Forest Road 03-06-02

Posted: June 26, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Access, Travel | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

So I bought a dual sport. A 2009 Kawasaki KLX250s. Well, this past Saturday I finally got some decent time on it. Earlier, I took the bike up the Rubicon but didn’t get too far. This time it was two and a half hours. I went out exploring the OHV trails around the Barker Pass area.

This writing is specifically about forest road 03-06-02. It is the trail that  ventures the furthest west past Barker Pass. At one time, this trail looped around to the south and hooked up with forest road 03. Then came the Granite Chief Wilderness area.

But it almost makes it better for camping because nobody goes out there!

The drive/ride along forest road 03 to get to 03-06 and then 03-06-02 gives you some great views of the valley that runs from Rubicon Springs to the Hell Hole reservoir. That’s the valley of the Long Lake Trail, 16E12, another trail to check out.

There are a few trees down towards the end of the trail. This is only the first.

03-06-02 first tree

A short hike down the trail, past the first tree blocking the trail, which I am sure if far from the end of the trail, you get a glimpse of Hell Hole Reservoir through the trees.

DSCN0413

With a 50 yard hike from the trail you get some great views of Hell Hole. You might not be able to tell but you can see evidence of the King fire on the far bank of the lake.

DSCN0418

Further down the trail there are more trees.

03-06 trees

This is where I think the trail officially ends. It is not pictured well but there is an unnatural dirt berm attempting to block the trail.

03-06 dirt pile

Past the official end of the trail there are still more trees blocking the trail.

more 03-06 trees

We’ll see if I can work with the Tahoe National Forest and get an accurate GPS of the end of the trail and then clear any trees blocking access to the true end of the trail.

I suggest that you get out and explore sections of our public lands you haven’t seen before. Here’s a hint, look for the trails that dead end far away from other trails.

 

 

 

15N38 (Middle Fork) gate still closed!!!!

Posted: June 13, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Access | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

The plan was to meet the Tahoe Donner 4wdc at the Rubicon staging area, run up the Rubicon to Forest Road 03-04 and head over to Blackwood canyon and come out the Middle Fork Trail, 15N38.

I had this feeling I needed to check the gate at the bottom of Blackwood Canyon at both Forest Road 03 and the Middle Fork Trail. The 03 road isn’t scheduled to open until June 15th, and they never OPEN roads early. The gate for 03 and the Middle Fork Trail are supposed to open June 1st. Well the main road was open but the Middle Fork Trail is still closed.

At the staging area, we ran in to another group who were planning the same route, Rubicon to 03-04- and out 15N38. I passed along the bad news. They took their six Unimogs and headed up the Richardson Lake Trail and made the summit. Some snow but enough dirt to maintain traction.

The Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) posted at the Rubicon staging area has June 1st as the opening date for 15N38. The MVUM on the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit’s (LTBMU) website has June 1st as the opening date as well. Yet the gate isn’t open. I don’t know if the gate is open at the top.

The LTBMU needs to get on top of this and fast. How many other groups are going to head north from the Rubicon expecting to get out Blackwood Canyon and find closed gates?

Maybe some new guy at the LTBMU thinks it should open with the gate on 03 just past the river on June 15th. I’ll be contacting the LTBMU in the morning about this issue. Please feel free to join me in letting them know how you feel about them not opening our OHV trail in a timely fashion.(530) 543-2600

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

was headed to run around the Rubicon area on the 11th and

The LTBMU fails to get any OHV funds

Posted: June 9, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Access, Maintenance, Travel | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This OHV season, the CA State Parks OHV Division made available almost $11 million dollars for OHV issues, projects, maintenance, law enforcement, education, etc.

The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) failed to obtain a single penny of it. In comparison, the Eldorado National Forest (ENF) received $438k and the Tahoe National Forest (TNF) received $650k.

CA State Parks grant results

There is a 30 day grace period for the agency requesting funds to ask that their grant be reviewed and rescored but don’t hold your breath. This is the second straight year the grant writers and administrators at the LTBMU have fallen short. I think it’s safe to say the LTBMU needs a new grant writing staff.

Here’s the problem, even though the LTBMU didn’t receive CA State Parks grant funding, they are still required to manage OHV on their forest. It’s just going to be that much more difficult without specific funding for OHV.

I’m using this lack of funding problem to push the LTBMU to reinstate the Adopt-A-Trail program they dumped two years ago.

If you or your club, group, business or organization would like to adopt an OHV trail within the LTBMU, email them, call them, hound them, do not take no for an answer, Right now I only know of the Twin peaks Trail in South Lake Tahoe, the Buck Lake Trail off the Rubicon and the Middle Fork Trail up Blackwood Canyon (just north of the Rubicon) that historically have been adopted.

