Fed and FS Still Shut Down
Posted: November 1, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: gates, reroute, staging Leave a commentWith the federal government shut down, the US Forest Service is shut down. But our OHV trails are NOT shut down. Get out there and enjoy while the weather is awesome and the changing tree colors are beautiful.
Although the shutdown should end somewhat soon, the effects of the shutdown might linger. Three Rubicon Trail projects/issues come to mind.
I’m going to apologize up front. After rereading this post, it is full of rumor, opinion and things I have not been able to confirm. So, take it with a grain of salt.
The first project has been discussed for years and was scheduled to start in 2025. This would be the reroute around the Miller Creek shelf road section of the Rubicon Trail. Yes, the government shutdown has currently stopped the project, but I’m hearing that there are other factors stalling the project. I cannot confirm a lawsuit regarding the reroute, but the rumor is out there. There is also talk of repairs to the shelf road rather than the reroute, with one donor offering a lot of money to see the current route repaired rather than do the reroute. For the record, the UDFS has already made the decision not to do a repair but to go forward with a reroute. There is talk of forest service gates being put on the new reroute as it is not part of the county’s recognized ‘right-of-way’, although I have a document that promises not gates on the new section of 16E75, the Rubicon Trail. That will be a fight as decades ago gates were also threatened, fought against and we won. Again, with the FS shutdown, I cannot confirm this.
One of the lesser talked about aspects of the “reroute” project is the decommissioning of several user created routes along Cadillac Hill. I am very much opposed to closing any of these as they allow safe passage of rigs going up and coming down Cadillac Hill. Closure of these short, parallel trails will force users to drive off trail to get around each other.
The second project is the expansion of the Tahoma staging area parking lot. Along with the shutdown of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, the LTBMU is very short on personnel due to transfers and retirements and cannot complete the work they agreed to do regarding planning and permitting. No idea when the LTBMU can hire and fill positions, bring those individuals up to speed and get their work on the expansion completed.
The third is my effort to talk about the opening of OHV gates. This didn’t even get off the ground as our first group meeting was cancelled due to the shutdown. The good news is we really have until May to get together and produce a plan to get the FS gates open on time. I’m confidant this will get done and our OHV trails will be accessible on time.
Get out there and use our OHV trails. Please remember that in the Sierra, this time of year, any weather is possible. Go prepared to spend the night. Be safe, Think smart.
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Rubicon Ronin
Another day on the side trails
Posted: October 10, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Ellis Peak, video Leave a commentA beautiful fall day on the side trails around the Tahoe side of the Rubicon Trail.
My first time up the Noonchesteer Mine Road in probably a decade. This is actually coming back down after the small loop at the end. There is a gate at the end of the public trail. Please respect the private property.
The first surprise was the tree trunk blocking the Buck Lake Trail.
It seems to have come down from the hole in the upper left corner of this picture.
It was a bit of a task to make the trail passable. My winch line wasn’t long enough to go to the far tree. And I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of hooking my winch to it and pulling it off a cliff, maybe taking my front bumper with it.
I ended up pulling it down the trail and pushing it a bit with my bumper. It was a little tight getting around it. I’ll try and go back out with a better plan.
Hunting season might have started. I saw a guy on a quad with a rifle. I assume this is his camp at the intersection of 03-04 and 16E79. That tells you how easy 03-04 is from Barker Pass to that area.
I’m working on a new feature for the website, videos. I’m not looking to be a Lucas or Spielberg but maybe a John Ford, referring to his classic westerns with breath taking backdrops.
The goal is to video (and edit/shorten) each side trail.
Here’s one from the top of Ellis Peak.
This should keep me busy this winter.
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Rubicon Ronin
Stephens – Townsend – Murphy Party
Posted: September 28, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: history, mountain pass, pioneers Leave a commentThe Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party was the first European Americans to cross the Sierra Nevada with wagons. All 52 people survived the journey to California, including two infants who were born on the westward journey.
This week, (starting Sept 29th) a group of endurance athletes are hoping they can shine a much-deserved spotlight on the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party by embarking on a historical expedition that will trace 120 miles of the route the six horseback riders took across the Sierra Nevada.
The full story of the reenactment can be found here:
Here’s where it gets interesting…
“The wagon party decided to split up, increasing their odds of reaching Sutter’s Fort. On Nov. 14, a group of six people left the party on horseback and followed the Truckee River to its source at Lake Tahoe, which was then known only to the Washoe Tribe as “Da Ow,” meaning “lake.” “
“The Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party were not the first white people to lay eyes on Lake Tahoe. But historians believe the six riders were the first to stand on Lake Tahoe’s shoreline. From the mouth of the Truckee River, they traveled south and down Tahoe’s west shore, where several steep canyons and drainages lead up and over the Sierra Nevada crest. According to Antonucci, the route the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy riders took was in all likelihood up McKinney Creek to Burton Pass, near today’s popular Rubicon Trail, frequently traveled by off-roaders.“
Sadly, the map is not clear enough, but I have read that this group followed McKinney Creek up the east side, Miller Creek down to the Rubicon River and then followed the Rubicon River out to the Middle Fork of the American River and out to the valley. Remember, Hell Hole would not have been dammed up.
