Are we going to have a winter?
Posted: December 28, 2023 Filed under: Access, Maintenance, Travel | Tags: news, plowing, snow, snow wall, snow-plow, weather, winter Leave a commentAre we going to have a snow wall at the Rubicon?
Last season gave us an incredible amount of snow fall. Some would argue too much. All that snow made for great spring runoff and the filling of our reservoirs.
Strangely, all season long, there was only the typical or expected snow wall at the entrance to the Rubicon. With record snowfall, there was no record tall wall. Individual efforts were made to maintain access to the trail:
Even group efforts were made:
And although these efforts were successful:
Winter continued:
As the above pictures shows, the efforts to maintain access were snowed on but clearly left a designation of where OHV enthusiasts should enter the trail.
My personal belief is that the reason we did not have a HUGE wall was due to the fact that Placer County plowed straight across the entrance to Rubicon Trail. When Placer County plows any kind of “dip” or “wide spot” at the entrance, that extra snow moved adds to the height of the wall at the entrance.
In the picture below from a previous winter, the “STOP” line is clearly visible in the plowed area of Evergreen Way. That stop line is several feet back from the edge of Evergreen Way. That shows that Placer County plowed an extra fifteen feet of snow on top of the wall, further attempting to deter OHV users.
Let’s hope Placer County continues to plow the entrance to the Rubicon Trail without a dip or wide spot.
Although really tall, the height is uniform across the entire stretch of the wall. No extra height from plowing a dip or wide spot.
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Rubicon Ronin
Spaghetti Dinner Tonight, South Tahoe
Posted: November 11, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cancer, carlena, fuindraiser Leave a commentJust a reminder, tonight is the spaghetti dinner fundraiser for Carlena Couey. Stop by and say hi and buy some raffle tickets, even if you don’t stay for the dinner.
I did a quick write up about this and Carlena earlier: https://wordpress.com/post/theotherrubicon.com/7744
If you can’t make it to Tahoe today, they have set up a “Go Fund Me” account: https://www.gofundme.com/f/breast-cancer-treatment-for-carlena-gatekeeper
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Rubicon Ronin
Seasonal Trail Closures
Posted: November 7, 2023 Filed under: Access, Travel | Tags: closures, gates, winter Leave a commentAs many are now reporting, the USFS has started closing gates for the winter. This happens every year.
The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) is the first to close Rubicon area trails, by closing Forest Road 03 in Blackwood Canyon, June 15th – November 5th. This is the paved road to the summit of Barker Pass. The (second) lower gate is just past the river crossing before you head up the hill. There is a gate at the top that should also be closed. It reopens June 15th, depending on road conditions, typically, it’s a late opening due to snow.
I should mention that the Forest Service does not have the best record for closing the gates on BOTH ends of a trail. Just because a gate might be open at the top, do not expect the gate at the bottom to be open if it’s past the closure date.
Other LTBMU trails around the Rubicon SHOULD be open through November 15th: Noonchester Mine Road (14N34A), Buck Lake Trail (14N40) no upper gate, Ellis Peak (14N40B), Middle Fork Trail (15N38).
Forest Road 03 should close on November 16th but is typically left open to the river late, so people can collect Christmas trees, FS permit required. Forest Road 03 will close to wheeled vehicles for the winter, but is a ‘Winter Sno Park’ area for snowmobiles. A parking permit is required to park at the Kaspian Campground parking lot.
Many roads around the Rubicon are open until January 1st: Forest Road 03-04, Upper Barker Meadow (16E79), Lower Barker Meadow (16E76), Long Lake Trail (16E12), Ellis Lake Trail (16E18), Richardson Lake Trail (14N39).
It is the user’s responsibility to know the closure dates and to know where you are at all times.
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Rubicon Ronin
Almost made it…
Posted: October 30, 2023 Filed under: Access, Maintenance | Tags: FOTR, maintenance, snow Leave a commentThis morning, I met up with a few fellow FOTR volunteers at the entrance to Blackwood Canyon. The goal was to meet the dump truck full of twelve yards of rock for the upcoming FOTR maintenance effort on November 5th.
Well, we met up with the truck, but we failed to get the truck to the dump spot. The drive was tight.
The very last grade was a LONG north aspect that actually had the big rig slipping towards the edge and drop off. He correctly backed down and we decided the correct line of action was to turn around.
This was as far as the rig made it.
On a side note, even if you have a mobile ham radio mounted in your rig, always bring your handheld as a back-up. This antenna set-up does not work without the whip installed.
This is how I store the antenna when not in use, as it fits better in the garage.
But at some point, over the last few days, I lost the whip. About to call the Ham Radio Outlet to order a replacement. Maybe Amazon can next day deliver? If not, I’ll have my handheld.
Shannon is trying to work out the details to get rock delivered to keep the FOTR work party on the 5th on track. Stay tuned.
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Rubicon Ronin
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.
The 'Other' Rubicon 