Buck Rock Jeep Trail Camping

[JasonDroninAround]

I went to check out Bock Rock Lookout but was already closed for the day. The visiting hours are 10:30am to 5:00pm because I think there is a full time park ranger living up there for fire watch. From there is the Buck Rock Jeep Trail. It is rated 6/10 on OnX but the trail reports said that the harder sections had bypasses. At the trail head was a big warning sign about the trail and it was Black Diamond on the trail marker. I took a chance that trail reports were right, and they were. My little Maverick Tremor handled it like a champ. It keeps surprising me. I bypassed all of the hard sections except the one shown in this video. There was also a big uphill section, without a bypass, that was pretty steep and really should be taken with something with a low gear transfer case, but I managed. I camped on the trail overnight and finished it in the morning. The video is 3 parts. A couple drone shots of my camp site, a fender cam of a section of the jeep trail, and some drone vehicle tracking footage I took after I got off the jeep trail. The camera never shows how steep the trails are, just look at the trees. There's a little blooper at the end, where my drone went rogue during the auto tracking, got nearly tangled in a tree, and sort of almost crashed. I definitely have to come back here with my brother and get more footage when I'm not in a hurry

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[RonKujawa]

Great video!

 

[Chops]

I went to check out Bock Rock Lookout but was already closed for the day. The visiting hours are 10:30am to 5:00pm because I think there is a full time park ranger living up there for fire watch. From there is the Buck Rock Jeep Trail. It is rated 6/10 on OnX but the trail reports said that the harder sections had bypasses. At the trail head was a big warning sign about the trail and it was Black Diamond on the trail marker. I took a chance that trail reports were right, and they were. My little Maverick Tremor handled it like a champ. It keeps surprising me. I bypassed all of the hard sections except the one shown in this video. There was also a big uphill section, without a bypass, that was pretty steep and really should be taken with something with a low gear transfer case, but I managed. I camped on the trail overnight and finished it in the morning. The video is 3 parts. A couple drone shots of my camp site, a fender cam of a section of the jeep trail, and some drone vehicle tracking footage I took after I got off the jeep trail. The camera never shows how steep the trails are, just look at the trees. There's a little blooper at the end, where my drone went rogue during the auto tracking, got nearly tangled in a tree, and sort of almost crashed. I definitely have to come back here with my brother and get more footage when I'm not in a hurry

The music volume with the tread crunching volume was perfectly balanced. You have an ear!

 

[Phimosis]

I went to check out Bock Rock Lookout but was already closed for the day. The visiting hours are 10:30am to 5:00pm because I think there is a full time park ranger living up there for fire watch. From there is the Buck Rock Jeep Trail. It is rated 6/10 on OnX but the trail reports said that the harder sections had bypasses. At the trail head was a big warning sign about the trail and it was Black Diamond on the trail marker. I took a chance that trail reports were right, and they were. My little Maverick Tremor handled it like a champ. It keeps surprising me. I bypassed all of the hard sections except the one shown in this video. There was also a big uphill section, without a bypass, that was pretty steep and really should be taken with something with a low gear transfer case, but I managed. I camped on the trail overnight and finished it in the morning. The video is 3 parts. A couple drone shots of my camp site, a fender cam of a section of the jeep trail, and some drone vehicle tracking footage I took after I got off the jeep trail. The camera never shows how steep the trails are, just look at the trees. There's a little blooper at the end, where my drone went rogue during the auto tracking, got nearly tangled in a tree, and sort of almost crashed. I definitely have to come back here with my brother and get more footage when I'm not in a hurry.

Thanks for the heads up. I was up there a week and half ago, but did not know there’s off-road trails and dispersed camping. I assumed it was all national parks lands with all the trails closed to private vehicles.

 

[JasonDroninAround]

Thanks for the heads up. I was up there a week and half ago, but did not know there’s off-road trails and dispersed camping. I assumed it was all national parks lands with all the trails closed to private vehicles.

For most people, the easiest way to get to Buck Rock Lookout is up Highway 180 to/through the Kings Canyon National PARK entrance station, you are only in the park for a few miles, while in the Grant Grove area. After Grant Grove, you are technically back in Sequoia National FOREST, where dispersed camping is allowed in some areas. Only when you get closer to Cedar Grove is where you technically re-enter Kings Canyon National PARK. An easy way to remember is dispersed camping may be allowed is if you are in a National FOREST, it is usually allowed. If you are in a National PARK, it is usually not allowed.

