Two Rubicon Reroutes In The Works

Let’s cut to the chase. Here’s the Forest Service map show the two proposed reroutes:

The first and larger reroute would bypass (in orange) the shelf road above Miller Lake. This has been on the books for some-time but this latest proposal moves the intersection of the Rubicon and Forest Road 03-04 further north-west. The new proposal is longer and would bypass two low spots on the trail along Miller Meadow.

The second reroute (in yellow) would bypass the famous “mud” hole that has been repaired and is now just a water hole with a hardened base. At least I think that’s where that one runs.

Here is the “review” from September 2019:

For the record, there has been a previous reroute at the intersection of the Rubicon and Forest Road 03-04. Here’s a link to a previous post of mine, from 2014!

https://wordpress.com/post/theotherrubicon.com/877

If you were looking closely, this document came out in 2019. I became aware of it today, 1-24-24. If you read the document, “The Other Rubicon” was mentioned on page 3 as a “contacted” or “conferred with” person. Although I have worked with the Tahoe National Forest on several OHV issues, I don’t recall any formal conversations about these reroutes. I certainly do not agree with everything in this document. It would have been nice if the FS had sent me a copy of this document when published in 2019, since the3y mentioned me in it.

So, what do I not agree with? Let’s go through the document page by page.

On the very first page it talks about “activities that restore, rehabilitate”. With out going into detail, I’m not in favor of completely doing away with the sections the FS wants to bypass. The long reroute would restrict access to private property.

I laughed that on the second page the document talks about the “hundreds” of annual vehicles on the trail. It should read tens of thousands of vehicles annually!

Also on page two, “decommission three short, user created bypass trail segments”. All three users created bypasses along Cadillac Hill allow for passing, either in the same or opposite direction. I distinctly remember telling this to Joe Chavez, on the trail, while he was attempting to decommission them with a spider excavator without public input. I talked him out of it that day, I guess I’ll have to do it again.

Timeline – this document was signed in 2019. The grant process is taking place in 2024. The plan is to work the trail in 2025.

There will be a formal open house held by the FS to review all of their grant projects. Here’s the downside, the forest service is under no obligation to listen to the users input. Even if every comment is opposed a certain project, the FS can ignore that input and do the project anyway.

We’ll have to find a new way to change their minds.

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Rubicon Ronin