Spent a real nice weekend in the southern sierra's. Robert (rawdawg) and his friend Joe joined me. This is a good 3 day trip for us So Cal folks, about 6 hours from Orange County.
Location: https://goo.gl/maps/0YVNy
To get there take 395 to 9 Mile Canyon to Sherman Pass (22S05) to Fish Creek (21S03) to 21S36 to Monache Jeep Trail. Stay on Monache and follow signs to "River Campsites", about 15 miles from pavement.
Most of the road looks like this. You can make it with 2WD but there are some sections that would benefit with some extra clearance.
The trail is pretty wide and cut back but it gets tight in some spots
Lots of meadows along the route
Crossing the South Fork of the Kern River, not necessary but fun.
Robert's famous short ribs
River Campsites in the google map link above.