Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Well the trip was fun, but not an entire success... There were 6 guys in our group, 3 jeeps and 3 tow vehicles. I pulled my friends Jeep up to Shaver Lake on a flat bed trailer. We camped the first night near the lake at about 7,000 ft. elevation, beautiful scenery lots of pines and mountains. The next morning we drove the Jeeps about an hour on paved roads to get to the Dusy-Ershim trail head, which is at about 8,000 ft. The 33 mile trail usually takes about 3 days to complete due to the difficulty and the slow pace needed to navigate the trail. We planned to make it to Thompson Lake the first night to set up camp. But at about the 11 mile mark, at about 5:00 in the eve, my friends Jeep hit a big rock and broke the axel. The Jeep was in a very rocky area on the side of a mountain, we had to winch it down about 20 ft. to a fairly flat area to work on it. We had to set up camp that evening on the side of the mountain, since the Jeep couldn't move. We were bouncing ideas off each other as we set up camp, cooked dinner and made a camp fire. We decided that the next morning 1 of the Jeeps would depart and go to the closest town in search of an Axel, and maybe have to drive about 2 hours to Fresno, then we would have to change out the axel on the side of the mountain, to get the wounded Jeep down the mountain. The next morning, after taking out the broken axel we realized the part of it that was broken was lodged in the rearend casing and we could beat it out, bad news!... One of the guys had a better idea, he had a portable welder that ran on 24 volts, it hooked up to 2 car battteries and he could weld some brackets on to the broken axel and attach it to the brake drum so the axel could spin free, although the Jeep would no longer have power to the rear wheels... . but it worked we were able to limp the Jeep down the Mountain with just the use of the front 2 wheels with the help of tow straps and winches we made 1/2 way down the Mt. the first day, then all the way down the second day. The weld held together and when we got the Jeep loaded up on the flat bed trailer, it was a welcome sight! It was one of those trips that when you get home, you get the feeling of there is no place like home!
BTW: I smoked the Ford and Chevy both on all the hill climbs towing the Jeeps, it wasn't even close... . they have a new respect for the little 6 cyl. Cummins!
BTW: I smoked the Ford and Chevy both on all the hill climbs towing the Jeeps, it wasn't even close... . they have a new respect for the little 6 cyl. Cummins!
