Stu,
I'm almost certain that the Dusy is in Fresno County. I do have some topo maps somewhere and maybe even a GPS track as well.
I've run the Dusy twice and had a great time each trip. Before my first trip I read all the same stuff about how gnarly the trail is and the potential for being stranded miles from civilization. It's easy to get a bit psyched out based on what you read. The reality of it is that it is really no tougher than the Rubicon Trail, only it is much longer and at much higher elevations.
The edge I do give the Dusy over the Rubicon are:
- half the distance from L.A.as the Rubicon
- trail is very clean and uncrowded (have only seen about 15-20 other rigs in my two trips
- lakes have plenty of fish (too bad I can't seem to catch them
)
- no loud music, shooting guns, etc.
The thing the Rubicon has over the Dusy are:
- a little less dust
- closer proximity to parts and repair
- lower altitude
Basically, the Dusy is a fun, long trailride with a few steep climbs (Thompson Hill), nice camping and some medium rockcrawling. My brother didn't have many clearance problems with 31's and a belly-up skid. I saw an old Willy's go through there unlocked but holding everybody up by needing the strap all the way up Thompson Hill. Lastly, and most importantly, make certain to either have fuel injection or your carb really dialed in as the trail gets to over 10,000 ft. in elevation.
Have fun!