Here is a screen shot from OnX of the area. The yellow green areas are National PARK, no dispersed camping. The lighter green areas are National FOREST but wilderness areas, also no dispersed camping. Then, the middle area that is darker green with all the yellow lines is regular National FOREST, where dispersed camping IS allowed. The yellow highlighted roads is the dispersed camping layer turned on. Then there's little patches like the area around Sequoia Lake and the extreme bottom left, with no overlay color at all, that is private property.

 

[JMJB]

Hmm....I was at the park on Friday .....Hume Lake in the distance ....
It's great living an hour from here !

 

[dhaskit]

Wow! That’s some great video. You obviously have some fantastic camera and drone skills and it’s a beautiful area, obviously. Great job.

I did want to ask you a question though;
You take your Maverick down some rough, but not abusive trails and challenging terrain. Do you notice more squeaks and thunks when driving on smooth roads now as a result of off roading in your truck?
I have not had much of a chance to in my Maverick yet, other than some Texas beach driving and a little bit of gravel Ozark roads.

 

[JasonDroninAround]

Wow! That’s some great video. You obviously have some fantastic camera and drone skills and it’s a beautiful area, obviously. Great job.

I did want to ask you a question though;
You take your Maverick down some rough, but not abusive trails and challenging terrain. Do you notice more squeaks and thunks when driving on smooth roads now as a result of off roading in your truck?
I have not had much of a chance to in my Maverick yet, other than some Texas beach driving and a little bit of gravel Ozark roads.

No current strange noises and I commute 24 miles a day and that tent stays in back of the truck at all times. The only time that I've ever heard a strange noise coming from underneath the truck was when I was in the same area but with a bunch of guys on these trails in the winter in the snow. I got the truck stuck on the inside of a turn on the uphill side. I had to get yanked out. That was the first and last time I had to use the recovery hooks After the trip and on the way home, when I heavily accelerated I heard a strange noise that sounded like a heat shield on the exhaust kind of a noise. I got out and looked and sure enough, the exhaust pipe was pushed up against the rear differential. Luckily, after closer inspecting, all it was was that the very last exhaust hanger was flipped 180 upside down. There was just not enough right to left tolerance for it to flip itself back the right way from gravity alone. I just gave it a good yank downwards that flipped the exhaust hanger in the right direction and never heard a peep from it again Since then, I got the truck stuck in the sand really bad. That's one of the things I checked after I got unstuck and it did not do it again.

 

[OleFordGuy]

Love all the pics posted, thanks

 

[JasonDroninAround]

I know, right? From other locals that have been to the area recently. That was pretty cool. Thank you guys. This was just supposed to be a quick overnight trip for an overnight time lapse and I did have a lot of time to get a lot of pictures. I plan on spending the whole day up there in the same area one of these days this weekend with my daughter and my granddaughter. I want to go back early enough in the day to see that lookout and then maybe talk them into taking this Jeep trail again with me

 

[Edge Haley]

Great video skills...I know it takes a lot of time. Thanks for sharing!!!
Could I ask? Does your drone have a "follow me" command?

I've been all over that area (on off-road motorcycles) and love the area above Bishop with all the old movie scenes.... especially Alabama Hills. Some amazing scenery all over the area.

 

[JasonDroninAround]

I almost forgot. Here is the link to the overnight time lapse I did while I was at Buck Rock Jeep Trail. I pointed this one south and turned off the star streaks to capture the Milky Way. Some clouds rolled in and stole the show but it still turned out pretty cool

 

[JMJB]

What's the source of bright light on the horizon , and lighting up the sky in that area ?
Is it light pollution from city lights ?

 

[JasonDroninAround]

I was parked approximately at the top of this triangle and the camera was pointed south. That was all city lights. The red dot was a cell tower I think. If it was, it was so far way that I could only get 1 bar sporadically, even though I had line of sight. I was out there because of a new moon but is still picked up a lot of those city lights. If I would have pointed it north or east, I would have had much darker skies. I was after the Milky Way on this trip, though

I don't know what I'm doing wrong but I can't stop it from showing the same screen shot twice hehe

(figured it out

 

[Phimosis]

Love all the pics posted, thanks

I also recently loaded my bike into the Maverick and went to Yosemite, which is about 2 hours from King’s Canyon.

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