Gulfstream Greg Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 We recently took the Turbo on a trip to the Sierra Nevada Mountains. A place called Utica Reservoir. We stayed our first night at an RV park called the Golden Torch just below Dorrington CA.. I had wanted to stop there and see if it would be a nice place for a toy in. More on that at a later date, now on to Utica. The reservoir is located at around 7000 feet. We have camped there many times but on this trip we found a new spot that blew our doors off. We had planned to park in our usual spot but the creek crossing was too deep to 4x4 thru. So we were off to another area at Elephant Rock lake. A nice spot but not on the lake. On the way as we passed one of the Utica Reservoir public campgrounds I said lets walk down there and see what kind of spots there are. We walked into a camp site that was right on the lake. It was a tight fit between the trees but we made it. I leveled off the toy and we were set. We spent three days there just relaxing! The mosquitoes were not bad but I was sure glad my new door screen was on. It worked really well for a quick put together. I plan to make a new one and better refine it. Weather was perfect. Actually a bit hot the first day, in the upper 70?s. Refrigerator had a bit of trouble cooling down that first day but got down in the 30?s over night and remained there until the drive home. Enjoy the photos below. Greg How close can you get? Nice sunset! View out the back windows. Stuck my polarized sun glasses in front of the digital camera lense for this one. These three Geese would hang out there every day. Even saw a family with two babys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR.D Posted June 14, 2004 Share Posted June 14, 2004 Wow Greg, that place and campsite look absolutely incredible! Where exactly is this place, I've never heard of Utica Res. We're in extreme So Cal and aren't familiar with any of the places you mention. Could a standard Toy like our '90 Dolphin fit into that place or is it 4x4 only? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted June 14, 2004 Author Share Posted June 14, 2004 Wow Greg, that place and campsite look absolutely incredible!? Where exactly is this place, I've never heard of Utica Res.? We're in extreme So Cal and aren't familiar with any of the places you mention.? Could a standard Toy like our '90 Dolphin fit into that place or is it 4x4 only? I think it would be tuff to get a 21 footer in there but maybe not. I actually pulled in forward and then turned around in the spot. It was some maneuvering to get all the way around. Not to mention soft ground. See picture below of the trees that have to be driven through. My mirrors are too wide to fit through and I had to drive through on angles right then a left in order to get the mirrors to clear the trees. Also after getting in there I had to dig two holes for the front wheels and put the rear on large rocks to level the rig. I found at 7000 plus feet even with 4 wheel drive plus low I did not have enough power to back up onto the 12 inch high rocks (I did not build ramps) and had to pull forward to get up onto them. Utica reservoir is located on Highway 4 just west of Bear Valley and Lake Alpine, CA Those trees in the front are closer together than my mirrors are wide. I pulled in front end to the left side and then backed around the tree you see in front of the toy. It would be very difficult to back through those trees. This is only a view of some of the trees, there are some big rocks also that might give the lower rigs a problem. You would not want to get stuck in there up against a tree. Not having the lower gears might be a challenge at high altitude. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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