We set out last Sunday, Father's Day, on an overland trip that would take us about 60 miles from Hwy 20 in the west across the Tahoe National Forest and end up at Hwy 89 in the east. Our original plan was to take the Bowman Lake Road until it met up with Meadow Lake Road at the western end of Bowman Lake but with the bridge still out below the dam and not wanting risk a water crossing we decided to take FS 21 out of the town of Washington.
FS 21 is a nicely graded road that climbs from the heat of the canyon up into the cool redwood and pine forests of the Gaston Ridge.
At this point you're making good time, you might even safely hit 25 miles per hour on some of the straightaway's, but your forward progress comes to a screeching halt as you make the turn from FS 21 onto County Road 843/ Meadow Lake Road. It's not rock crawling per se but it is dental filling rattling for miles to come. Some of the road has suffered some washouts in places, there's a few sections of smooth, but for the majority of the next 20 miles our progress was very slow at times. (I probably could have gone faster but with a trailer, two passengers, a dog and a loaded vehicle I chose to be cautious)
Finally after what seems like forever we get down to lake level at Bowman Lake.
The clouds were rolling in at this point, we had already received a smattering of rain, but it would start dumping on us in 15 minutes time.
We made steady progress along the northern rim of Bowman Lake as the road surface improved ever so slightly. We encountered exactly TWO vehicles along this stretch of road, but from this point until we ended up at Webber Lake more than 24 hours later we were literally on our own in the forest.
We made our way to the eastern end of Bowman Lake and began the climb up towards the junction of Jackson Meadow's Reservoir and Meadow Lake Road. Soon after leaving Bowman Lake the clouds opened up on us and it began to pour. Creeks began to swell right before our eyes and the rocks became slick.
Finally we reached a plateau of sorts and we were able to get out and stretch our backs in between down pours.
Through the trees I saw this gal. She didn't seem too concerned about us being there.
We reached the junction with Jackson Meadows Reservoir and made the turn to continue on Meadow Lake Road. I had scouted out some campsites at the first lake we came to, Catfish Lake, via Google Maps and while the sites looked nice there was "No Camping" signs everywhere as, apparently, this section of forest is owned by Sierra Pacific Lumber. So, we continued on.
This section of the trail was very up and down. Some sections it seemed like you would climb to the sky, other times you went down a ways through some gorgeous redwood groves.
After one last big climb we made it to the other lake I had scouted, Tollhouse Lake, and we found a really great campsite at waters edge. There was no one else there, the place was ours. But it was really cold and damp there. It rained on us for most of the time since leaving Bowman and now we had to set up camp. Fortunately the skies parted long enough for us to set up camp, eat some dinner, and dry out our wet shoes.
Before the sun went down mist started dancing across the lake. It was something I'd never witnessed before.
One word of caution about camping here, actually two. 1) Tollhouse Lake is miles from any services. If you have a major vehicle issue out here and there's no one with you or even camping near you, you might have to sit tight for a while till someone comes around. Like I said before, we didn't see anyone for 24 hours after leaving Bowman and there were no fresh tracks indicating someone had been this way recently. 2) The frogs! Oh my goodness the frogs! You'd think at 8,000 feet there wouldn't be any frogs. But Tollhouse is a special kind of hell in that regard. They went full Bud-weis-er until 3am. Oh, and it rained steadily through the night.
However, the next morning we woke up to this sight.
The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, the frogs...hopefully they got eaten, and we looked forward to another day on the trail.
We loaded up the rig and bid Tollhouse farewell and continued on our way.
From here on out Meadow Lake Road gradually becomes smoother. There's a few sections between Tollhouse and Meadow Lake that we got out and scouted-some big holes and washed out drops-but for the most part the road was far more enjoyable than the first day of our trip.
Getting to Meadow Lake was fairly straight forward. My wife drove this section so I could jump out and scout future campsites and take photo's. Let me tell you, there are some great campsites along this stretch. What I won't tell you is where they are.
There were some sections of road like this that we needed to maneuver...
And I finally got to use my hatchet...
We saw the start of the Fordyce Jeep Trail...
We finally made it to Meadow Lake. There was no one around, we could have camped anywhere, but we decided to continue on to get a little closer to Hwy 89.
From Meadow Lake there's only a few more miles of Meadow Lake Road before it ends and you turn north on FS 86 which is a nicely graded (for the most part) gravel road. From high up on FS 86 we could look down below us and see Fordyce Lake.
FS 86 Basically dead ends at Webber Lake, another old mining town (like Meadow Lake) and some of the original buildings are still preserved.
After some lunch and a chance to let our dog play in the lake we saddled back up and continued on to our nights camp.
So, regarding our second night's camp. I won't say where it is exactly. I did scout the area via Google Maps so I knew the general layout, however we literally stumbled upon our campsite by accident. And it was one of my most favorite. I'll just say that it's off of Henness Pass Road a bit.
We had an amazing camp fire that night and my wife prepared some amazing food.
We got a good night of sleep and the next morning we were on our way back to civilization wishing we had some more days to explore this amazing area.
Here's my thoughts in hindsight: Meadow Lake Road from west end of Bowman to Meadow Lake is no joke. It's not super technical, there was one section that was steep enough-and wet enough-that I lost traction in 4H and had to back down and try again. The biggest obstacle, IMO, of this road is the unrelenting bumpiness that you encounter. 20 plus miles of constant undulations and constant rocks was real trying at times. I pressured down to 18psi all around, it helped but it was still super bumpy. Even though my trailer is light I'd like to do this route again without a trailer to see if my opinion changes. But with a trailer it was a head rattling experience. Fun though.
The solitude, at least when we went, was fantastic but also a reminder to be self reliant. A patch kit, air compressor, external battery source and Hi-Lift or bottle jack is a minimum, IMO. It wasn't until we got to Webber Lake that we saw anyone and if that's your closest rescue then you're screwed.
