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!
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Rubicon Ronin
Public Service Announcement
Posted: November 7, 2022 Filed under: Maintenance | Tags: parts, support, vehicle Leave a commentOkay, not really Rubicon related but 4-Wheel Parts is moving across town from Sparks into Reno.
Although the official address is 5405 Meadowood Mall Circle, it’s also off Neil Road. For the locals, it’s across from the Food Court doors at the Meadowood Mall.
https://www.4wheelparts.com/stores/nevada/4wp-sparks-nv-227
The show room might be smaller, but the warehouse is five times as large as the old location. That, along with upgraded supply chains, should mean much quicker parts delivery.
My most recent 4wp order was shipped directly to my door. Then it took some time to actually get the axles installed:
4-Wheel Parts plans on starting sales from the new location by the end of this week!
Let’s support our local ‘brick and mortar’ stores. Next time you need a part for your rig, or a Christmas present for your favorite blog poster, swing by and check them out.
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Rubicon Ronin
Doesn’t Play Well With Others…
Posted: October 13, 2022 Filed under: Maintenance | Tags: communications, LTBMU, maintenance, TNF Leave a commentLet me start by saying that I am glad that work is finally getting done on the Rubicon Trail.
What bothers me is the complete failure to communicate.
Again, the users were not a part of the planning for this work, the users were not made aware that the work was going to take place and the users were not allowed to volunteer during this maintenance effort. Or were they?
So, the Lake Tahoe Basin Managment Unit (LTBMU) was out on the trail last week rebuilding some of the rolling dips that were put in place way back in 2000. It is my understanding that the work was funded by the Rubicon Trail Foundation (RTF), but I have not confirmed that, yet.
The photos are not the best, but I blame the sun, or the shadows. This is rolling dip (always improperly referred to as a ‘water bar’) is number one. Back in the day, 28 of these were placed to prevent water from running down the trail. Back then, each rolling dip was rock lined to prevent erosion.
Unfortunately, the LTBMU did not consult anyone before doing the work. Obviously, they know absolutely everything. They must tour the trail every spring documenting the run-off from melting snow. They must know the best building techniques to build long-lasting rolling dips. Or not.
Where to begin. Many of the rolling dips that were rebuilt, shouldn’t have been. Of the original 28, there were a good eight that should never have been placed. But Placer went overboard. So did the LTBMU.
If you drive the Middle Fork Trail up Blackwood Canyon, you’ll see some absolutely great rolling dips. They’re HUGE. But the LTBMU did not build the same rolling dips for the Rubicon. These are mostly loose river rock that will break down and not last.
More dips…
Some of the drains are dug well enough to work but others are not, or worse, don’t exist.
Again, some don’t exist…
This missing rolling dip is the old 7A designation. There is a creek on the right that doesn’t quite reach the Arizona Crossing (rolling dip #8). The water will continue to flow all the way down the trail to number 7, where it will be directed off the trail.
So, I alluded to the fact that the users might have known about this work. But the more I look at the email, the topic might have been other work.
Here’s the deal, on September 27th, the Tahoe National Forest (TNF) reached out about an upcoming work party for October 9th. It was a drain building/cleaning effort. I don’t know all of the names to whom the email was sent. But Friends of the Rubicon (FOTR) received it.
I honestly don’t know if the work party ever happened. But I do know that four of the largest four-wheel drive clubs on the Tahoe end of the trail never got the word. The Lake Tahoe Hi-Lo’s, Tahoe Donner 4-Wheelers, Sierra Stompers and the Hills Angels never sent out an email to their members about a work party. Reno4x4.com never posted about an upcoming work party.
So, who dropped the ball?
FOTR got the word. I’m not on that email list so I only assume it went out to the list as at least one person let me know they got it.
RTF knew about the rolling dip work, if they did indeed fund it. I never saw anything on their website about it. Just looking at their website, I don’t see anything about maintenance projects. There is an FOTR page.
So, how is the typical user supposed to learn about possible project in order to make comments before the project? How is the typical supposed to learn about scheduled projects in order to help out or avoid the trail that day?
It seems like nobody sees a need to get the word out. That’s disappointing as the users should know. The users should be involved. Volunteer time can be used as matching funds for grants.
If we could only talk to each other.
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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,
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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.
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Rubicon Ronin
The 'Other' Rubicon 