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Old 07-13-2021, 12:27 PM   #1
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My Experience on PCOR - Lake Tahoe to Central Oregon

After reading your trip reports and seeing a lot of videos online, I wanted to give something back.

While I was planning my first overlanding tour I couldn’t find a low for the Northern California part of the Pacific Crest Overlanding Route (PCOR). So I decided to give some guidance to those, that are planning this part of the PCOR.

Some basics:
Rig:
- Ford E-350 Extended, 5.4l
- Weldtec’s Grocery Getter 6” lift kit (will share my experience of putting it in and driving it later)
- 35” Falken Wildpeak AT3W
- Rear Locker hasn’t arrived in time, means transmission and diff were stock for this trip
- 12K Smittybilt XRC on a winch cradle
- Full spare + tools in the van
- 2 Jerry Cans, shovel, traction pads on the roof

Maps:
- Fully electronic, no paper
- Hema Maps for PCOR (to be found online easily) on my phone

Divers:
- Garmin inReach Mini (really cool as you can send 3 preset messages unlimited to any email address at any time)
-

Now, after the general obligations are done, let’s get to the interesting part.

We followed the whole Hema route starting at the Stampede Reservoir close to Truckee up to Diamond Lake, near Crater Lake. From there we just had a short offshoot on the Oregon Backcountry Discovery Route 2 up to Crescent Lake.
The whole trip north had about 550 miles, which we did in 5 days. As we had kids with us, we didn’t explore a lot and drove something between 3-6 hours a day.



General experience:
- 99% of the roads have been passable with any car (but the lifted van and big tires are still more fun :-))
- 80% of the roads have been either firm gravel or very old concrete roads with bumps. The rest got a bit sandy, but not to the extend that you might get stuck.
- We got lucky when seeing 5 or 6 trees that had already been cleared. Regular car/ tires and no chain saw with you, would have left you fairly alone. Re-routing could have been quite a long way.
- When you think you are prepared for everything, … you are NOT! :-D
- Getting gas was no issue at all

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Old 07-13-2021, 12:28 PM   #2
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Day 1:
We took off in the Bay Area San Francisco and went up to Stampede Reservoir where we have been greeted with a 20min rain shower. Once gone, we enjoyed the view on the lake from our site at the Logger Campground.







Day 2:
We took off fairly early around 8:30am. On our way to Lake Davis, where we had a quick lunch stop, we passed by quite some cattle walking around. And we also had a yound deer standing on the road, watching what these strangers are doing in his home. So watch out for surprises behind turns!







Moving north from Lake Davis made us change our plans: around Lone Rock, where would make a left turn from Fruit Growers Boulevard on the Diamond Mountain Motorway, 40.23499, -120.69970, the road was closed due to high fire danger. We went back on Fruit Growers to find alternative ways, but after ~30min we gave up and re-routed to Antelope Lake to enjoy the rest of the day at Lone Rock Campground.
(Sorry, no pictures here as I have been busy with relaxing and doing nothing. Was hard to interrupt! :-))
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Old 07-13-2021, 12:28 PM   #3
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Day 3:
In the morning we took Fruit Growers up north and went via Pierce Creek Mtwy. This stretch rewarded with really nice views.



We passed Aspen Flat and took the Forest Service Road north of Aspen Flat. This road is winding it’s way to the north-west, ending up on the Gold Run Road.

And this was where we could see our taxes working: a whole lot of burned forest has been cleaned out, 50-60 people cutting down burned trees, clearing roads, stacking everything up, …





Being in Susanville and having connection again, a friend informed us about the Tennant and Lava fire around Redding, but we decided our route is far away and we’ll see what happens. Eventually we didn’t had an impact at all.

After filling up the car and stomachs up in Susanville we proceed with cool views and nice roads, here an example around Hog Flat Reservoir.



We wrapped up the day at the Hemlock Campground at Medicine Lake. This is one out of 3 campgrounds there and what we liked most: a sign saying “Winding Road. No big trailers or vehicles.” For us it meant: no generators! :-)
The other 2 campgrounds are larger and easier to get to with RVs or trailers.
From our site we had a “private” access to the lake and could see the smoke from the Tennant and Lave fire.



