My son and I just got back from a 4 day trip up to Mammoth. We drove through the Alabama Hills and played in the rocks a bit. Split off Movie Flat rd and drove into Manzanar the back way. Found some cool two track getting there. We walked around Manzanar for a bit, soaking in the history of it all. We then drove across the highway to see the Reward Mine. I was going off memory and took the canyon straight ahead rather than going left like I should have. This canyon had some cool stuff in it but it was not full size friendly at the top. Which led to a four hour delay in travel. I was also disappointed when I got up there that there was no giant mine shaft. After we got free we chose to go straight to Mammoth rather than the few other stuff I had planned on doing on the way up.
We planned to camp at Laurel Lakes but it was getting dark so I modified the itinerary. I was sore from stacking large rocks and road rebuilding so I figured I would camp off Little hot Creek just past the siphon tub. The tub was very welcoming in the morning and my muscles appreciated it. We went up Laurel Lakes Rd. in a attempt to finally get to the lake but were stopped by some snow drifts. We were able to get right above the lower lake on the road backed up to the snow drift. The wind was blowing hard and cold all night so we moved camp back down to the creek and set up among the Aspen trees for the next night.
The next day we cruised up to Lee Vining through the scenic loop and the June Lake loop. After topping off the tank we went to Bodie to look around. Coming out of Bodie I took trail that goes around the back side of Mono to Highway 120. That was a fun two track that got tight enough that I had to pull both mirrors in. There I aired back up and we headed home on Highways 120 / 6 / 395 / 14 / 5 / 118. We did pass a Foreign Toyota with a big composite camper on the back turning into a campground and we passed Harry Wagner and Fred Williams going the other way in the "Ultimate Summer Camp Jeep".
All in all we did 780 miles with as much dirt as I had time for. I will post a full write up and add a link and some pictures here.
Other notes.
The BFG KO2s were flawless. We did lots of washboard, two track, some mud, trails with rocks, and trails made of rocks, some sand dunes, and some loose climbs. I aired down to 35 in Lone Pine and back up to 50 getting on H120. I would have liked them a little lower for the rocks and sand. They were fine at that pressure for the washboard and pavement. I wasn't carrying much of a load other than the cooler.
The suspension did well on the washboard (and worse) that was off Benton Crossing (Green Church rd.) and out to the tubs. It was working hard but the change and drinks stayed in the center console. It felt planted the whole time only getting a little floaty feeling on the real bad stuff. i could have used a bit more dampening in the front on the two track around Mono as some of the bumps would sneak up on me...or I could have slowed down a little. Still only had one or two real sharp hits on square edge bumps.
I could use a front bumper with more clearance and a winch.
The rear limited slip let me down a few times. Only time it mattered was at the mine. Other than that I just had to back up a few inches and pick a different line.