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June MORG - Hell Hole 6/12-13

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BHorner
BHorner

Fantastic trip. Special thanks to Don and several others for the patience and expert spotting throughout this majestic trail. We had a positive and safe experience because of the continual group effor

Elherbinator
Elherbinator

Great trip guys. I was a little nervous about bringing so many trucks, but it worked out fine. We actually ended up being the only ones on the trail on Saturday. That was a relief because passing can

RobertDingli
RobertDingli

Great write up Eric!   I have just added 115 photos and videos to the album.   Here are some teasers.            

Posted Images

Elherbinator Proficient

Elherbinator

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Did anyone else have their campsite canceled? We may need a large dispersed site.

I haven’t gotten an email yet, but i think our backup will be to just camp down at the bottom of Hell Hole. There is dispersed camping around French Meadows, but that may be difficult to find enough space for all of us. The bottom of Hell Hole has unlimited room since the water is low.

 

 

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RobertDingli Community Regular

RobertDingli

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Nick and I are considering dispersed camping at the bottom of the trail along the lake shore. This is the half way point for the in-and-out trail. At worst, we can always return as originally planned and find camping elsewhere.

 

A gentle reminder for those who have not done this trail before - this is a very tough but rewarding trail.

 

I would suggest that there are sections that are at least as tough as the worst you would see on the Rubicon. I would not recommend anything other than a reasonably prepared trail truck. I have attempted this in my L322 two (??) years ago and only got through the easy first fraction of the trail before I had to park and walk the rest of the way. I still sustained lots of wheel and tyre damage. There are very few places to pass, park or even turn around.

 

For the built up trucks, there is still a good chance of scratches or panel damage. There is one very tight spot that challenges the big butts of D2s and all three D2s, including mine, sustained some damage last year.

 

There is a small section of water fording that may be shallow or deep. Last year I didn’t have a snorkel and was lucky the water level didn’t go any deeper than mid headlight (~3’). I am better prepared this year with a snorkel and sealed intake system.

 

I don’t want to scare anyone off. This trail is one of my favourites. Just remember that you can always jump in another vehicle or walk the beautiful trail if it gets a bit tough.

 

ba6f1d2a8eaf69b58634fd6c9be08d12.jpg

 

 

ca21a889f0a0debb8990f5206b86f5d6.jpg

 

92b6ce77a387faca6fa001effd731668.jpg

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Tyler Mattson Collaborator

Tyler Mattson

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Slowly getting prepped to make this run, we've never been on this trail so I won't lie iv got all sorts of new trail butterflies but I'm definitely excited. Hopefully I don't become to trail problem that needs to be strapped out but ill bring extra beer for the gentleman who does pull me out should it go sour.
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Jethro Rising Star

Jethro

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Slowly getting prepped to make this run, we've never been on this trail so I won't lie iv got all sorts of new trail butterflies but I'm definitely excited. Hopefully I don't become to trail problem that needs to be strapped out but ill bring extra beer for the gentleman who does pull me out should it go sour.

You walked your rig through the con and Moab...don't see any issues.

 

I'm stoked to get out and camp and test the new rig.

 

 

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BHorner Newbie

BHorner

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I will be camping Friday at site #28 French Meadow campground if someone wants to share my spot.

That frees up a spot on my site (031) but we only have it for Saturday night. Let me know if anyone wants to share with my son (17y) and I. We have a small rig (88â€) and 2 small tents so there should be plenty of space.

 

Do we have a meeting spot? I plan on arriving around 9am. Let me know if convoys intend on leaving prior to that.

 

Can’t wait!

 

 

Brian

(┛ಠ_ಠ)┛彡┻â”â”»

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Andrew Wood Contributor

Andrew Wood

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I'm

That frees up a spot on my site (031) but we only have it for Saturday night. Let me know if anyone wants to share with my son (17y) and I. We have a small rig (88â€) and 2 small tents so there should be plenty of space.

Do we have a meeting spot? I plan on arriving around 9am. Let me know if convoys intend on leaving prior to that.

Can’t wait!

Brian

(┛ಠ_ಠ)┛彡┻â”â”»

That frees up a spot on my site (031) but we only have it for Saturday night. Let me know if anyone wants to share with my son (17y) and I. We have a small rig (88â€) and 2 small tents so there should be plenty of space.

Do we have a meeting spot? I plan on arriving around 9am. Let me know if convoys intend on leaving prior to that.

Can’t wait!

Brian

(┛ಠ_ಠ)┛彡┻â”â”»

I'm still sharing your spot on Saturday, I only have my spot for Friday night.

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StephenJulian Contributor

StephenJulian

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Sorry, I am late to the game. Looks like all of the reservble campsites are all booked up. I was thinking about coming up and trying to grab a first come first serve spot nearby, but I'm no stranger to dispersed camping, either.

