Sierra Trek: An Insider’s Guide To Fordyce Creek Trail | Harry Situations

You have probably heard of the Rubicon Trail, but unless you live in Northern California you might not have heard of the Fordyce Creek Trail or Sierra Trek. Sierra Trek was started 54 years ago by the California Association of 4WD Clubs and it is their biggest fundraiser of the year. Everything from the trail leaders to the clubs manning the winch hills to the crew cooking dinner and running the bar at Meadow Lake are volunteers. The money raised is used by Cal4Wheel for education and preserving access to public lands. Who better to guide you through the trail than Harry Wanger, who has been coming to Sierra Trek literally his entire life. Harry is a lifetime member of Cal4Wheel, was six months old the first time he ran this trail, and spent his childhood volunteering on Winch Hill 2 at this event.
Camping spots? We got you covered.
Major obstacles and how to best approach them? Yep.
History of the trail? Of course.
When to go to avoid the crowds? Keep watching.
Vehicle and packing recommendations? It is all here.
Drop a comment and let us know what you want to see next from Harry and Mike!
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[@Tinman4fifty4]

Beautiful video that perfectly describes a trail that has been near and dear to my heart for many years.

[@krashnpa]

I appreciate everything being done to keep Fordyce open. Good stuff 👏👍

[@HarrySituations]

It is definitely a gem of a trail!

[@shawnwalker2599]

"We all know bouncing is catastrophic to axles"! Gosh, what a beautiful trail. Great stuff, please keep it up!

[@HarrySituations]

Thanks for the kind words Shawn!

[@bgood33]

Very impressed with your Tracker, it looks to be perfectly setup for this type of wheeling! Great video, someday I will visit this trail

[@jrcook927]

It's cool how the Tracker and Amigo look so similar.

[@HarrySituations]

Yeah I think it is that triangular shaped B pillar.

[@dougbaker5101]

Nice video, Harry!

[@kyridgejumper]

Great job on the video and telling some history about the trail and event. Some of the music brought back memories of watching CHIPS 😂👏👏

[@Ali_Mansour_Editor]

So cool to watch that Tracker work.

[@HarrySituations]

I can’t take credit for that, Jesse Haines is a true wizard when it comes to suspension.

[@AdventureAwaits4u]

Nice video. Winch hill 5 is the one that got me. Had to take the bypass. 🤷🏼‍♂️ Maybe next time. 🤞🏼

[@0731mm]

Well done Harry. Always fun. It’s on the LIST

[@HarrySituations]

What else is on the list?

[@spencemad_4x427]

Wow this trail is no joke

[@robottaway]

Harry that rig is so neat! I used to scoff at Trackers now I know better 🤣

[@stevenlee6202]

Thank you for helping show such an awesome trail

[@Scoobienorth]

I’m glad you mentioned the spare tire being mandatory. I was wondering why you were packing it. With your setup very slim chance of that failing to the point you couldn’t fix it or limp off the trail.

[@4x4_mark]

Great video looking forward to going there sometime

[@John90XJ]

First time seeing the Tracker in action. Great video!

[@HarrySituations]

And maybe the last time now that I sold it!

[@clarkleakins879]

GOOD GRIEF!!! SO MANY PEOPLE!!! WAAYYY BACK in about 1976 we used to dual sport all around that area, base camp was Jackson Meadow Reservoir. I still have the old maps from the 1950's. Some trails/roads not shown on maps today. Did similar exploring out of French Meadows Reservoir 1973-1975. I imagine some roads might be paved by now. Or closed due to bad folks tearing it up.

[@ronfasano71]

Great vid and info

[@dustinabshire]

My dad and I trailered my 97 TJ out to CA in 2005. We ran the Rubicon trail Friday and the Fordyce Creek trail on Saturday. I was on 35-inch Nitto Terra Grapplers that they stopped making for 15-inch wheels. Ran my D30/D35 with 27-spline Detroit Lockers and amazingly didn’t break. They winched me up Hill 3, but I drove everything else. Do they still have the sets of rollers to drive on/off to verify that you have lockers?

[@HarrySituations]

The tech inspection is not nearly as thorough these days!

[@CharleyMur]

Thanks Harry and Mike. What type of rig do you need to run Fordyce without extreme carnage? Is Fordyce reserved for hardcore crawlers?

[@HarrySituations]

The beginning of the trail isn’t too bad, but from the Committee Crossing on is pretty hardcore. Going during Sierra Trek is your best bet since they do trail maintenance and have people to help you.

[@JustinCaseWages]

Damn those Xterra guys. 😂

[@lewy1]

We are coming from Ontario Canada to run the rubicon and if things go well would also like to run Fordyce. My question is if the water is to high could we run it backwards until we get to the high water? If yes how far would we get, winch hill?

[@HarrySituations]

Yes you can run it from Meadow Lake down below Winch Hill 3 to Committee Crossing and back. Given the winter we had I think that is a better choice than trying to cross the water.

[@mikes.9755]

Thanks for your opinions. I love rock “crawling” and “racing” but the rev limiter pinging , rock bouncing , loud music and trail distraction needs to stay in the designated Off-road parks.

[@jpk0612]

You show a wayalife video when you talk about parties and people ruining the trail. What specifically has their group done to do trail damage?? I've never seen them do anything to damage trails or illegal off trail activity.

[@HarrySituations]

This is entirely my fault. I didn’t have footage of irresponsible behavior so the producer just grabbed footage of people on Fordyce. I apologize, I have never seen Wayalife damage a trail either.

[@kockhole08]

What time of the year is this event

[@HarrySituations]

It is in August each year.

[@kockhole08]

@@HarrySituations thanks looks awesome

[@biketayo7055]

Nice RoadTrip Thank you for sharing this awesome video. Appreciated with your effort in making video! Wish to see your process of being an elite youtube Pa SHOUT OUT AKO SA NEXT VLOG MO IDOL SALAMAT 🤜🤛A2 3

[@mikegyver1]

Ummm concerned that you used my video without my permission… Feel free to contact me.

[@alans9115]

Hahah someone's butthurt