Are we going to have a winter?

Posted: December 28, 2023 | Author: Rubicon Ronin | Filed under: Access, Maintenance, Travel | Tags: news, plowing, snow, snow wall, snow-plow, weather, winter | Leave a comment

Are we going to have a snow wall at the Rubicon?

Last season gave us an incredible amount of snow fall. Some would argue too much. All that snow made for great spring runoff and the filling of our reservoirs.

Strangely, all season long, there was only the typical or expected snow wall at the entrance to the Rubicon. With record snowfall, there was no record tall wall. Individual efforts were made to maintain access to the trail:

Even group efforts were made:

And although these efforts were successful:

Winter continued:

As the above pictures shows, the efforts to maintain access were snowed on but clearly left a designation of where OHV enthusiasts should enter the trail.

My personal belief is that the reason we did not have a HUGE wall was due to the fact that Placer County plowed straight across the entrance to Rubicon Trail. When Placer County plows any kind of “dip” or “wide spot” at the entrance, that extra snow moved adds to the height of the wall at the entrance.

In the picture below from a previous winter, the “STOP” line is clearly visible in the plowed area of Evergreen Way. That stop line is several feet back from the edge of Evergreen Way. That shows that Placer County plowed an extra fifteen feet of snow on top of the wall, further attempting to deter OHV users.

Let’s hope Placer County continues to plow the entrance to the Rubicon Trail without a dip or wide spot.

Although really tall, the height is uniform across the entire stretch of the wall. No extra height from plowing a dip or wide spot.

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Rubicon Ronin

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