YFO 2017 Yosemite Group Ride Planning Thread

[El Toro Joe]

...yeah, I'm looking at 6k(+) miles in 14 days...not a whole lot of time to smell the roses.

 

[hppants]

So heading home will be via Utah/Colorado. How far north do ya'll think I have to go in order to go East across the Sierra? If hwy 120 will be closed, would 108 be open? Hwy 4? Hwy 88? Just wondering what your opinion is?

 

[Tyler]

So heading home will be via Utah/Colorado. How far north do ya'll think I have to go in order to go East across the Sierra? If hwy 120 will be closed, would 108 be open? Hwy 4? Hwy 88? Just wondering what your opinion is?

Most likely 88 will be your best bet... it's actually a nice road if there's not a lot of traffic and it leads to Lake Tahoe which is one my favorite places... not quite as spectacular as 108 or 4 but still pretty... might also check Monitor Pass/89... plan on 88 but if by some chance one of the others is open, divert!

 

[SacramentoMike]

E - W roads aren't all that plentiful out here since you have to go with the few mountain passes that all the immigration routes have been based on and eventually paved. And the extra few days between when you arrive here and when you start back home probably won't make much difference in whether the high passes will be open this year. So unless you go back by the same southern route you came in on, you'll most likely be traveling north on the west side of the Sierras most of the way to Lake Tahoe (via Hwy 49, another great m/c road). With that being the case, I'm recommending you go all the way to the lake and follow US 50 all the way around it--very pretty road with great views of beautiful Lake Tahoe. You can take 50 all the way to Ocean City, Maryland, if so inclined, but it also offers some pretty interesting options before you get that far. Like Southern Utah! And if you haven't seen THAT . . .

 

[Redfish Hunter]

You can take 50 all the way to Ocean City, Maryland, if so inclined, but it also offers some pretty interesting options before you get that far. Like Southern Utah! And if you haven't seen THAT . . .

He has seen it.







But I bet he'd go back.

 

[Tyler]

Dude... you look like you're about to push him off... :lol:

 

[Bugnatr]

Good one Tyler...no doubt he is thinking about it.

 

[hppants]

One never knows exactly what Andrew is thinking. Me thinks he likes it that way.

I definitely would (and will eventually) go back. I left some things to do over there and shall need to remedy it. Just not too sure I will do it on this trip.

 

[NTXFJR]

Can anyone offer some good Cali routing advise please?
The inbound ride Tony and I are planning will land us in El Centro early Tuesday 5/30. After a brief rest, he'll be heading for LA then Mariposa while I plan to head north in some fashion. The way I see it at present is to get a little north to get out of the desert heat, then relax a bit and hopefully spend the next couple of days taking in some sights along the way. Any suggestions are much appreciated.

15 days

Edit: Planning to head back down as much of the PCH as possible to Santa Monica Sunday after Yosemite to get staged for the trip east.

 

[Tyler]

Can anyone offer some good Cali routing advise please?The inbound ride Tony and I are planning will land us in El Centro early Tuesday 5/30. After a brief rest, he'll be heading for LA then Mariposa while I plan to head north in some fashion. The way I see it at present is to get a little north to get out of the desert heat, then relax a bit and hopefully spend the next couple of days taking in some sights along the way. Any suggestions are much appreciated.

15 days

Maybe something like this?

https://goo.gl/maps/SZefjHu8qAF2

 

[NTXFJR]

Ok, I spent tome time playing around with the routes and thanks again to Tyler and Tom for the suggestions. I liked all of the things put out there, especially the mountains, any excuse to avoid the heat afaic. I ended up trimming some here, adding a some there, and this is what I'm looking at for now. Is a slight detour through Angeles National Forest on some of highway 2 worth it? I'm looking at dividing this up into 2.5 days, arriving at Mariposa Thursday afternoon-ish. Any suggestions for changes are appreciated.

https://goo.gl/maps/dxp31Uh2AMq.

 

[Tyler]

Is a slight detour through Angeles National Forest on some of highway 2 worth it?

Absofrickinglutely!

EDIT: Consider taking 120 east and stay at Benton Hot Springs... it's one of my personal favorite places and the section of 120 out there is really fun... one of Bugnatr's favorites: bentonhotsprings.org

The only catch is there is no restaurant so you'll need to bring dinner supplies but they do provide a home cooked breakfast in the morning for a small fee... it's worth it!

If you don't detour out that way, stay at the Virginia Creek Settlement on 395 just outside of Bridgeport... the owners, Jimmy & Brynn are really good peeps... I do an annual ride out that way and this is where we always stay... restaurant onsite: virginiacreeksettlement.com

 

[FrankD]

As of 7:44 PM PDT, CA-120 is still closed in both directions. Please take a look California's DOT website before finalizing your plans --> https://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/

 

[CAJW]

Monitor pass (Hwy 89) is open as of April 29th. If you like white walls as scenery, this is your road! Riders using Kit Carson Pass (Hwy 88) can connect with Monitor via Markleeville and end up on US 395. Multiple climate zones traversed on Monitor from alpine to above tree line, neat ride for sure.

https://carsonnow.org/story/05/09/2017/monitor-pass-opens-nearly-20-feet-snow-still-along-roadway

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monitor_Pass

 

[puppychow]

NTXFJR! You MUST listen to CAJW and include Monitor pass in your route! You MUST!

 

[CAJW]

NTXFJR! You MUST listen to CAJW , You MUST!

Now, if'n I can just get Mrs. CAJW to do this!

 

[NTXFJR]

Hmm, I just might have to look into this. Thanks!

 

[K_Flyer]

We were over Carson Pass a couple of times last week. The roadway over the Spur is in very bad shape and we did not see any repair work underway. There were also a lot of potholes all along the higher part of 88.

+1 on Monitor Pass. Hopefully Ebbetts and Sonora will be open by the time you get here.

 

[puppychow]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="CAJW" data-cid="1365134" data-time="1494685309"><p>

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="puppychow" data-cid="1365133" data-time="1494685214"><p><br />

NTXFJR! You MUST listen to CAJW , You MUST! </p></blockquote>

Now, if'n I can just get Mrs. CAJW to do this!</p></blockquote>

I am sure she listens John. Then she does whatever she wanted to do anyway.

 

[SacramentoMike]

We were over Carson Pass a couple of times last week. The roadway over the Spur is in very bad shape and we did not see any repair work underway. There were also a lot of potholes all along the higher part of 88.
+1 on Monitor Pass. Hopefully Ebbetts and Sonora will be open by the time you get here.

If you click on the first link in CAJW's post above, you'll find another link that shows you this video: (and you'll stop worrying about Tioga Pass/California Route 120 being open in less than three weeks. Spoiler alert: don't count on it.)