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Old 07-13-2021, 12:29 PM   #4
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Day 4:
After talking to our campsite neighbour we decided to visit the Lava Beds National Monument. It was a 20-25min drive back and forth + the time you stay there. The cool thing is that you can explore lava caves on your own and it was a really nice gimmick for the kids.





We followed Davis Road north and here we experienced the bumpiest part of the whole trip, right at the intersection Davis Road/ Red Rock Road, 41.75334, -121.73318.

Nothing that I was afraid of and surely something I hoped to see more, but if there was any part on the whole route I’d say “not with a regular car”, it was this. The rocks have been quite spiky, partially a bit higher. With my 35’s and that ground clearance I just rolled over it, but with street tires it would have taken you much more time to look and see where you drive.



It’s only a stretch of some 100 yards and afterwards the track proceeds in the way it has been before. So it will not be really time intensive “obstacle”.



And some minutes later we eventually arrived at my min. goal for the trip: the Oregon border!



After the poser pictures we stopped in Worden, got gas and has lunch at Cinders Café. The food has been really good, a lot of locals, friendly employees, … what do you want more?
AND: we got greeted a second time in Oregon :-D




We followed the track along Keno Recreation Area and Indian Spring Flat when we suddenly got stopped: right where you would Clover Creek Road, 42.18609, -122.00111, we had to face a fairly new looking sign:


2 or 3 other roads have also been blocked, so we went south on Clover Creek, took 66 towards Klamath and from there took 140 north-west until you make a right on Rocky Point Road after Odessa.

Our last station on the PCOR was Diamond Lake, where we met friends and had a good time.
We skipped Crater Lake as we have been there already and the kids have been eager to jump into the lake… But for those who have not been there yet: stop by! You’ll most likely not need more than 30min, but the stunning blue water, the view across the lava fields, …. Really impressive.


Day 5:
Next morning our friends took the regular road towards Crescent Lake and we decided to go there via the OBDR. At first we had a good time seeing miles long roads, sunshine and forest.





But then… what should I say… bright light from the sun got swapped out with bright lights from my dash board :-D



While going up a small hill the van suddenly turned off and couldn’t be started again. “Check gages. Check Gauges. Engine Check. …” --> no fun :-D
I let the engine cool down, refilled oil, checked the water temp, … all good so far and still nothing working. So I decided to stop the next truck and he luckily towed me the last 4 miles to the campground.



A beer (or two?!?) later, speaking to another guy we found the problem: a burned fuse… I didn’t had any replacements with me (but now…. NOW I have 200 of them in my tool box :-D), but a quick look into my handbook showed that the trailer light fuse is the same. So I pulled it out, put it in and the engine started!
Incredible: you have everything with you, gas, shovel, winch, spare, even toilette bags :-D but this 0.30$ article breaks you down :-D
Whatever… lesson learned…

In the end the next 2 nights at Crescent Lake were a perfect finish of our trip before heading south again!
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Old 07-13-2021, 01:23 PM   #5
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Looks like a great trip and glad it was just a fuse. Good learning experience. Thanks for posting.
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Old 07-13-2021, 06:28 PM   #6
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Great trip report! Thanks for sharing.

FYI, I have popped a fuse on every trip I've ever gone on. Don't know why. I even popped on on a Toyota pickup just using a standard phone charger on last summer's trip.

Go figure.
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Old 07-13-2021, 07:11 PM   #7
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Great write-up, sounds like a great trip!
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Old 07-13-2021, 11:53 PM   #8
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Well done E-350
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Old 07-17-2021, 01:47 AM   #9
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I really enjoyed your trip report. Glad you found out what killed your engine...always a fear of mine when out.

I've never been to Oregon but have friends in Klamath Falls so maybe I'll do something similar one of these days.
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Old 07-17-2021, 11:44 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by E-350 View Post
A beer (or two?!?) later, speaking to another guy we found the problem: a burned fuse…
Gotta love people that share their "ideas" with you - I've benefitted from that on several occasions, Each instance was welcomed and completely unsolicited...but as fate would have it the problem ended out resolved. This certainly served you well on this trip.
Enjoyed your trip report!
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