The 30th Annual Sierra Trek

by Jack Raudy

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For the past four or five years, I have been invited by members of the California Association of Four Wheel Drive Clubs to join them on their annual Sierra Trek; however, it seemed I was always out on another assignment. This year they were not going to take "no" for an answer.

When I arrived at the Meadow Lake base camp, located in the high Sierra at about 25 miles north of Truckee at the 7,300' level, I found Jeff Blewett, who was "head honcho" for this marvelous event for the second straight year. Jeff explained to me how Sierra Trek had grown from 50 rigs and about 100 people in 1967 to more than 550 vehicles this year and over 1900 participants.

"We have always tried to offer some of the most challenging four wheeling in the country," Jeff said, "but we have clearly turned Sierra Trek into a family outing. He explained that there were more than 300 kids in camp this year between the ages of 3 and 13, and in addition to four wheeling, they stayed involved in fishing, hiking, organized games and many were busy collecting aluminum cans where they could earn a prize.

Jim Harris, known as "Uncle Willy" to his fellow rock crawlers, has been involved with Sierra Trek for the past 18 years and the chairs the Thursday short wheelbase run. Jim talked about the famous Fordyce Creek Trail, which serious four wheeler claim is more challenging in some respects than the nearby Rubicon trail. No one I spoke with would dispute that both trails deserve their ratings of 10.

We've used the Fordyce Creek Trail for the past 25 years, "Jim explained, "because of its challenge, variety and beauty." Jim says many first timers, after successfully climbing a granite ridge and passing the two-mile marker, think the trail will be like a "walk in the park."

Oly Olson, who has been on Sierra Trek for the past 22 years and heads up the Friday night Start Trek run, talked about how the trail changes in character." At about the 6-mile mark,"Oly said, "we begin serious four wheeling over Bashful's Rock and Devil's Rock and one mile later we hit the first of five winch hills. Winch Hill #1 is a long, straight up hill passing through a slim V-rock at the top and I asked Oly how the veterans could possible make this trip during darkness.

I decided to stay at Winch Hill #3 for an hour or so to caputure a few photos as trekers negotiated a very steep, 100-yeard rocky crevice, which appeared to allow just a few extra inches to maneuver at the top. This year's official Sierra Trek guidebook calls this obstacle the Mother of all Squeezes.

Years ago, old-timers told me, this Winch Hill has a famous shackle-grabber rock which has now been removed to keep rigs moving along the trail. Believe me, Winch Hills, #4 and #5 don't get any easier. Heading into #4, participants are afforded to opportunity to observe equipment and acid-leached tailings which are all along the trail.

Assemblyman Bill Morrow from Oceanside, participated on his Sierra Trek this year. "The trek enabled me to enjoy such beautiful scenery that I otherwise wouldn't be able to see without OHV access," said Morrow. "It was very impressive to me at what these four wheel drive vehicles were able to accomplish on the Fordyce Trail. Plus, he said, we were able to do it without ripping up environmnetally sensitive areas." The assemblyman said that events such as Sierra Trek prove that preservation and recreation can coexist together.

Jeff explained some of the monumental logistics involved in orchestrating a Sierrra Trek event. "This is the largest all volunteer, four wheel drive event in the world" Jeff said. "We have more than 350 volunteers from clubs throughout California; many of whom come up here a week in advance to make prepartations for the main party. How do you feed nearly 2,000 hungry four wheelers for five days: I found Ray "Chuckwagon" Delong, who has coordinated Sierra Trek food operations for the past nine years.

"It takes detailed planning and the untiring assistance of our volunteers clubs," Ray said. Every meal is prepared by a different club.

As Ray stood on the steps of a fully packed reefer truck, he explained that in addition to the standard meals, he was prepared to serve 900 pounds of turkey bereast on Friday evening and approximately 1,500, 10-ounce New York steaks on Saturday night. Additionally, Sierra Trek guests consumed 6,900 eggs and Ray said that they went through 3,700 pounds of ice during the five-day period.

Jim Bramham, 1991/92 Sierra Trek chariman, explained why so many families come on Sierra Trek. "I think it is a combination of the lake setting, the chance to get away from the everyday house chores, and the fact that there is something going on here for the entire family," Jim said.

Chairman Blewett said that other Sierra Trek activites this year included a vendor trade show, a 4x4 show, and a Sunday morning raffle where 33 donors offered hundreds of prizes.

For information on the 1997 Sierra Trek (Aug 7-10) contact Jeff Blewett jeff4x4@lodinet.com

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