and then went to the store for beer and firewood.
Beer, music, dinner, dark, time to go to bed. OK, it was actually a bit early to go to bed but it was starting to get a little cool and even though we had firewood we didn’t start a fire. The sleeping bag was warm. I read a bit in my tent before going to sleep.
Grey Sky?
Tom and Russ
Killer Traffic
Bern’s Boot?
Large Site
Empty Campground
View from Road
Double Nut Brown
Double boiler cooking
Brown rice/Quinoa, Tikka Masala, and Salmon
Friday
I was forced out of my sleeping bag by hydraulic pressure about 7 AM Friday morning. As long as I was up I made some coffee and fixed myself breakfast. Tom joined me as I was toasting a bagel. We were in no hurry to do anything and hung around the camp until the sun came over the canyon walls and started warming things.
I’d planned a short 130 mile or so ride for the day. 60 miles of that was climbing out of the canyon and returning in the afternoon. We left about 9:30 in the morning. The traffic gods were still with us. There was little to no traffic leaving the canyon and what traffic existed was soon passed. We headed down 180 a few miles from the park entrance and turned onto SR 245. After several miles of 245 twisties we turned onto Hogback Dr which parallels 245 but may be more twisty. The route from there was Whitaker Forest Road, Eshom Valley Dr which loops up and over to the other end of Whitaker Forest. We went down Whitaker Forest to SR 245 near Badger. North on 245 got us to Dunlap Rd and into Dunlap.
It was about 12:30 as we hit Dunlap hoping to find a restaurant for lunch. I rode by a blank sign. Tom turned his head to read the other side of the sign to find out I’d just passed what was probably the only restaurant in town. It was just what we were looking for. Lunch was good.
After lunch we continued on Dunlap rd to SR 180 and back to camp. Same traffic going back into the canyon as coming out. The mid-70 temps dropped into the upper 60s for a mile or three near Grants Grove. We stopped at the store at the bottom of the canyon (about .4 mile from our campsite) to replenish our ice supply.
Beer, music, talk, dinner, more beer, a fire, time flies. It’s amazing how long one can spend staring into a camp fire. Tom headed off to his tent around 9:30. I read by the fire until it was nothing but a soft bed of coals. I was in my sleeping bag before 11.
Morning in the canyon
Climbing
Nice views
One lane roads
Rest Stop
Saturday
The sun and some obnoxious birds woke me up sometime after 6. I rolled over and went back to sleep for about another hour. We had nothing planned for the day save lunch at Hume Lake. I made coffee, breakfast, more coffee, and enjoyed a morning with nothing to do.
After breakfast Tom and I walked around a portion of the large campground looking for the perfect campsites. Our site, #53, was pretty darn good, but sites #19 and #20 might be better as they are adjacent to the south fork of the Kings River. Maybe next year.
About 11:30 we geared up and headed to Hume Lake for lunch. It’s about 30 miles from the campground. Still no traffic. Still moderate temperatures. Still an OK Humemungous burger and milkshake. After lunch we took the southern route out of Hume lake, winding up on the Generals Highway about 3 miles east of 180 and the road back into the canyon.
You are probably tired of hearing me mention the lack of traffic, no slow trucks, and very moderate temperatures so I won’t mention them again.
Back in camp Tom decided to take the nap he’d skipped on Friday. I read some more. The afternoon/evening was similar to Friday, save we skipped the campfire. It was warm without one. The coolness we’d felt Thursday evening was not present.
Campkeeping
Another canyon morning
Side-by-side
Camp side meadow
City across the road
Kings River
River rocks
Sunday
We broke camp and were ready to ride by 8:20 AM. Breakfast was planned for the restaurant at Grants Grove at the the top of the hill. Breakfast was bnot terrible, but it was the most disappointing aspect of the trip. The menu is quite limited, so we settled on the buffet. The buffet was out of almost everything. I had the last of the eggs, the last slice of bacon, the last sausage, and wound up with gravy over a slice of french toast – there were no more biscuits. I think it took the staff at least 15 minutes to replenish items. If we do the same ride next year I’m thinking that restaurant in Dunlop might be a better choice.
After breakfast we headed west on 180, stopping for fuel in Squaw Valley again. Instead of taking Little Panoche Rd and Panoche Rd we got on SR 33 in Mendota and road toward Los Banos. We stopped at a park along the road in Dos Palos for a rest. We picked up SR 152 in Los Banos and took it into Gilroy where we stopped again for a short break. I took 85 to 280 and was home before 3 PM. That gave me plenty of time to unload the bike.
Who’s going to join us next year? Honestly, was the beemer bash any better?
Still no traffic
Heading home