Running the entire trail, in winter!
Posted: March 5, 2020 Filed under: Access, Travel | Tags: prepared, snow wheeling, winter Leave a commentAnother great source of Rubicon information is the “Rubicon Gazette” Facebook page. That is where I found this story and all of these pictures. El Dorado County frequently posts there to keep the users informed.
Just recently posted are the adventures of a few brave soles who traveled on the the Rubicon in the dead of winter. Ok, yes, winter is sort-of dead right now but it’s still brave to wander on to the Rubicon this time of year.
They started from Tahoma and found a few obstacles…
But they made it to Observation…
Believe it or not, they met some rigs coming up Cadillac Hill and out of Rubicon Springs. A group had just driven through the entire trail in March.
The group that entered from Tahoma camped for the night. I don’t know if they checked the weather or not.
They woke up to almost a foot of fresh snow…
Everyone made it out.
Any time of year, please be prepared for the possibility of spending the night. These guys knew they were spending the night and prepared. Not everyone expects to spend the night out there but things happen.
Remember to check out the “Rubicon Gazette” Facebook page for news about the Rubicon Trail.
Enjoy your trail but be safe.
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Rubicon Ronin
The TJ gets rocker guards
Posted: February 23, 2020 Filed under: Travel | Tags: accessories, build, vehilce Leave a commentSo you buy a new rig and just have to change it up a little bit to make it your own by putting your touch on it. Well, for a first step, I went with rocker guards.
The Jeep is a Rubicon model so it came with basic rocker guards but I wanted something more stout and something with a step that will keep the body a little further from the rocks.
I went with A to Z Fabrications. I liked the square tubing that matches the spare tire carrier and the fact it runs the entire length of the body, not just between the fender flares.
Here’s a first look with the guard running under the flares. Note how tall the guards is in this picture.
The 1/4 plate of the guards goes well under the rig.
I decided I wanted to keep the flares stock so I moved forward with altering the guards to accommodate the flares. It was too tall for me so I cut down the height 1 1/2″.
After lots of blue tape and measuring twice…
Realizing that I had probably weakened the guards, I added support under each end. The guards came with the bar to prevent bending with the tightening of the bolts but I added the cut tubes. The block fills the space between the guard and the under side of the body for a snug fit.
In the front, there was too much room to fill the gap so I welded a thick piece of angle iron to strengthen the leading edge.
In my haste to get these installed, I failed to get a picture of the powder coated guards before I installed them.
While I was at it, I took off the front bumper and welded up the unneeded holes and had someone else weld on a d-ring mount. I still need to reline the winch. I made a bracket for the airline as well. You can barely see the rock light on the outside of the bumper.
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Rubicon Ronin
Rubicon Oversight Committee meeting
Posted: February 22, 2020 Filed under: Access, Maintenance | Tags: access, El Dorado County, ENF, Grant funding, LTBMU, maintenance, Placer, TNF Leave a commentLast Thursday, 2/20/20, El Dorado County held a Rubicon Oversight Comittee meeting in South Lake Tahoe. Here are my notes…
Rubicon Oversight Committee meeting
February 20, 2020 South Lake Tahoe
Vickie Sanders & Justin Williams El Dorado County Parks & Trails
Nineteen in attendance: eight users (six Hi-Lo’s & two Tahoe Donner 4-Wheelers) the rest were agency representatives
Not being a professional secretary, I’m just going to type out the notes I took:
Adopt-a-trail
16 segments within El Dorado County, one available for adoption, Buck Lake area
Holding off on adoptions of the Placer side until the major fixes have been completed
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
Many agencies have come together to agree to support management and maintenance of the Rubicon Trail:
El Dorado County Placer County
Eldorado National Forest Tahoe National Forest Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit CA State Parks – OHMVR Division
Vickie Sanders is THE point of contact for all things Rubicon. She will get you in touch with the right person for you question/concern.
Rubicon Trail Foundation
RTF has donated $32,000 for ten hours of helicopter fly time to fly rock in to the trail where it is needed:
Cadillac Hill (gabions to be built on site) Swamp area near Miller Creek Hardening of rolling dips
Grants
Grants are to be written as if the trail is under the management of a single agency. This year CA State Parks wanted letters from each agency but in the future the MOU will prevent that need.
Reroute & Cadillac (not the same issue)
Plans are in the works to reroute the Rubicon Trail away from the section where the trail is about to fall off in to Miller Creek. There are old logging roads that will be used for the reroute. Part of the current grant is to do the studies needed to make this happen. This year is planning, next year is approvals, maybe to be completed in 2022.
A historical analysis of the Placer County section of the trail is just one of the studies that will need to be completed before the reroute and before ANY major work on the trail.
El Dorado County’s system is to do “major” work on the trail every other year. This give the county time to plan for future major projects and to catch-up if a “major” project drags out. 2020 is a “major” year as Cadillac Hill will see “major” work.
