Heavy Metal Work on Trail
Posted: August 22, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bypasses, rolling dips, RTF Leave a commentI used the Rubicon as an excuse to get out of the Reno heat. I left temps in the 80s, headed to 94, for Tahoma with a high of 75.
The Rubicon Trail Foundation was finishing up the heavy equipment work on the rolling dips within the Lake Tahoe Basin management Unit. Most looked great, some were okay and they missed one.
The pictures do not do the work justice. And I’m not a professional photographer. Here’s a rolling dip that was built up and a drain that cleared out.
I didn’t realize that removing hazard trees was part of this project. I was told that more than 40 trees were dropped that were dead or dying and leaning towards the Rubicon Trail. This proactive work prevents trail blockage that would need to be removed later.
Get a firewood permit from the Forest Service and go collect some of that.
Again, the pictures don’t show the result of the heavy equipment reworking the rolling dips.
This was always a pond. The drain did not drop off much before and hand tools were ineffective. With heave equipment, the drain was extended to a point where the water should drain. The plan is to revisit the work in late October to prep for winter. In a perfect world, heavy equipment will be used every other year to maintain the rolling dips.
Sadly, there are still bypasses being created along the Rubicon Trail. This is at what I call Hummer bend as the Hummer Corporation came out and helped with trail maintenance back in the day. It seems that some of the longer rigs (read as 4-door JKs) did not like the sharp turn approaching the rock obstacle at the bottom of the photo.
By driving off trail, their approach was straight, making the trail easier. Why do people drive for hundreds of miles to get to one of the more difficult trails and then drive off trail to make the adventure easier? This required a good deal of work as you can see they moved the blockage of the previous water saturated route in the background. It will need to be fixed.
My log work at the S-turn was moved so people could cut the corner. Are they in a hurry?
The lower log was also moved. But most of my rock work remained. I spent 15-20 minutes throwing a few more rocks around.
Before leaving, I replaced the three logs that were meant to keep people on the trail.
Thinking I was done, I headed out, only to see yet another illegal bypass. This one for no real reason. I’ll work on it the next time I’m out. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of downed trees in the area to use and barriers.
Hopefully, FOTR reads this and puts something together to block the these bypasses to the point no one will move them.
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Rubicon Ronin
Jeep Flex Festival at Heavenly
Posted: August 20, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentI recently heard about a new Jeep event at Tahoe. It’s called the Jeep Flex Festival.
I haven’t set my booth up in a long time, and it’s about time. So, I’ll be at the event with my Jeep and trailer. Only bringing the trailer in order to bring all the booth stuff.
Saturday, 12 Sep 2026 • 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Heavenly Village has enough space for 100 Jeeps this first year to participate in the show and shine. There is no cost to participate but you are required to secure your spot by sending an email to NevadaJeepClub@gmail.com. These spots will fill up fast so please email Matt as soon as possible.
This event is sure to be a fun day for the whole family as you showcase your Jeep at the legendary South Tahoe Heavenly Village venue. We ask all those participating to invite their friends and family and please share the event.
Event Sponsor: Heavenly Village Shops
Trophy’s (Awards)
1) Best in Show
2) Maximum Flex
3) Most Heavenly
Jeeps, chicken wings and ales!
Come on out and enjoy a day at Tahoe checking out Jeeps and eating wings.
We can talk about the Rubicon Trail.
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Rubicon Ronin
TNF Stage 2 Fire Restrictions
Posted: August 14, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: fire restrictions Leave a commentThe Tahoe National Forest has implemented Stage 2 Fire Restrictions.
Here’s what I read as different to Stage 1: no gas grills outside of a steel ring at a formal campsite, increased smoking restrictions, no shooting, and last no welding with an open flame. Does that mean we can arc weld or is that an open flame?
I believe this is for Forest Service property only. Rubicon Springs will have their own rules. I suspect the no campfires rule will be enforced. They will probably allow gas stove used properly. I would suspect they would only want you welding on one of the concrete pads at the Mechanics Shed area. The RTF property will probably have similar rules. I do not know if they have a concrete pad for repairs.
Let’s be smart out there. The TNF already has a fire burning well north of the Rubicon.
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Rubicon Ronin
Rolling Dips not a Reroute (this year)
Posted: August 10, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentThis does not mean the reroute is not happening. The reroute will happen.