The whole trip was great and I can't wait to do it again some day. Cheers.
FS 21 is a nicely graded road that climbs from the heat of the canyon up into the cool redwood and pine forests of the Gaston Ridge.
At this point you're making good time, you might even safely hit 25 miles per hour on some of the straightaway's, but your forward progress comes to a screeching halt as you make the turn from FS 21 onto County Road 843/ Meadow Lake Road. It's not rock crawling per se but it is dental filling rattling for miles to come. Some of the road has suffered some washouts in places, there's a few sections of smooth, but for the majority of the next 20 miles our progress was very slow at times. (I probably could have gone faster but with a trailer, two passengers, a dog and a loaded vehicle I chose to be cautious)
Finally after what seems like forever we get down to lake level at Bowman Lake.
The clouds were rolling in at this point, we had already received a smattering of rain, but it would start dumping on us in 15 minutes time.
We made steady progress along the northern rim of Bowman Lake as the road surface improved ever so slightly. We encountered exactly TWO vehicles along this stretch of road, but from this point until we ended up at Webber Lake more than 24 hours later we were literally on our own in the forest.
We made our way to the eastern end of Bowman Lake and began the climb up towards the junction of Jackson Meadow's Reservoir and Meadow Lake Road. Soon after leaving Bowman Lake the clouds opened up on us and it began to pour. Creeks began to swell right before our eyes and the rocks became slick.
Finally we reached a plateau of sorts and we were able to get out and stretch our backs in between down pours.
Through the trees I saw this gal. She didn't seem too concerned about us being there.
We reached the junction with Jackson Meadows Reservoir and made the turn to continue on Meadow Lake Road. I had scouted out some campsites at the first lake we came to, Catfish Lake, via Google Maps and while the sites looked nice there was "No Camping" signs everywhere as, apparently, this section of forest is owned by Sierra Pacific Lumber. So, we continued on.
This section of the trail was very up and down. Some sections it seemed like you would climb to the sky, other times you went down a ways through some gorgeous redwood groves.
After one last big climb we made it to the other lake I had scouted, Tollhouse Lake, and we found a really great campsite at waters edge. There was no one else there, the place was ours. But it was really cold and damp there. It rained on us for most of the time since leaving Bowman and now we had to set up camp. Fortunately the skies parted long enough for us to set up camp, eat some dinner, and dry out our wet shoes.
Before the sun went down mist started dancing across the lake. It was something I'd never witnessed before.
One word of caution about camping here, actually two. 1) Tollhouse Lake is miles from any services. If you have a major vehicle issue out here and there's no one with you or even camping near you, you might have to sit tight for a while till someone comes around. Like I said before, we didn't see anyone for 24 hours after leaving Bowman and there were no fresh tracks indicating someone had been this way recently. 2) The frogs! Oh my goodness the frogs! You'd think at 8,000 feet there wouldn't be any frogs. But Tollhouse is a special kind of hell in that regard. They went full Bud-weis-er until 3am. Oh, and it rained steadily through the night.
However, the next morning we woke up to this sight.
The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, the frogs...hopefully they got eaten, and we looked forward to another day on the trail.
We loaded up the rig and bid Tollhouse farewell and continued on our way.
From here on out Meadow Lake Road gradually becomes smoother. There's a few sections between Tollhouse and Meadow Lake that we got out and scouted-some big holes and washed out drops-but for the most part the road was far more enjoyable than the first day of our trip.
Getting to Meadow Lake was fairly straight forward. My wife drove this section so I could jump out and scout future campsites and take photo's. Let me tell you, there are some great campsites along this stretch. What I won't tell you is where they are.
There were some sections of road like this that we needed to maneuver...
And I finally got to use my hatchet...
We saw the start of the Fordyce Jeep Trail...
We finally made it to Meadow Lake. There was no one around, we could have camped anywhere, but we decided to continue on to get a little closer to Hwy 89.
From Meadow Lake there's only a few more miles of Meadow Lake Road before it ends and you turn north on FS 86 which is a nicely graded (for the most part) gravel road. From high up on FS 86 we could look down below us and see Fordyce Lake.
FS 86 Basically dead ends at Webber Lake, another old mining town (like Meadow Lake) and some of the original buildings are still preserved.
After some lunch and a chance to let our dog play in the lake we saddled back up and continued on to our nights camp.
So, regarding our second night's camp. I won't say where it is exactly. I did scout the area via Google Maps so I knew the general layout, however we literally stumbled upon our campsite by accident. And it was one of my most favorite. I'll just say that it's off of Henness Pass Road a bit.
We had an amazing camp fire that night and my wife prepared some amazing food.
We got a good night of sleep and the next morning we were on our way back to civilization wishing we had some more days to explore this amazing area.
Here's my thoughts in hindsight: Meadow Lake Road from west end of Bowman to Meadow Lake is no joke. It's not super technical, there was one section that was steep enough-and wet enough-that I lost traction in 4H and had to back down and try again. The biggest obstacle, IMO, of this road is the unrelenting bumpiness that you encounter. 20 plus miles of constant undulations and constant rocks was real trying at times. I pressured down to 18psi all around, it helped but it was still super bumpy. Even though my trailer is light I'd like to do this route again without a trailer to see if my opinion changes. But with a trailer it was a head rattling experience. Fun though.
The solitude, at least when we went, was fantastic but also a reminder to be self reliant. A patch kit, air compressor, external battery source and Hi-Lift or bottle jack is a minimum, IMO. It wasn't until we got to Webber Lake that we saw anyone and if that's your closest rescue then you're screwed.
The whole trip was great and I can't wait to do it again some day. Cheers.
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