Tehachapi, CA

[garyb1st]

But I never thought about staying near the lake--I didn't even know there was such a place there as an RV camp. Do you remember the name of the place you stayed? And is there anything else you can tell me about that area?

There are several Forest Service campgrounds along Roosevelt Lake off AZ 188. All are in the Tonto National Forest. In total, there are 347 campsites. We're at Windy Hill which has 165 sites. Some campgrounds are closed for the season. No electric but water spigots and a dump station.

Campground is maybe 10 minutes from the Northern entrance of the Apache Trail. We did the trail from the Apache Junction side a year ago and drove as far as we could. Road was closed after a point due to landslides. It h as since reopened. It would be an interesting cycle ride. Steep cliffs so not for the faint of heart.

Before you get to the Apache Trail area, there are cliff dwellings at the Tonto National Monument. They are only a mile from the campground entrance. There are two hikes to the dwelling. One requires a reservation and we learned yesterday they are already booked up for the season. The other is a self-guided hike. It is shorter but much steeper. We did it last year and I needed to sit and rest several times.

 

[Jackiemac]

We have camped at the Mogollon Rim several times. It's a beautiful place. Woods Canyon Lake is lovely and we even caught a few fish.

 

[DonTom]

Today was a perfect day for motorcycle riding here in Tehachapi. I rode all over the place today.

One place I will mention here is the place to view the famous loop train track. My GPS was off by MANY miles. A web search only mentions the road, which is long, hilly & very twisty, and trying to find anywhere where they give the coordinates doesn't exist, from what I could tell.

But I marked it on my motorcycle GPS for the parking right across the street from the view place and I took a few pictures as well.

So if anybody here wants to find it, either bookmark this message or put this in your GPS:

N035.194903°
W118.535026°

Which will be here (first photo on top--the flags show the view spot):

I didn't wait around for a train to come unlike the others there were doing. I have seen trains before, so did some more riding around in the hills.

-Don- Tehachapi, CA

 

[DonTom]

Some campgrounds are closed for the season.

Too hot there already?

It sure is a nice day here today, opposite of the last time I was here in Tehachapi.

But I leave here in the morning. I would stay here longer, but I have things to do in Reno in a few days after I dump this motorhome off in Auburn, CA.

I will surely stay in Tehachapi longer on my next stay here, perhaps in the summer so I can check out the camp here which is at a higher elevation (~6K') than here (4,168').

-Don- Tehachapi, CA

 

[No cats]

There are some amazing places not too far from tehachapi. You may want to bring a gas powered motorcycle next time. I've spent a lot of time exploring the area in my youth and considered buying property there many years ago.

There are some old ranches and wagon trails going to bodfish and lake isabella. From Lake Isabella follow the Kern river up hwy 99 towards roads end and Johnsondale. I've camped there many times. Past Johnsondale, there are many camping areas and some water rock slides near a by's scout camp.

Keep going to where 99 ends and meets hwy M-50 and M-90. Take a right on M-90 and eventually you'll end up in the land of the sequoias.

There were some bad fires there a few years back so you'll see that too. It can be a long round trip, but you can turn around any time.

 

[DonTom]

From Lake Isabella follow the Kern river up hwy 99 towards roads end and Johnsondale.

I have been to all those places years ago, either on a motorcycle or in a car.

The last time I was in Johnsondale, CA, the entire place was for sale. I have never seen a town for sale before. That was back in the 1980's IIRC.

I assume they found a buyer.

It's a hassle to load up a gas motorcycle on an RV hitch ramp, but I have done it before. The main reason I bring my smallest electric is because it can power itself up the ramp--no clutch to bother with and can easily go at less than a half MPH. And it is light enough. The only other motorcycle I could use would be my 2002 Suzuki DR200SE, which has a 3.5-gallon gas tank for the little 199 cc engine.

-Don- Tehachapi, CA

 

[garyb1st]

Too hot there already?

In the week we've been here, the highs have been in the low to mid 70's. Evenings have been in the mid 40s to low 50s. For those that haven't followed, I'm referring to Roosevelt Lake, AZ and not Tehachapi.

 

[DonTom]

In the week we've been here, the highs have been in the low to mid 70's. Evenings have been in the mid 40s to low 50s. For those that haven't followed, I'm referring to Roosevelt Lake, AZ and not Tehachapi.

But when was that?

-Don- Tehachapi, CA

 

[garyb1st]

We're here now. Been here for 8 days and leaving Tuesday for parts unknown.

 

[DonTom]

I will surely stay in Tehachapi longer on my next stay here, perhaps in the summer so I can check out the camp here which is at a higher elevation (~6K') than here (4,168').

The link must have been changed by a forum upgade bug.