The Staging Area
The LTBMU received a grant to pave the staging area four years ago. That grant expires in Sept of 2020 and wasn’t enough to cover the cost of paving. With the new MOU, the Basin has reached out to El Dorado to get more money to fully complete the work. This will include expanding the size of the parking area. It also means the taking down of the trees currently within the parking area.
To Do’s: El Dorado & Placer
There is a small to do list on the El Dorado County website. Anyone, any group, can sign up to complete any of those projects.
Winter issues
There have been talks to pave the quad rental parking/staging area. This could lead to a snow removal contract (paid for with OHV funds) to access that parking area all winter long. Just talking right now.
Placer is still working on addressing the snow berm in Tahoma.
Outhouses
El Dorado County is having an F550 built to be the new Poo Pumper. RTF will no longer be contracted to do poo removal. The County has a poo pumping trailer as a back-up.
Ham
The Spider Lake repeater has been down off and on for some time. Tim Green has a separate repeater on his property that uses the same frequencies.
Tim Green also runs the “Rubicon Gazette” Facebook page. That page seems to be THE place to go for updates regarding the Rubicon Trail.
Jeepers Jamboree events
Jeepers Jamboree must now permit with the Tahoe National Forest and the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit as Placer is now not managing the Rubicon. This could lead to possible closures and/or restrictions of the trail within Placer County.
Please contact Joe Chavez is you have any comments, questions or concerns about these possible restrictions.
Maintenance levels
The TNF is also looking for input about the maintenance level the Rubicon will receive. That could be in the form of what type or level of rig should the trail be maintained. As an FYI, the Fordyce Trail is maintained to a level that a competent driver, in a rig on 35” tires and one locker will face a ‘challenge’ but be passable.
Again, contact Joe is you have an opinion.
I tried to do the best I could but I’m sure I missed something or made an error. Please contact me or Vickie is you have questions or see a mistake.
Thanks,
Doug
LTBMU Open House for OHV Grant review
Posted: February 12, 2020 Filed under: Access, Maintenance | Tags: grant, LTBMU Leave a commentOne more…
NEWS RELEASE
USDA Forest Service
Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit
35 College Drive
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150
(530) 543-2600
Please Distribute Widely
Date: Feb. 11, 2020
Contact: Public Affairs, Lisa Herron 530-543-2815 or lisa.herron@usda.gov
Forest Service hosts off-highway vehicle grant open house
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif., Feb. 11, 2020 – The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) will host an open house in South Lake Tahoe on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020, to provide information and seek public input on our annual California Department of Parks and Recreation Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division grant applications. The OHMVR applications request funding for trail maintenance and operation of facilities for off-highway vehicle access in the Tahoe Basin.
The open house will take place in the Emerald Bay Room at the Forest Supervisor’s office in South Lake Tahoe, 35 College Drive, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150. The public may arrive anytime between 4 and 6 p.m. and visit informational stations, talk with staff and ask questions. There will be no formal presentation. The 60-day grant application comment period begins Tuesday, March 3, 2020, and ends Monday, May 4.
“We encourage anyone interested in off-highway vehicle recreation to join us for this event,” said LTBMU Trails Engineer, Jacob Quinn. “Participants can learn about the outstanding off-highway vehicle opportunities in the Lake Tahoe Basin and how these grants support the operations and maintenance of our off-highway vehicle programs.”
For requests for reasonable accommodation access to the facility or proceedings, contact Adrian Escobedo at 530-543-2758 or email adrian.escobedo@usda.gov.
For more information on the applications, grant process or how to comment, contact Jacob Quinn at 530-543-2609 or email jacob.quinn@usda.gov.
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ROC Meeting in SLT 2/20/20
Posted: February 11, 2020 Filed under: Access, Maintenance | Tags: El dorado, grants, Placer, TNF Leave a commentEl Dorado County will be holding the February Rubicon Oversight Committee (ROC) meeting on Feb 20th in South Lake Tahoe at the California Conservation office at 6:30pm. It’s located at 1949 Apache Ave.
Here’s the agenda…
AGENDA
I. DISCUSSION ITEMS:
• Annual Report
• Rubicon MOU
• Grants
o New audit requirements
• Maintenance Activities for 2020 Season
• County Seasonal Help
• County Pumper Truck Update
• Jamboree 5 Year Parade Permit
• Upcoming events
II. AGENCY/ORGANIZATION UPDATES/NEW INFORMATION
Vickie Sanders has been trying to move the meetings around, outside of Placerville, in order to get more participation from the users.
If you have any questions about the Rubicon and how it’s maintained and/or managed, please get to the meeting.
El Dorado County will be involved with the management and maintenance of the Placer County section of the Rubicon along with the Tahoe National Forest.
The 'Other' Rubicon 