“FLASH” Rubicon Trail Maintenance

“Get out your green shovel! Put on your FORT shirts. FOTR is back!”

This is the entrance to the Rubicon Trail as of 9am this morning. Not accessible!

Okay, this is not an official FOTR project, but it should be. I have reached out to FOTR but honestly, I didn’t give them enough time to respond before I posted.

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Calling all Rubicon users. I am putting together a “flash” Rubicon Trail maintenance effort for this Saturday, March 12th, 9am.

We will be removing the 8-foot snow wall currently blocking wheeled access to the Rubicon Trail. This effort has Placer County approval!

9am    Arrive at trailhead, please do not arrive early.

          Stop your vehicle in the street as if you’re waiting to drive up the Rubicon.

          Do not “park” along the side of the road, parking is illegal this time of year.

9:15   Safety and Operational Briefing

9:30   Start snow removal

The goal is to reduce the wall to a ramp

All snow will remain on McKinney Rubicon Road

No snow will be moved on to Evergreen Street

If the wall does not give in easily, we will try using chainsaws to get through the ice.

Please bring: Shovels, Pick Axes, Digging Bars, Food & Drink for yourself, Gloves, Waterproof Pants, Sunglasses, etc.

Snowblowers are not allowed at this time.

I just got the word that no mechanized equipment may be used to remove snow from the entrance of the Rubicon. So, chainsaws are out.

Here’s the challenge. Who’s got a bigger saw than I do? Mine’s got a 36″ cutting edge!

I will supply doughnuts and some drinks for hydration.

No idea how many people will show up.

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Rubicon Ronin


Rubicon Trail Meeting in Reno – update

The Reno Off-Road and Motorsports Expo is happing March 23-27 at the convention center. On Saturday the 26th, there will be a meeting at 9am about everything Rubicon. Attending the meeting is free. El Dorado County is heading up the meeting. Below is a list of all of the groups and agencies that have been invited to the meeting. I do not know who has accepted the invitation or who has declined.

Questions to be asked: What maintenance is planned for the trail in 2022? Will there be an Adopt-a-Trail program for the Tahoe side? When will the staging area bathrooms open/close? Where are we with the small mud hole bypass? Where are we with the suggested larger shelf road bypass? How are parking issues at the staging area going to be solved? Can we stop or prevent future trail closures for fires well away from the trail? How do we volunteer to do trail maintenance on the Tahoe side?

That’s not my entire list of questions. If you have a specific question to ask and can’t make the meeting, let me know and I’ll add it to my list.

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El Dorado County Parks & Trails

Tahoe National Forest, Truckee Ranger District

Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit

Eldorado National Forest

Placer County (ask for Peter Kraatz)

CA State Parks OHMVR Division

Rubicon Trail Foundation (RTF)

Friends of the Rubicon (FOTR)

CA Off-Road Vehicle Association (CORVA)

CA Four Wheel Drive Association (Cal-4)

NV Four Wheel Drive Association (NV-4)

Local clubs:

  • Hills Angels (Reno/Sparks)
  • Lake Tahoe Hi-Lo’s (Tahoe)
  • Tahoe Donner 4-Wheelers (Truckee)
  • Sierra Stompers (Minden/Gardnerville)

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I’ll be hanging out at my booth at the Expo all week. Stop by and let me know what’s on your mind.

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Rubicon Ronin


Eldorado Forest OHV Virtual Open House

Okay, I missed the Tahoe NF email about their open house. It was on the 10th. Here’s your opportunity to be included in the ENF open house. It’s on the 23rd:

Eldorado National Forest Virtual Open House to discuss
Off-Highway Vehicle grant applications

PLACERVILLE, Calif. – The Eldorado National Forest (ENF) is requesting public input for the California 2022 State Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Grants and Cooperative Agreements Program application cycle. The Grants Program is an annual program that provides for off-highway vehicle (OHV) recreation in the State of California by providing financial assistance to eligible agencies and organizations that develop, maintain, operate, expand, support, or contribute to well managed high-quality OHV recreation areas, roads, and trails. Also as important, the Grants Program seeks to responsibly maintain the wildlife, soils, and habitat of project areas in a manner that will sustain long-term OHV recreation.

The Forest will host a virtual open house on February 23, 2022, from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. using Microsoft Teams. The public may join the meeting using the information listed below. Current application proposals need to reflect current needs and will be informed by prior year monitoring and accomplishments, upcoming projects being planned, and disaster relief efforts following the Caldor fire. Members of the public are encouraged to come with suggestions to assist the ENF’s project development for the upcoming grant application cycle as your ideas and input are important for developing our proposals.