That list doesn’t include the pre-Placer County Rubicon when the Lake Tahoe Hi-Lo’s had the entire east side of the trail adopted. For adopting a section of the Placer side of the Rubicon Trail, contact the Rubicon Trail Foundation.

Here is a list of OHV trails within the basin from the LTBMU website. Not all trails are listed. Check the Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) for more trails.

Lake Tahoe – East Shore

  • Genoa Peak Road 14N32
  • Kingsbury Stinger 18E39.3
  • Logan House 14N33

Lake Tahoe – North Shore

  • Kings Beach 18E18
  • Mt Watson 73E

Lake Tahoe – South Lake Tahoe

  • Corral Trail 18E14
  • Hellhouse Road 12N01D
  • High Meadows Trail 18E33A
  • Power Line Road 12N08
  • Sand Pit 12N08
  • Sawmill Pond 12N30
  • Twin Peaks 12n30

Lake Tahoe – West Shore

  • Buck Lake Road – 14N40
  • McKinney / Rubicon Trailhead
  • Noonchester 14N34A

 

Please step up, adopt a trail, push the LTBMU to work with the users!

 

 

 

 

 

Snowgate!

Posted: March 30, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Access | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

So I have the honor of contradicting myself.

February 1st, I published a blog about the “snowgate” at the entrance to the Rubicon Trail on the Tahoe end of the trail. Since then, I heard a story, learned a few things and spoke with Placer and local snow removal contractors.

The story, second or third hand, told by someone who knew someone who heard something about a few guys snow wheeling on the Rubicon this winter:

Three rigs were working their way over the snowgate in order to access the Rubicon Trail for a day of legal, wheeled, motorized recreation.

A plow driver (not even sure it was a county plow) stopped and started giving the guys a bad time about driving over the snowgate. He claimed they were not allowed to drive there. That plow driver was not expressing himself in a professional manner. The guys replied in a similar unprofessional manner, expressing their belief that the trail was open year round.

The three rigs made it over the snowgate and wheeled out as far as the intersection of the Rubicon and the Richardson Lake Trail. Upon their return to the entrance of the Rubicon, the rigs encountered a sheer six foot cliff. It seems the plow driver had come back and created the cliff, knowing the rigs were still on the trail.

Thankfully, the drivers were driving responsibly and realized the cliff was there before driving off it. They broke down the edge of the cliff and exited the Rubicon safely.

I shared this story in an email to Supervisor Montgomery.

According to Placer County, their snowplow drivers are not dumping or piling snow at the entrance.  But, according to the local snow removal private contractors, Placer County is dumping and piling snow at the entrance.

I met with Supervisor Montgomery after exchanging a few emails and she confirmed that no one is allowed to dump snow on a public right of way. And that Placer County would keep an eye out for anyone attempting to dump snow at the entrance to the Rubicon.

I contacted the Rubicon Trail Foundation and asked for their help in securing year round access, which is in their mission statement. They declined to get involved and wanted to see how it played out.

Unless things change, the piling of snow at the entrance is a thing of the past.

Please enjoy your wheeling responsibly. Pack-it-in. Pack-it-out. Tread Lightly! Turn Around, don’t go around. Stay on the trail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adopt-A-Campsite Update

Posted: December 15, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Maintenance | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Adopt-A-Campsite Update

This past OHV season marked the beginning of a new Adopt-A-Campsite program on the Truckee District of the Tahoe National Forest.

For the first year of the program, it went well. We had six different campsites adopted by five individuals or groups.

Here is the list of current volunteers:

While working with the Forest Service (FS) to get the paperwork straight for each particular site, we discovered that the FS had miss marked the three ‘new’ sites near Miller Lake. So, one of the adopted sites is not yet an official site, as is another that has yet to be adopted.

Hopefully, the FS will get these sites added to the MVUM very soon. My understanding is that the FS is not asking for these sites to be blocked off to motor vehicle access at this time.

For those of you interested in adopting a site, click the link on the right side of my website and look around for a site you’d like to maintain. There is a well shaded site along Miller Lake available as is Observation Point itself. Please email me (TheOtherRubicon@charter.net) if you’d like to adopt on of these two or any of the sites listed.

Duties are much less than adopting a trail. You need to complete the appropriate paperwork to adopt the site and then ensure that paperwork is done for each individual helping you maintain your site. An email letting me know, and I will let the FS know, what you have planned in the way of maintenance and a report at the end of the year is the rest of the paperwork required.

Basic on the ground duties include visiting/maintaining the site at least twice a year to pick up trash, clean out the fire pit (if there is one) and ensure that the site is not growing using logs and boulders to define the borders.

 

 

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