It should be this camp here.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[Tom]

The link must have been changed by a forum upgade bug.

It should be this camp here.

-Don- Reno, NV

there has been no forum upgrade since the original link was posted. More likely was an incorrect link posted in the first place.

 

[DonTom]

there has been no forum upgrade since the original link was posted. More likely was an incorrect link posted in the first place.

No chance. I check every one of my links right after posting. I always have and always will.

Something that far off, I certainly would have noticed. And perhaps somebody would mention it.

What was the date of the forum upgrade? Was it before or after Feb 22?

OTOH, it seems many of my posts have spelling errors or whatever, which only show after I can no longer edit.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[Tom]

No chance. I check every one of my links right after posting. I always have and always will.

Something that far off, I certainly would have noticed. And perhaps somebody would mention it.

What was the date of the forum upgrade? Was it before or after Feb 22?

OTOH, it seems many of my posts have spelling errors or whatever, which only show after I can no longer edit.

-Don- Reno, NV

And all this stuff only happens to your posts

 

[Tom]

there has been no forum upgrade since the original link was posted. More likely was an incorrect link posted in the first place.

My error - the last upgrade to Xenforo forum software was rolled out 3/25. Not sure it would have changed links, but I'll look at prior bug reports.

 

[DonTom]

Tehachapi Mountain Park.

I am at the Mountain Valley RV Park in Tehachapi. I went by the other RV parks in this area, and by far, this is the best one. The rest are dumps.

I also took a ride to Tehachapi Mountain Park. The weather here is perfect. The last time I was there it was all snowed in, as you can see from the previous message I am now replying to.

It's NOT a place for RVs. Now most of the park is open, it is self-registration only, and no reservations are possible. Only costs $16.00 per night, but that is for a tent. In the entire park, there were two tents today, no RVs.

Sections of the park are closed, I think they make the park larger as needed, perhaps in mid-July. But the roads are too narrow, twisty & hilly for most RVs. So only go there if you want to tent type camp or hike. Or have something small, such as a Class B. The park is open to all for free during the daytime and has some nice hiking trails I will soon try.

-Don- Tehachapi, CA

 

[DonTom]

I made the very enjoyable 5-mile round trip to the 7,777' ft Summit today. The summit is at
Latitude: 35.05287, Longitude: -118.48492. See here for my Spot message from there (be sure to scale in).

The trailhead is at 6,039'. The summit is 7,777'. So in 2.5 miles of hiking, there is an elevation gain of 1,738'

There is no sign at the summit; the very last sign is this one ( elevation on the sign is for the sign location):



Past the summit is outside the park boundy and many no trespassing signs. The summit is less than 50 yards from the park's border.

Not a drop of wind until near the summit, and then it is very windy and cold past just this 0.88 mile sign.

Here is a photo of the view at the 7,777' summit:

Trees all the way to the summit, every inch is uphill from the parking area. The trail is extra wide, but gets narrow past the 0.88 mile sign, also more vertical, but extra good trails all the way. A lot better than I am used to.

I took my time on this hike, I made a five-hour hike out of it. But expect it to take 2.5 hours to go the 2.5 miles uphill and an hour to get back, all downhill. Four hours would usually be enough time for a round trip. Less if half my age. There was nobody else at the summit, but I did see other people on the trail who didn't go all the way up.

Some nice views on the way up & down, too, at a few spots:

The town of Tahachapi is at an elevation of 4,000'. So it's an uphill drive as well.

The trailhead by road is 8.5 miles from this RV Park (Mountain Valley RV Park).

I leave here in the morning and head east for AZ.

-Don- Tahachapi, CA

 

[Jackiemac]

about:blank#blocked

Is what I got when I clicked on your link. Odd.

Nice hike!

 

[Tom]

about:blank#blocked

Is what I got when I clicked on your link. Odd.

Nice hike!

The "link" is a set of coordinates ( .http://Latitude: 35.05287, Longitude: -118.48492 ) Not sure if that's what he intended to post.

 

[DonTom]

The "link" is a set of coordinates ( .http://Latitude: 35.05287, Longitude: -118.48492 ) Not sure if that's what he intended to post.

Strange, because the link worked for me just after posting, but I am also now getting "blocked." Try the same link again. I can tell they changed things at Spot. They used to be good for a month, maybe now only a few hours? ANyway, I relinked and just checked it again and it is working again, for me right now.

-Don- Tehachapi, CA

 

[DonTom]

The "link" is a set of coordinates ( .http://Latitude: 35.05287, Longitude: -118.48492 ) Not sure if that's what he intended to post.

There is more than that!

There should be a map below that. You may have to give it a little time to load up. Anyway, I reloaded the link so see if it now works and if there is a map just below the coordinates.

-Don- Tehachapi, CA