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The B-17 Crash Trail
MAP
38 miles from G.T. easy-mod. 6 mi.
Nov. 2, 1941 this B-17c “flying Fortress” crashed due to weather on a
flight from Reno to Sacramento. Eight of the nine crew were saved by
parachuting as the plane broke up in the sky, only the pilot remained in
the doomed plane.
Follow directions to “Van Vleck trails” but continue out the back side
of the parking area and find a place to park in the horse camping area.
The trail is the Bassi Falls trail that leaves south by east out of the
camping area, its path is an unpaved 2-track to the creek. Take the
trail 1 ½ miles to intercept the Sun Rock trail. Go R about a mile. When
you cross Tell’s creek go downstream <1/4 mi.The wreckage is scattered
over a large area but the nearest piece is the biggest. It’s the
upside-down right wing.
The Tell’s Peak area is a rugged shortcut into Desolation Wilder-ness
using the Forni Lake trail up to Tell’s peak where a faint abandoned
trail goes off the NW side and down to Highland Lake.
Another cross country route, shown on
old maps, heads more north from this same NW side towards Lake Winefred
near the Rubicon Jeep Trail.
The Van Vleck ranch burned down but the USFS purchased the property and
built a new chalet that is offered for rent. There’s an abandoned air
strip about 2 miles east of the ranch that looks like a golf course from
up on Tells peak. The area supported a dairy and cheese farm long ago
and the rock foundations from the early out-buildings can still be found
NW of the airstrip.
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