SWing on Ebbets Pass

On 09-04-2013, I took the SWing over Ebbets Pass.  Ebbets Pass goes over the Sierra Nevada mountain range here in California.  Two major forest fires, the Rim Fire near Yosemite, and the American Fire, near Foresthill, were burning, so there was a lot of smoke in the air.  The road on Ebbets Pass is well-paved, but very narrow.  There are numerous sheer dropoffs and some tight hairpin curves and steep grades.  The SWing, of course, took it all in stride.  It was a great ride.  Here are some photos:

That lake looks really familiar.  In the fall of 2007, I camped on my '02 SW just to the west of the Ebbets Pass summit.  There was a horseshoe-shaped USFS campground across from the lake.  Other than a family enjoying a picnic a few campsites over, I had the whole place to myself. After about an hour, just as I became comfortable in having someone else there, they packed up and left.  As the evening wore on, the occasional vehicle traffic over the pass subsided to none.  I had never felt so alone in my life.  Not knowing what wild critters, especially bears, might visit in the night, I grabbed everything that might smell like food and put it on a picnic table a few sites over.  The next morning it was all still there.

Thanks for sharing the great pictures!

Thanks!  That's Mosquito Lake.  It's about three or four miles west of the pass.  There is a campground there and also some cabins which, I suspect, are used in summer only...because the elevation at the top of the pass is over 8000'.

You were quite right to put the food away and out of reach. There are a lot of critters up there...

Nice ride report. I need to ride more in California..... for sure.

My Swing is the same color with the same windshield.

Come on down! I toured up in central Oregon and Washington in August 2012. I'd like to go up the coast next and maybe up into the San Juans and BC.

The SWing has been flawless. It's an '02 which just turned 30K miles. The original windshield was horrid...that Givi AirFlow is truly amazing...I wouldn't be without it.

Great ride report! Yes California has some great riding for certain. I have ridden there the last couple of years and the SW has been over 8000-9000 feet and even 10K without any problems. Gotta love the fuel injection!!!

Yep, the FI is excellent, particularly at higher elevations...

I like riding in your part of the world, also...toured up through central Oregon and Washington last year on the SWing...great ride. Next time, coast...