 

but I'm not running the Hell Hole trail...

 

Is anyone wheeling other easier, less vehicle destroying trails nearby? 

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Jethro Rising Star

Jethro

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Sorry, I am late to the game. Looks like all of the reservble campsites are all booked up. I was thinking about coming up and trying to grab a first come first serve spot nearby, but I'm no stranger to dispersed camping, either.

 

but I'm not running the Hell Hole trail...

 

Is anyone wheeling other easier, less vehicle destroying trails nearby?

So there are limits for 6 adults if they are sticklers and 2 cars.

 

My guess is you can park on the road and find a place for your tent. I think we have four adults currently…so likely room.

 

This trail is beyond your car currently but I know there is room in others and you can walk along side faster than we’ll drive it!

 

 

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Elherbinator Proficient

Elherbinator

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Sorry, I am late to the game. Looks like all of the reservble campsites are all booked up. I was thinking about coming up and trying to grab a first come first serve spot nearby, but I'm no stranger to dispersed camping, either.

 

but I'm not running the Hell Hole trail...

 

Is anyone wheeling other easier, less vehicle destroying trails nearby?

Andrew and I ran it in D2’s with 33’s and maybe a couple inches of lift a few years ago. There’s only one tough spot that will give you trouble and may catch a panel. You would probably have to winch up that part, but the rest is doable and doesn’t have much risk of body damage. If you’re wanting to rock crawl with your D2 then this is a fun and short trail to try.

 

Otherwise there are fire roads around the general area. I haven’t done any of them, but if you have access to a decent map you could definitely go explore them. French Meadows Lake is also cool to hang out at.

 

 

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Elherbinator Proficient

Elherbinator

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So far I expect these people to come to drive the trail:

1. Me

2. Andrew

3. Gustav

4. Robert

5. Greg

6. Don

7. Tyler

8. Edward

9. Brian

10. Nick

 

Let me know if I’m missing anyone or if someone can’t make it please

 

 

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Elherbinator Proficient

Elherbinator

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Meet up Plan:

Everybody get to the meet up spot at 10 on Saturday morning. We leave soon after that. If you’re late, we don’t wait. Catch us on the trail, you can’t miss us. Nice and simple. Radio frequency will be 146.460

 

https://maps.apple.com/?address=Hell%20Hole%20Rd,%20Olympic%20Valley,%20CA%20%2096146,%20United%20States&auid=17956643105638591304&ll=39.071443,-120.420231&lsp=9902&q=Hell%20Hole%20Staging%20Area&_ext=ChkKBQgEEOIBCgQIBRADCgQIBhB+CgQIChAAEiQpYuKZnQeJQ0AxVZgqBPgaXsA5rqbUfEKJQ0BBq2fVGdIaXsA%3D&t=h

Here is a link for the meet up spot from my Apple Maps.

 

0279d1c1c66225cb83651f128b68444b.jpg

 

 

40cc3de1e1c0a71bf784ac497ddb50d3.jpg

And here is a screen shot of the meep up spot. You can get here from the French Meadows side or the Hell Hole side.

65227bc641964c5d867099779445f2f4.jpg

fa710bc2cec5236f8d9fc22bf7292c13.jpg

And the FunTreks directions for reference

 

 

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RobertDingli Community Regular

RobertDingli

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I plan to leave South Bay around 6 am for the 4+ hour trip to the staging area. If you guys have started by then, I will catch you on the trail.

 

At this time, I’m planning on camping at the bottom of the trail along the lake (effectively half way for this in and out trail) with the option of returning with the group if the campsite are not suitable or occupied.

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RobertDingli Community Regular

RobertDingli

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Here’s a link to Gaia route for this trail recorded last year. You can tell from a couple of places where I walked back and forth with my phone in my pocket where we stopped for tough challenges.

 

https://www.gaiagps.com/public/6uvYXNsezufqgoeT5NHvLylP

 

 

And the GPX file

 

Hellhole_resevoir.gpx

 

And for reference it took us seven hours or so to do the trail last year and over eight the year before. This includes spending some good time down at the lake.

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Elherbinator Proficient

Elherbinator

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So looks like daughter and I will come up Friday and leave Sunday AM. Does anyone have a camp spot we can share?

 

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Camping will be a little tricky. We had 4 spots between our group, but one was canceled on us due to hazardous trees. So we have 3 that we will have to make work. How it works will be largely dependent on the camp host. So it’ll just have to be improvised once we are up there. We are allowed 6 people per site, so that shouldn’t be an issue. We may not be able to park all the vehicles there, but it’ll be an ask for forgiveness rather than permission situation. There are camp sites available for Friday

 

 

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