Traffic, Gates, Camping, Parking, Fires…

Posted: June 9, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

I left my house at 6:45 this morning. My laptop told me I had a one hour and eleven-minute drive to the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) offices in South Lake Tahoe. The plan was to walk in as they opened their doors at 8am.

I walked into the headquarters at 9:45. At one point, the entire road was red with traffic on my phone. Yes, I had to drive through that entire traffic jam.

There was more than a one and a half hour delay due to construction, once into the Tahoe basin.

The LTBMU is in disarray. People have left; retired or moved to other forests. Some positions have been filled but they do not have the experience, at the position or on the LTBMU. Misinformation is being communicated within the LTBMU. The phones have been out for five weeks. But, I finally found someone who could help.

Progress was made as the latest employee responsible for opening seasonal gates guaranteed me the gate on 15N38 would be open by the end of the week. She even said she would drive up the west side of the lake today and open the gate. Cautiously waiting on her email.

My plan is to be out tomorrow morning to make sure the Middle Fork Trail is safe and clear. It sounds like some clearing has been done already by one of the Fire Prevention people.

The camping at Kaspian at the lake on Forest Road 03 and the Blackwood campground are now being managed by Vista Recreation. Part of the agreement includes charging for parking for “day use” at the SnoPark lot during the summer. I’m hoping we can stop and use the restrooms without being charged.

There have been numerous lightning strikes over the last few days but the only fires in the basin was a single tree above the Kings Beach area.

We’re close. We’re very, very close to getting our OHV trails open. Please be patient, stay on the trails. “Turn Around, Don’t Turn Around”.

.

Rubicon Ronin

Side Trail Conditions…

Posted: June 2, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , | Leave a comment

I was asked about side trails: Buck Lake, Richardson Lake (Sourdough Hill), Ellis, etc. I have not personally been out on those yet.

The people I referred to in the last post about locals getting out in the side-by-sides and clearing trees said they had been on and had “cleared” all of the side trails. Sourdough will have one or two sections with nasty side hills. They said Buck does have a very side hill section before the rocky climb just above the lake. Ellis always has snow later in the season.

Some of the “clearing” they had done was before the last big snow melt. That melt exposed tress we cleared out yesterday. Who knows what’s out there. This time of year you should carry a saw , of some kind, and be prepared to winch trees out of the way.

“Turn Around, Don’t Go Around!”

They were in a well-built set of side-by-sides. I would expect that a street legal rig would have a much more difficult time traversing the snow, especially a side hill snow drift.

The snow will melt very fast. Two weeks will make a HUGE difference.

.

Rubicon Ronin

There’s Still Snow!

Posted: June 1, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

The plan was to go in through Blackwood Canyon and up the Middle Fork Trail (15N38) and clear trees to the summit. If we had time, we were going to head down the Red Cabin Trail (upper hobbit/Barker Meadow OHV Trail, 16E79) and then down the actual Hobbit Trail (16E76).

Well, the gate at the bottom of Forest Service Road 03 was still locked. Long story for later. So, we headed over to the Rubicon to go around the back way.

When we got to the intersection of the Rubicon and Forest Road 03-04, we took 03-04 toward Barker Pass. It wasn’t too long before we found trees that needed attention. This is actually the third tree we removed. The first was on the Rubicon and people had stacked rocks to get over it!

Some were so rotten, we just pulled them to the side. So many times I forgot to get out the camera.

This one took some rigging for the winch to be able to pull it to the side.

As we got around the north side of Ellis Peak, the snow became deeper. The snow wheeling was actually pretty fun. The snow kept traction as long as you were going stupid slow.

We made it past Bear Lake but the northern aspect protected the snow and it was becoming quite a side hill.

Here is the guy in front of me dropping down the last hill we went down.

We finally came to a downhill section we decided we didn’t want to crawl back up. We turned around and headed home. The side hill was pretty steep right here but it doesn’t show.

We never made it over to any of the three trails we were trying to get to. I will be looking into the situation with the locked gates.

