Snow Run and Shovel Work
Posted: November 12, 2022 Filed under: Access, Maintenance | Tags: snow, snow wall, stakes, stuck Leave a commentThe Lake Tahoe Hi-Lo’s did a flash run just out to the staging area this morning. (Sat, Nov 12th) It was Doug, Keith and Dean. The snow was probably 16 inches deep. We did not have plans to go any further than the staging area although others had.
Not pictured is the very stock Mercedes G-Class SUV we picked up in the residential area. (Not a Hi-Lo member) He had a new rig and wanted to play in the snow but knew better than to play alone. We put him between us and headed in. No picture of the ‘stuck’ but the Mercedes got a little sideways and Dean had to pull him forward.
The trail had some deep snow, but we weren’t the first ones out on the trail. There was quite the pair of ruts to follow.
Once at the staging area someone discovered a still smoldering camp-fire, built on the asphalt parking lot. Seriously, I can’t make this stuff up. We got out the shovels and piled on the snow a stirred it around.
On the way out, we did a little shovel work at the entrance. The plan is to stop by regularly to keep the “wall” extremely low or no “wall” at all. No snow in the foreseeable forecast.
Late last month, three Lake Tahoe Hi-Lo’s came out and installed three new snow stakes to delineate the trail. RTF agreed to reimburse the club for the cost of the materials.
Thank you, guys!
.
Rubicon Ronin
Winter is here, and at the Rubicon
Posted: November 4, 2022 Filed under: Access, Travel | Tags: bathrooms, plowing, snow Leave a commentSnow has arrived on the Rubicon Trail. But it looks like Placer County has yet to figure out their 2022-23 plowing routine…
But the push of extra snow toward the trailhead has begun. The true plow line should be right up the middle of the photo below.
Proof my Grand Cherokee went ‘snow wheeling’.
For the record, it doesn’t have a whole lot of ground clearance! Yes, I was scraping the snow in spots.
But it was gorgeous up there. And the bathrooms were unlocked.
Please be safe out there. Remember to pack food, water, extra clothing, a shovel, recovery equipment, etc. Be prepared to spend the night. Don’t go alone. Let someone know where you are going and when you will return. Carry a ham radio.
.
Rubicon Ronin
Signs, signs, everywhere CLOSURE signs
Posted: October 5, 2022 Filed under: Access | Tags: closure, signs Leave a commentThe Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) and the Tahoe National Forest (TNF) both closed the Rubicon Trail for no justifiable reason during the Mosquito Fire.
Although the closure notices went up quickly, it was a fight to get the Forest Service (FS) to remove the forest order from their website. Many organizations and individuals pressured the Forest Service until the orders were removed. The last order was finally removed from the FS website on October 4th. Remember that on September 27th, the closure order was officially terminated. That’s a full week, for those of you counting.
But what about out on the trail? On Sunday, October 2nd, I ventured out on the trail. This sign was found at the intersection of the Rubicon Trail and the Buck Lake Trail. It was knocked over but still left on the trail.
Take a moment to read those signs that were publicly posted. The FS was posting that the entire forest was closed when in fact only the Rubicon Trail was closed by the forest order. That’s a bit of an overreach.
If we continue to allow the FS to abuse their power, they will only continue to increase the level and frequency of that abuse.
More of a concern, this posting was discovered on a tree along the Rubicon Trail at the intersection of the Ellis Peak Trail. It is a laminated copy of the forest order closing the Rubicon Trail and the associated map. No evidence of the associated termination order issued almost a week ago.
Those signs are no longer in public view but why didn’t the FS do a better job of removing all evidence of the closure?
At the old ATV rental parking area, along the paved portion, the barricades used to block public access were still alongside the Rubicon Trail. One view could be that the FS just hasn’t come back to pick them up or you could think that FS is just leaving them there for the next closure. I’m betting that the two FS guards that staffed the barricade were in a pick-up truck and could have removed the signage when they left.
We all need to keep an eye on all FS actions that close our public lands. We need to challenge each and every closure. And when they reopen, we need to make sure the FS posts the reopening as fast as it posted the closure. Obviously, it will be up to us to get the word out as soon as possible.
.
Rubicon Ronin
Why was the Rubicon Trail closed?
Posted: October 4, 2022 Filed under: Access, Maintenance | Tags: fire, rock, TNF Leave a commentMy last post outlined the work done by the Lake Tahoe Basin Mangement Unit (LTBMU). On Sunday, I ran the trail down to the Springs.
Along the way, it was clear that the Tahoe National Forest (TNF) had also done extensive work on the Rubicon Trail while it was closed. Large, crushed rock had been placed in many, many low spots along the trail. But not ALL the low spots and not in a few smaller very deep holes.
Note the low spot just past the rock in the picture below, not filled in:
The official word was that the trail was closed due to extreme fire danger. But in one report, individuals working with the ‘landowners’ were allowed on to the trail and down to the Springs. Now we have evidence that workers were doing extensive work over a long period of time. And the trail was closed due to extreme fire danger. I assume all of the workers were wearing Nomex, helmets and carrying fire shelters.
This is much needed work but why close the trail to do it?
If they had reached out to the users for help, we could have provided, trailers, warm bodies and financing to accomplish MORE work in the same amount of time. But they didn’t and we still have issues:
The Forest Service (FS) does not play well with others. This is evidence of that. Why? This work was done without the knowledge of the users, without any input from the users and without assistance of the users.
Now the FS, at least the Basin, in this case does not need to inform anyone when they work on their land. But the Tahoe should be informing the others, that are part of the MOU regarding management of the Rubicon, about work to be done on the trail. Did that happen?
Should the users be involved in this communications chain? Yes. Who should be informed on the part of the users? BRC, Cal4, United 4wd, RTF, CORVA, FOTR, local clubs, certain individuals?
More than ever,
.
Rubicon Ronin
LTBMU brings in boulders to prevent illegal trailer parking (while the trail was closed)
Posted: September 29, 2022 Filed under: Access, Maintenance | Tags: parking, staging area, trailers Leave a commentIn a previous post, I documented that trailer parking was getting out of hand at and near the Tahoma staging area. I had also informed the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) about the issue. While the Rubicon Trail was unnecessarily closed due to the Mosquito Fire, the LTBMU went to work.
Tuesday afternoon, right after the trail was reopened, I drove up to the Staging Area to check out that all signs of closure were actually gone. What I found was a lot of new granite:
The area on the north side was left open for overflow use. Sorry, no picture.
A few logs were thrown in to make it look natural.
Some of the rocks are a little on the small side but the users will get the idea.
They even worked the edges of the staging area itself.
We’ll see if it works.
If you trailer your rig to Tahoe, you might want to get there early as there are far fewer parking spots for trailers.
No users were informed that this work would be happening. No input was given other than the work needed to be done. No signage was added to support the rocks. So much for a partnership with the Forest Service.
.
Rubicon Ronin
The 'Other' Rubicon 