The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grant has been approved and has been sent out to the Forest Service. Note the dates of the signatures on the grant, as recent as 7-24-26. This just happened. The US government moves slowly. I’ve been told that DOGE and more important (to the FS) timber programs took priority.
The reroute is now scheduled for 2027. The dates will be mid-August through mid-September. Volunteers will be needed for this effort, especially the first week. Put it on your calendar. FOTR will put something out.
With the formal approval of the grant taking so long, and even with approval the funding would be months behind the approval, the Rubicon Trail Foundation is moving ahead. Knowing the reroute could not happen in 2026, they picked another project.
RTF moved forward with something that’s been discussed for years, literally years. Reworking the rolling dips (water bars) within the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. Although efforts to maintain the rolling dips and subsequent drainages happen every year, this is reworking the rolling dips with heavy equipment.
Here is the very old list of rolling dips (water bars). For the record, they are two different things. RTF has been out to re-locate and reevaluate the current rolling dips and drainages.
Word format…
The heavy equipment rebuilding of the rolling dips will happen August 16th through 22nd with actual work occurring Monday through Friday. Minor traffic delays, less than 20 minutes, and of course we will try to keep it to 5 minutes or so. The dips will be constructed of local materials and will be repairs of current structures, no new structures.
At this time, volunteers are not needed for the actual heavy equipment portion of this project. FOTR might bring in volunteers later to ‘polish’ the rolling dips and clear drainages the heavy equipment couldn’t reach from the trail. They’ll know once they start working the rolling dips.
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Rubicon Ronin
OHV Gates, working on it
Posted: August 8, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: access, closed, gates Leave a commentFor the last three straight years, many of the OHV gates within the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) did not open on time. This is not a new phenomenon. Sadly, it is a regular occurrence. This has always been the gate in question: The Middle Fork Trail 15N38.
It was so bad in 2025, that I decided to push hard to see that it did not happen again. (I had worked with the Basin previous years without success.) I contacted the LTBMU and had a meeting scheduled to talk about OHV gates in October of 2025. That’s seven months before the OHV gates were to be opened! Well, that was the time the federal government shut down due to lack of funding for about 40 days. No meeting.
Come January, the government is back open. The previous ‘acting’ Forest Supervisor retired. So, I started over with the new ‘acting’ Supervisor. We did meet. I thought we were on the right track. A few meetings, many emails.
But 15N38 was not open on June 1st. I emailed the Basin and I got this in response…
Tough to read but it says they had a crew scheduled to inspect the trail “today”. (6-2-2026). The day AFTER the trail was to open. My response was professional but very heated. A trail should not be scheduled for an inspection, the day after it’s to open.
Another new ‘acting’ Supervisor. More emails. More meetings.
My argument is that people out playing on the Rubicon read the Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM), read that the Middle Fork Trail opens June 1st. So, they plan to exit the Rubicon Trail using Barker Meadow OHV Trail (16E76), then Red Cabin Trail (16E79) and head down the Middle Fork Trail (15N38) to Tahoe. But they find 15N38 closed because the Basin has failed to do their job.
The FS is down employees, due to transfers out of the Basin and retirements. They claim to be down on funding and cannot replace people fast enough. So, I’m stepping up and removing some of their excuses regarding why OHV gates do not open on time.
The first step is developing a list of OHV gates. The MVUM lists all the trails, but some don’t have gates and some have two gates. I decided to hit the road/trail and figure it out.
It has been more than one trip to the lake to find and document all the OHV gates and their access and condition. I hadn’t been to Twin Peaks for years but I documented it. For the record, according to the signs, this is still a “day use” area and not one I need to worry about opening seasonally.
Some trails were campgrounds, not OHV areas. Some were FS cabin track roads, not OHV trails. Some were WAY overgrown and had not opened in years, but still on the MVUM. Those will take more research. But there is now a user created OHV list for the Basin.
We are scheduled to meet again later this month. I will share this list, and we’ll compare it to the FS list. I have created a check list / spread sheet to use when the FS is checking / opening gates. I’m in the middle of drafting a procedure for opening OHV gates within the Basin so everyone is on the same page and gate open due to a procedure not when someone has the time to drive out there.
There is still plenty of time to get this worked out. The Basin is open to working with the users. Finger crossed, we’ll get this figured out by next season.
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Rubicon Ronin
The 'Other' Rubicon 