Stupidest Thing I’ve Ever Done (on a mountain bike)

Posted: May 11, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Last week, I sat down with the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit’s new acting Forest Supervisor Dionne Uzes and their new trails guy Daniel Cressy. We talked about the opening of OHV gates within the Basin, specifically, those that affect Rubicon travel.

It ended with me volunteering to do a reconnaissance of the Middle Fork Trail, 15N38. Since the trail does not open to motorized travel until June 1st, I was on my mountain bike.

The plan was to ride up Forest Road 03 and then down the Middle Fork Trail. Simple!

I was not really looking forward to the climb up 03. It’s a couple of miles and I’m not as young as I once was, but I had an ace up my sleeve. My ride would be my new (bought a year ago) e-bike! And oh what a ride it was. It was literally cheating. The climb was nothing…until the snow.

There were trees and a few boulders on the road.

There was a little more snow at elevation than I expected. But I was here and I was going up. Walking. Pulling the bike up as I walked.

There was no riding up the snow. And an e-bike doesn’t help if you’re pushing it.

And I probably pushed for about a mile.

I finally make the summit. Here is the gate at the top, open for snowmobiles that have long given up on this road.

Trees down everywhere and oddly, the bathrooms for those hiking the Pacific Crest Trail are unlocked! (That’s a subtle dig at the Basin for not yet unlocking the bathrooms at the Tahoma OHV staging area.)

The upper Barker Meadow OHV Trail (16E79) looks clear. It has a better aspect for melting snow, but I’m sure there is still snow in the shade. Remember that you do not have a way out other than the Rubicon Trail. Exiting Blackwood Canyon is not allowed until June 1st.

It was an epic ride down.

The steeper sections were sort-of ridable.

And there are plenty of trees down on 15N38.

The good news is that the Basin already had a crew out working to clear the trail. As the snow melts, they will work their way up to the summit. I believe that the trail will be cleared and open by the official June 1st opening date.

I did what I could to be safe. I let someone know where I was going and checked in along the way. I knew the weather was good. I guess I could have grabbed my ham radio, but I did have plenty of food, drink, spare parts and tools.

13 miles, 1600 feet of elevation gain. Three hour trip, two hours of moving. Slow, I know.

Get out there and have fun!

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Rubicon Ronin