LTBMU complaint
Posted: September 30, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentThings in the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit are heating up. No, there are no fires burning.
On July 6th, I sat down with Jeff Marsolais to discuss OHV issues in the Basin after a month of trying to get an appointment. The meet was only one half an hour, I had asked for a full hour. With only 30 minutes, I spoke fast and of course with passion. I laid out more than a half dozen issues where the LTBMU had failed to properly or professionally manage OHV.
More than a week and a half later, I email Jeff to ask what had been done so far. He replied that just because I hadn’t heard from him didn’t mean he wasn’t doing anything. Jeff failed to provide any proof of what he had done nor did he provide any examples of what he had done.
So, I filed an eight page complaint to Region Five in Vallejo over Jeff’s lack of management of OHV on his forest. Region Five finally got back to me. It took weeks. I was disappointed to get the same old letter stating in effect ‘we trust our guy, he has a plan, thank you for your concerns.’
Yesterday, I fired back at Region Five. I’m sure it will take a month or more for them to get back to me although I threw in a Thursday deadline for them to at least name an OHV lead/liaison for the LTBMU.
Doug
Major 14N39 trail work by ENF
Posted: August 6, 2015 Filed under: Maintenance, Uncategorized | Tags: 14N39, ENF, maintenance, Richardson Lake Leave a commentSo, I headed out to the Rubicon to place more carsonite trail markers, and came across a large “Road work ahead” sign at the staging area. I was meeting John Briggs, the Friends of the Rubicon Tahoe side lead. We moved markers at a few of the campsites and later placed markers at the intersection of Forest Road 03 (Barker Pass Road) and 03-04.
After getting our volunteer commitments done, we headed up the Richardson Lake Trail (14N39) to see what was actually going on. We knew that the last ‘meadow’ was scheduled for work but wanted to see for ourselves.
On our way up the Rubicon earlier, we came across a HUGE dump truck. It was a Volvo 725. I believe that means a 25 yard bed. I had earlier asked the size of the hauler (before seeing it) and he said it could do 20 tons. This is a similar machine to the ones Placer used to haul so much material last summer. I think it was the same contractor.
We drove up 14N39 to the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), where the trail temporarily ends and walked the short distance from there. There we met Tim Merten. He is a Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) civil engineer on loan to the Eldorado National Forest (ENF) to deal with the “42 Meadow Route Closures”.
At the ‘meadow’, there was a very large excavator working the section of trail that goes through the ‘meadow’. The plan calls for digging down almost two feet, laying cloth that will prevent the rock from sinking but allow water to pass, placing rip-rap about the size of a football, smaller rock on top of that and finally 3/4 crushed rock as ‘drain rock’. The final product should be able three inches above the grade of the ‘meadow’.
I was told they planned on three weeks to complete the work and I wondered if they were going to place each rock by hand.
What I later learned was the plan also calls for rebuilding twenty five (25) rolling dips along the trail as they work their way out.
With any luck, we’ll be driving to the top of Sourdough by the 20th!
Road work in residential area
Posted: July 31, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentFYI, Placer County is doing some asphalt sealing in the residential area at the beginning of the Tahoe side of the Rubicon Trail.
The scheduled dates posted on the signs were Aug 10th – Aug 12th.
I’m sure there will be a way to get through the maze of closed streets but be patient.
Trails & Ales
Posted: June 30, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: education Leave a commentThe Tahoe Donner 4wd Club is hosting the first annual “Trails & Ales” event July 18th and 19th in Tahoe Donner outside of Truckee:
There will be a show & shine event on Saturday which will include a BBQ and beer tasting. On Sunday the club will run participants through the Bear Valley Trail which is up Highway 89.
The Tahoe Donner 4wd Club is a stand up club. They were on of the first clubs to step up and adopt a campsite.
TheOtherRubicon.com is proud to be a sponsor of this event.
Please sign-up as a participant or at least attend the show and shine to check out the rigs and vendor booths.
Doug
Adopt-A-Campsite is official!
Posted: May 9, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentLast week I stopped by the Truckee District office of the Tahoe National Forest (TNF) to meet with Susanne Jensen, the OHV Recreation Specialist. I was going to discuss the status of the campsites I was trying to get adopted and a few of the side trails off the Rubicon. She presented me with the finalized paperwork making the Adopt-A-Campsite program official.
Susanne asked me to be the liaison for any club/group/business/individual wanting to Adopt-A-Campsite. So far we have four camps adopted. Observation is still available. There are many camps off the side trails off the Rubicon. I’m currently working to get them added to my ‘Rubicon Area OHV Trails’ map. These are off the beaten path and very quite places to spend a night.
Please contact me if you are interested in an adoption. It a very small commitment. Currently the TNF is asking for a minimum of two visits a season to clean and maintain the area.
The 'Other' Rubicon 