Extremely Worthy Fundraiser
Posted: October 21, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized 1 CommentOn November 11th, there will be a Spaghetti Feed fundraiser for Carlena of the Lake Tahoe Hi-Lo’s 4wd Club in South Lake Tahoe. Details on the Facebook page below:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1072793103759301

If you have ever been on the Hi-Lo’s Poker Run, it happened because of Carlena. She is THE driving force that makes that event happen. From Forest Service permits (and I think it takes three), the county permit, to registration, to the out houses, oh yeah, and the Poker hands, it’s all Carlena.
Contact Corinna 209.403.2483 @ or Wendy @ 707.430.2183, for questions or if you can’t make it and would like to donate.
Changed to November 5th…FOTR workday, Tahoe side, pre-winter maintenance.
Posted: September 24, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentJust saw that the work project has been moved to Sunday November 5th. Colder but better than sweating to death.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100070000514296
FOTR has announced a Tahoe side workday for November 5th.
The Tahoe National Forest has asked for help in prepping the Rubicon Trail for the upcoming winter. Rolling dips need to be built up, drains need to be cleared of debris, soft spots need to be hardened and illegal bypasses need to be blocked off.
Contact Shannon, our FOTR Trail Boss if you’re interested in helping out.
There is a chance the date will change if tourn out is low, so let Shannon know as soon as possible.
Email her at: FOTRTrailBoss@gmail.com
.
Rubicon Ronin
“Berm-Away”, a new Rubicon Trailhead service
Posted: December 6, 2022 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Placer, plowing, snowwall Leave a commentThe Lake Tahoe area got a dumping of snow over the last few days. After a short day of skiing Alpine Meadows, I drove to the Rubicon Trailhead. The ever-present snow wall was actually being built. More later. Note photo below compared to the third photo below.

There was a route through the wall from those that had snowshoed or cross county skied up the trail. I wanted to open the entrance a little bit more for wheeled vehicles.
Before I had the chance to unload my blower, the plow guy came by to add to my workload. Fortunately, I was right at my rig and I was able to move it without interfering with the plow operator. He did come by a few more times on the other side of the street and just shook his head. My camera operator was hiking up the trail when they heard it come by.

So, after repositioning my truck, my unnamed accomplice and I pulled out my snowblower and we went to work. It was a chunky ice nightmare. We used the shovel to break down the wall and then the blower to throw it to the side. Please note that all snow moved from the roadway was thrown to an area known to also be over asphalt.

It took about 45-minutes and it was time to leave. The neighbor across the street had already come out of her house to take pictures from her driveway. I figured the sheriff was on the way. We left it a little narrow, but everyone will get the point that this is the entrance to the Rubicon Trail.

On the drive back home, shortly north of the turn off 89, a sheriff’s rig was headed south bound!
The Rubicon Trail is open year-round! The trailhead is now open to anyone and everyone that would like to enjoy it.
.
Rubicon Ronin
.
Update:
So, checked a few days later and not much new but decided to clean it up a bit

Didn’t take any time at all.

It’s a good eight feet wide through the berm. I drove my truck in about ten feet. I was alone and didn’t want to get stuck twenty feet from the road.
Big storm coming this weekend. Be prepared if you go out!
I’m Confused
Posted: September 25, 2022 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: closure Leave a commentAs with all of you, I’m trying to get a handle on this Mosquito Fire Rubicon closure situation. So, I try and find all the current information that I can, so I can pass it along to you.
The Tahoe National Forest and the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit still have a forest order in place closing the Rubicon Trail. I just checked (9/25/22, 7:45am), it’s still on the LTBMU website.
El Dorado County’s ‘Parks’ page and the subsequent ‘Rubicon’ page still have the Rubicon Trail as closed, but then lists the guidelines for traveling. “The Rubicon Trail is closed and the guidelines traveling are:” A little confusing.

Poking around the website a little more, the El Dorado County’s Sheriff has NOT posted the Rubicon Trail as closed. It lists Ice House Road and Wentworth Springs Road as closed but NOT the Rubicon Trail. A little more confusing.

From the same website, the El Dorado County closure map shows nothing closed or under current evacuation orders. Now, this map does not show roads but shouldn’t it reflect the current FS closures?

Per the Eldorado National Forest, the current closure has the area ahead of the active fire closed.

Our government agencies need to get their act together and become more transparent and to provide accurate information to the general public. The purpose of getting this information out is to educate the general public about where they can safely and legally travel and where they can’t. If the information out there is vague or contradictory, the public is confused.
I’m hoping that tomorrow, through the re-evaluation that has been promised, the Rubicon Trail will once again be open to the public. I’m betting they wait until the end of the day to make an announcement, if they announce anything. It’s more likely that if they reopen the Rubicon, they’ll just remove all orders but not tell anyone the trail has reopened.
.
Rubicon Ronin
Forest Service Backs Down on Closures
Posted: September 23, 2022 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: closures, ENF Leave a commentHere is the link to the NEW forest order:
The Eldorado National Forest has redrawn the closure area for the Mosquito Fire. The Rubicon Trail area is now OPEN within the Eldorado National Forest but the El Dorado County website still has the Rubicon Trail closed. I will be emailing Vickie as soon as I stop typing this line.
Vickie emailed, TNF called (left message), LTBMU called (left message). 9/23/2022 1:30pm
Let’s see how long it takes to get the Rubicon Trail reopened.
Friday 5pm: The word on the street is that the ‘Incident Command Team’ running the Mosquito Fire is not allowing the County to reopen the Rubicon Trail at this time. There will be a reevaluation done on Monday that should get the trail reopened. Please respect the unnecessary closure for a little while longer.
.
Rubicon Ronin