On the way out, We stopped at the Rubicon intersection and met two side-by-sides going out 03-04. They were locals who had been clearing trees on a bunch of side trails for the last three weeks! Awesome.

I need to thank Stan and John for hanging out today. Always safer with others. Maybe we’ll get out next week and clear more trails.

.

Rubicon Ronin

Rubicon Survey About Planned Parking Expansion

Posted: May 15, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

I just got an email from El Dorado County (EDC) about a planned parking area expansion on the Tahoe side. Going to their website, you can get the same info. From the EDC website:

Take this Rubicon Trail Survey to let us know what you think about the proposed Rubicon Trail Parking Lot Expansion Project at the Tahoma staging area in the Tahoe Basin. The deadline for the survey is Friday, June 13, 2025, and will take less than 5 minutes to complete. Click here to learn more about the Rubicon Trail Parking Lot Expansion Project.(PDF, 173KB)

Here is the project description from NCE from the “learn more” link. NCE is an engineering firm with seven offices including Reno and Lake Tahoe.

Title: Rubicon Trail Parking Lot Expansion Project
Preliminary Project Description:
The Rubicon Trail is a highly valued off-highway vehicle recreational trail that passes through both El Dorado and Placer counties. It is located on land managed by El Dorado National Forest, Tahoe National Forest, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, and includes private properties. El Dorado County has easements from the El Dorado National Forest and private property owners; however, no easements exist for the portion of the project in Placer County.
The Rubicon Trail has three major trailheads or access points. El Dorado County maintains the Loon Lake and Wentworth Springs trailheads. The Tahoma staging area, or access point, is within Placer County. Currently, when the parking lot is full at the Tahoma staging area, vehicle parking will occur along the road shoulder, which can lead to overcrowding and resource damage to the adjacent lands. Overflow parking further encroaches into nearby residential areas when the lot and road are full.
To address this issue, the Rubicon Trail Parking Lot Expansion Project would provide expanded parking at the Tahoma staging area on the Tahoe basin side of the trail. Disturbance would occur on approximately 0.91 acres and include 35,140 square feet of new paving. This will provide an additional 32-34 trailer parking spaces. There is also a desire to decommission and restore the existing small staging area along Rubicon Trail (1.25 miles northeast of the parking lot expansion area). Shoulder areas would be closed to parking. Additionally, the project team would like public input on the community’s interest in and/or concerns about a natural surface trail, parallel to the roadway, to provide alternative pedestrian access from the neighborhood to the Tahoma staging area.
The project team will complete technical studies to evaluate the environmental effects of the proposed project. The technical studies will be made available for public review, and a public meeting will be held to solicit feedback on the project and potential environmental effects prior to completion of required environmental documentation.

I’m assuming that the expansion would be behind the current kiosk, further up the trail. But again, I am only guessing as no map has been distributed yet.

The other portion of this proposal is to eliminate the lower dirt parking area once used by the ATV rental company. At the moment, I am opposed to eliminating this area. Once gone, it will never come back. A much further and deeper conversation needs to take place before I let that area go. Those visitors wanting to walk dogs or skate the paved section use this section without having to drive all the way to the staging area. It would also allow an option to parking in the residential area.

The last item is the construction of a natural surface trail parallel to the current paved section of McKinney Rubicon Springs Road. This is something I have suggested before. It would (should) eliminate any conflict between motorized and non-motorized users of the area. Think of it like a sidewalk on any road in the country. Hopefully, it would be designed, constructed and maintained for year-round use.

Here is a copy of the actual survey:

The Rubicon Trail is a highly valued off-highway vehicle recreational trail that passes through both El Dorado and Placer counties. It is located on land managed by El Dorado National Forest, Tahoe National Forest, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, and includes private properties.