The ENF has been successful in being awarded grants from the OHMVR Division in previous grant cycles. The grants have helped address trail repair and clearing of downed trees on over 300 miles of OHV routes and law enforcement patrol on an additional 900 miles of native surface roads on the Forest, provided for the printing of free Motor Vehicle Use Maps, OHV campground and trailhead maintenance, as well as other planning, development, and restoration activities.

Once completed, the preliminary grant applications will be available on the OHMVR website on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, through Monday, May 2, 2022, for review and comment. To review the grant applications submitted go to http://olga.ohv.parks.ca.gov/egrams_ohmvr/user/home.aspx.

The public may provide electronic comments to the Eldorado National Forest (applicant) by e-mailing both Michelle Zuro-Kreimer at michelle.zuro-kreimer@usda.gov and carbon copying (cc) the OHMVR Division at OHV.Grants@parks.ca.gov.

Microsoft Teams meeting

Join on your computer or mobile app

Click here to join the meeting

Or call in (audio only)
+1 323-886-7051,647007738# United States, Los Angeles
Phone Conference ID: 647 007 738#

How to Join the meeting:

• You do not need to have a Microsoft Account to attend
• If you are going to attend via computer or via mobile app, you will need to use a MODERN browser, such as
• Microsoft Edge
• Google Chrome
• Firefox
• If you wish to attend via computer or via mobile app, click on the “Click here to join the meeting” link
• You will be taken to a page where you can choose to either join on the web or download the desktop app and then join.
• If you already have the desktop app installed, the meeting will open automatically
• If you do not have access to a computer or mobile device, you may call in via the provided phone number
• Do NOT attend the meeting using both methods (computer/mobile app or phone), you will have feedback and echoes
• If you have hearing needs, you can turn on Live Captioning (managed by a bot)
• Once you enter the meeting you can click on the three little dots on the control bar to open the More actions menu
• Click on cc Turn on live captions

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TNF Grant Meeting – TONIGHT!

Sorry for the late notice but I just found this in my JUNK folder:

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Feb. 1, 2022, NEVADA CITY, Calif. – The Tahoe National Forest will host a virtual presentation 6:30 p.m. February 10 for those interested in providing input on California OHV grant applications.

The Tahoe NF is preparing its annual application to the California Department of Parks and Recreation’s Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division. The annual application requests funding for trail and OHV facilities maintenance, law enforcement, education and safety, and OHV facility and trail planing.

The hour-long meeting will allow the public to learn more about the grant process and how to provide input.

The meeting will be hosted via Microsoft Teams (https://bit.ly/3s4GAx8). Those interested in attending do not need a Teams account to access the presentation.

“I encourage anyone interested in the OHV program to join in this presentation by the forest and district trail managers, and provide their ideas on these proposals,” said Trails Program Coordinator Joe Chavez.

The annual grants provide important funds for the Tahoe NF to develop and maintain trails and trailheads. This includes repairing winter storm damage, restoring trailside environments, covering patrol units, educating trail users and monitoring OHV areas.

When finalized, the grants will be available for public review and comment on the State of California’s website from March 8, 2022 to May 2, 2022.

Comments can be submitted during the meeting via the Microsoft Teams chat function, or via email to joe.chavez@usda.gov.

Comments can also be mailed to the following address prior to February 24:

Joe Chavez, Forest Trails Program Coordinator

Tahoe National Forest

631 Coyote St.

Nevada City, CA, 95959


Holiday Travelers on Rubicon

After being stuck at home for more than a week, I finally ventured out to the Tahoma trailhead. Although I had no intension of driving out on to the trail, I brought the Jeep just because. The rig stuck on the trail with four guys in it were happy I did.

The neighborhood looks much better:

The berm is very doable and only a few feet tall:

But these guys needed help:

They had barely started up the first incline and got off of the compacted snow of the ruts and stopped.

A few gentle tugs backwards and they were free. I unhooked to get more distance between us and they almost drove out. They needed another tug or two to finally make the pavement.

The trail looks well-travelled but make sure you go prepared. As long as I was in the ruts, I felt very secure. When I got out of my rig, the snow off to the sides was obviously not firm enough to drive on.

The Sno-Park at Blackwood Canyon has been plowed out but remember, this is closed to wheeled vehicles until June 15th.

Be safe, be smart, don’t go alone, be prepared to spend the night.

Enjoy!

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Rubicon Ronin