Storm coming in!

Just an update on current conditions on the Tahoe side. 4-5-2018.

The pile of snow, curtesy of Placer County snow removal, has been over come on the right side.  There not much of a climb.

Just over the berm there is a two-track heading up the trail.

There is a very wet storm headed in tomorrow, Friday, and hanging around through Saturday. Snow will melt away and what’s left will be very heavy. Great for wheeling, in the morning, but beware in the afternoon as it melts and gets very slippery.

Be safe!

Rubicon Ronin

ENF Open House for grant input

The Eldorado National Forest has posted the date for its open house to discuss OHV grants for the 2018 season.

February 6th from 4-7pm @ 100 Forni Road, Placerville.

This is a good opportunity for the users to give the forest service input as to how we want our OHV funds spent.

U.S. Forest Service Eldorado National Forest 100 Forni Road Placerville, CA 95667 Voice: 530-622-5061 Web: www.fs.usda.gov/eldorado Twitter: @EldoradoNF Facebook: facebook.com /EldoradoNF   News Release Media Contact: Kristi Schroeder 530 622-5061 kschroeder@fs.fed.us

Public invited to Eldorado National Forest Open House to discuss Off-Highway Vehicle grant applications. Placerville, Calif., January 17, 2018 – For Immediate Release. The Eldorado National Forest will be submitting applications for Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) Cooperative Funds for the upcoming 2017/2018 grant cycle. The Forest is developing preliminary applications to the Off Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division which includes a strong emphasis on trail maintenance and repair, law enforcement across the four Ranger Districts, printing and distribution of the Motor Vehicle Use Maps, restoration of impacted areas, planning, and education. As your ideas are important for developing our proposals, the Forest will be hosting an Open House on February 6 from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM to discuss the proposed preliminary grant applications. This Open House will be held at the Eldorado National Forest Supervisor’s Office, 100 Forni Road, Placerville, CA 95667. You can call (530) 622-5061 for directions. The Eldorado National Forest 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, 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 6, 2018 through Monday, April 2, 2018 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 mzurokreimer@fs.fed.us and carbon copying (cc) the OHMVR Division at ohvinfo@parks.ca.gov. You may also send written comments, suggestions, or letters of support for the applications to Michelle Zuro-Kreimer, Eldorado National Forest, 100 Forni Road, Placerville, CA 95667 The Forest Service is an equal opportunity employer. The mission of the Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. ###

Completely off subject…

This was recently emailed to me. (I added the photos.) I felt I needed to share this with others. I have emailed some but thought since I have a place to speak my mind, I should. My apologies for the politics. I promise this won’t happen often. This is the only political piece I’ve ever posted.

Take a stand….

You graduated high school in 2011. Your teenage years were a struggle. You grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. Your mother was the leader of the family and worked tirelessly to keep a roof over your head and food on your plate.

Academics were a struggle for you and your grades were mediocre at best. The only thing that made you stand out is you weighed 225lbs and could run 40 yards in 4.2 seconds while carrying a football.   Your best friend was just like you, except he didn’t play football. Instead of going to football practice after school, he went to work at McDonalds for minimum wage.

You were recruited by all the big colleges and spent every weekend of your senior year making visits to universities where coaches and boosters tried to convince you their school was best. They laid out the red carpet for you. Your best friend worked double shifts at Mickey D’s. College was not an option for him.

On the day you signed with Big State University, your best friend signed paperwork with his Army recruiter. You went to summer workouts. He went to basic. You spent the next four years living in the athletic dorm, eating at the training table. You spent your Saturdays on the football field, cheered on by adoring fans. Tutors attended to your every academic need. You attended class when you felt like it. Sure, you worked hard. You lifted weights, ran sprints, studied plays, and soon became one of the top football players in the country.

Your best friend was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. While you were in college, he deployed to Iraq once and Afghanistan twice. He became a Sergeant and led a squad of 19 year old soldiers who grew up just like he did. He shed his blood in Afghanistan and watched young American’s give their lives, limbs, and innocence for the USA.

You went to the NFL combine and scored off the charts. You hired an agent and waited for draft day. You were drafted in the first round and your agent immediately went to work, ensuring that you received the most money possible. You signed for $16 million although you had never played a single down of professional football. Your best friend re-enlisted in the Army for four more years. As a combat tested sergeant, he will be paid $32,000 per year.

You will drive a Ferrari on the streets of South Beach. He will ride in the back of a Blackhawk helicopter with 10 other combat loaded soldiers. You will sleep at the Ritz. He will dig a hole in the ground and try to sleep. You will “make it rain” in the club. He will pray for rain as the temperature reaches 120 degrees.

On Sunday, you will run into a stadium as tens of thousands of fans cheer and yell your name. For your best friend, there is little difference between Sunday and any other day of the week. There are no adoring fans. There are only people trying to kill him and his soldiers. Every now and then, he and his soldiers leave the front lines and “go to the rear” to rest. He might be lucky enough to catch an NFL game on TV. When the National Anthem plays and you take a knee, he will jump to his feet and salute the television. While you protest the unfairness of life in the United States, he will give thanks to God that he has the honor of defending his great country.

To the players of the NFL: We are the people who buy your tickets, watch you on TV, and wear your jerseys. We anxiously wait for Sundays so we can cheer for you and marvel at your athleticism. Although we love to watch you play, we care little about your opinions until you offend us. You have the absolute right to express yourselves, but we have the absolute right to boycott you. We have tolerated your drug use and DUIs, your domestic violence, and your vulgar displays of wealth. We should be ashamed for putting our admiration of your physical skills before what is morally right. But now you have gone too far. You have insulted our flag, our country, our soldiers, our police officers, and our veterans. You are living the American dream, yet you disparage our great country. I am done with NFL football and encourage all like-minded Americans to boycott the NFL as well.

National boycott of the NFL for Sunday November 12th, Veterans Day Weekend

Boycott all football telecast, all fans, all ticket holders, stay away from attending any games, let them play to empty stadiums. Pass this post along to all your friends and family. Honor our military, some of whom come home with the American Flag draped over their coffin.

Custom Rock Rings

Okay, honestly, I don’t need rock rings. My driving style, type of wheels and the trails I run don’t require rock rings.

But I met Tyler, of Total Metal Innovations, at Sierra Trek. He was a vendor selling his wares and supporting Cal4. He donated three fires rings to the raffle that were sold as a live auction. They brought in about $700. Well, he quoted me a price on a custom set of rings I couldn’t refuse. (I did not getting a deal because I’m posting this online. He has no idea I was going to do this.)

I picked up the rings at his shop in Oregon. I was up there for a wedding on the 19th with no idea there was an eclipse on the 21st. Luckily, I avoided most of the traffic on my way out of town.

Now I need to pick up a set of new wheels, have them welded up and re-powder coated. They might see the trail in 2018.

Tyler will be at future OHV events, look for him or give him a call if you need anything for your rig.

Doug