The Rubicon Trail has three major trailheads or access points. El Dorado County maintains the Loon Lake and Wentworth Springs trailheads. The Tahoma staging, or access point, is within Placer County. Currently when the parking lot is full at the Tahoma staging area, vehicle parking will occur along the access road shoulder, which can lead to overcrowding and resource damage to the adjacent lands. Overflow parking further encroaches into nearby residential areas when the lot and road are full. To address this issue, the Rubicon Trail Parking Lot Expansion Project would provide expanded parking at the Tahoma staging area on the Tahoe Basin side of the trail.

Please answer the following survey questions to help us understand what thoughts you may have, if any, about this proposed project:

Which option below best describes your living status:

Full-time Tahoe Basin resident, Part-time Tahoe Basin resident, Visitor, Other

Do you live within 3 miles of the Tahoe staging area?

Yes, No

How frequently do you visit the Rubicon Trail?

Weekly, Monthly, A few times per summer, Annually, Other

What season do you visit the Rubicon Trail?

Summer, Winter, Fall, Spring

What means of travel have you used to access the Rubicon Trail?

Off-highway-vehicle, Walking, running, or hiking, Biking, Other

Is a natural surface trail, parallel to the roadway, to provide alternative pedestrian access from the neighborhood to the parking area, an improvement you would like to include in the project?

Yes, No

Do you have any concerns about the project? Please select the option that best fits:

Emergency Access/Response, Private Property Concerns, Environmental, Other

Please provide any additional comments to expand on the previous question

(1000 words or less)

The survey takes no time at all. I’m questioning the local aspect. Does it matter where you live or for how long you’re there?

I took the survey and here’s why, if you don’t voice your opinion when it matters, you should complain later if it doesn’t go your way.

.

Rubicon Ronin

Two Rubicon Reroutes In The Works

Posted: January 24, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Let’s cut to the chase. Here’s the Forest Service map show the two proposed reroutes:

The first and larger reroute would bypass (in orange) the shelf road above Miller Lake. This has been on the books for some-time but this latest proposal moves the intersection of the Rubicon and Forest Road 03-04 further north-west. The new proposal is longer and would bypass two low spots on the trail along Miller Meadow.

The second reroute (in yellow) would bypass the famous “mud” hole that has been repaired and is now just a water hole with a hardened base. At least I think that’s where that one runs.

Here is the “review” from September 2019:

rubicon_signeddm_Download

For the record, there has been a previous reroute at the intersection of the Rubicon and Forest Road 03-04. Here’s a link to a previous post of mine, from 2014!

https://wordpress.com/post/theotherrubicon.com/877

If you were looking closely, this document came out in 2019. I became aware of it today, 1-24-24. If you read the document, “The Other Rubicon” was mentioned on page 3 as a “contacted” or “conferred with” person. Although I have worked with the Tahoe National Forest on several OHV issues, I don’t recall any formal conversations about these reroutes. I certainly do not agree with everything in this document. It would have been nice if the FS had sent me a copy of this document when published in 2019, since the3y mentioned me in it.

So, what do I not agree with? Let’s go through the document page by page.

On the very first page it talks about “activities that restore, rehabilitate”. With out going into detail, I’m not in favor of completely doing away with the sections the FS wants to bypass. The long reroute would restrict access to private property.

I laughed that on the second page the document talks about the “hundreds” of annual vehicles on the trail. It should read tens of thousands of vehicles annually!

Also on page two, “decommission three short, user created bypass trail segments”. All three users created bypasses along Cadillac Hill allow for passing, either in the same or opposite direction. I distinctly remember telling this to Joe Chavez, on the trail, while he was attempting to decommission them with a spider excavator without public input. I talked him out of it that day, I guess I’ll have to do it again.

Timeline – this document was signed in 2019. The grant process is taking place in 2024. The plan is to work the trail in 2025.

There will be a formal open house held by the FS to review all of their grant projects. Here’s the downside, the forest service is under no obligation to listen to the users input. Even if every comment is opposed a certain project, the FS can ignore that input and do the project anyway.

We’ll have to find a new way to change their minds.

.

Rubicon Ronin

← Older Entries