Here’s the book I’m referencing, but I’m not going to reread it for the page number. A cool book about why Highway 80 is an interstate highway and 88 is not. And the story of why Highway 4 never got built up is interesting. It discusses railroad routes as well. You think we have bribes and politics going on now, they were going on back then as well. It covers all the roads, passes and railways.
Another article about the pioneers…
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=23567
Yet another article. I don’t want to copy and paste a bunch of stuff but each article has a little something more than the last.
https://www.truckeehistory.org/the-first-pioneer-wagons-crossed-the-sierra-over-160-years-ago.html
So, the wagons did eventually go up and over Donner pass. There is a plaque along Old Highway 40 overlooking Donner Lake.
Back to “The Other Rubicon”, it appears that the Tahoe side of the trail was the first white man crossing of the Sierra in the Tahoe area. Just one more reason why the Tahoe side is the better side. 😉
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Rubicon Ronin
Blackwood Canyon Staging Area to CLOSE
Posted: September 19, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 15N38, closure Leave a commentDon’t panic, it’s a temporary closure to allow helicopters to land and help replace nearby power poles.
“My name is Savannah Tabor and I work for the Forest Service in the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. Liberty Utilities will replacing powerline poles at Eagle Rock and will be using the Barker Meadow OHV Staging Area 39.103326, -120.204036 as a helicopter landing zone between 10/12/2025-10/16/2025. If you have any concerns you can either contact myself savannah.tabor@usda.gov or Kelso Carapia kelso.carapia@usda.gov.”
I clarified that it is only the staging area that is closed. The Middle Fork Trail should be open for public use.
This is the staging area at the bottom of the Middle Fork Trail at the Blackwood Canyon campground and the pit toilets.
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Rubicon Ronin
TNF Stage Two Fire Restrictions
Posted: August 25, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: campfire, fire, welding Leave a commentThe Tahoe National Forest has implemented Stage two fire restrictions. For us, that means no welding.
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https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/tahoe/alerts/stage-2-fire-restrictions
Forest Order
Pursuant to 16 U.S.C. § 551 and 36 C.F.R. § 261.50(a), and to provide for public safety and protect natural resources, the following acts are prohibited on National Forest System lands within or administered by the Tahoe National Forest. This Order is effective from August 22, 2025, through October 31, 2025.
1. Building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire, campfire, or stove fire, except within a charcoal grill or fire ring provided within a recreation site maintained by a campground host listed in Exhibit A. 36 C.F.R. § 261.52(a).
2. Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, within a recreation site maintained by a campground host listed in Exhibit A, or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable material. 36 C.F.R. § 261.52(d).
3. Operating an internal combustion engine off paved, gravel or dirt National Forest System roads and trails, except within the Prosser Pits Developed Off-Highway Vehicle Area and boats on a water surface. 36 C.F.R. § 261.52(g).
4. Welding, or operating an acetylene or other torch with open flame. 36 C.F.R. § 261.52(h).
Pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 261.50(e), the following persons are exempt from this Order:
1. Any Federal, State, or local officer, or member of an organized rescue or fire-fighting force in the performance of an official duty.
2. Persons with a valid California Campfire Permit are not exempt from the prohibitions listed above. However, persons with a valid California Campfire Permit may use a portable campfire ring/pit, stove, or lantern in an area at least three feet from any flammable materials provided that the portable campfire ring/pit, stove, or lantern only burns gas, kerosene, jellied petroleum or pressurized liquid fuel and has a with a shut-off valve.
3. Persons engaged in Forest Products Removal (fuelwood) are not exempt from the prohibitions listed above but may operate an internal combustion engine off National Forest System roads and trails only to the extent necessary to cut fuelwood, provided the cutting of fuelwood is done in compliance with daily fire danger project activity levels.
4. Persons with Forest Service Permit No. FS-7700-48 (Permit for Use of Roads, Trails, or Areas Restricted by Regulation or Order), specifically exempting them from this Order.
These prohibitions are in addition to the general prohibitions contained in 36 C.F.R. Part 261, Subpart A.
A violation of these prohibitions is punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000 for an individual or $10,000 for an organization, or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both. 16 U.S.C. § 551 and 18 U.S.C. §§ 3559, 3571, and 3581.
Executed in Nevada City, California, this 20th day of August, 2025
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Be safe out there.
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Rubicon Ronin
The 'Other' Rubicon 