Snowgate!
Posted: March 30, 2016 Filed under: Access | Tags: access, Placer, Rubicon Leave a commentSo 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 Filed under: Maintenance | Tags: access, camping, maintenance, TNF Leave a commentAdopt-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:
- Jon & Jan Briggs
- Tahoe Donner 4 Wheelers Club http://gerb58.wix.com/td-4-wheelers-#!
- Doug Barr www.TheOtherRubicon.comThe Other Rubicon
- Sierra Stompers http://www.sierrastompers.org/
- Dominic Bruno
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.
Meeting with the LTBMU Supervisor
Posted: July 6, 2015 Filed under: Access, Maintenance | Tags: access, education, law enforcement, LTBMU, Middle Fork Trail Leave a commentThis afternoon, I sat down with Jeff Marsolais, the forest supervisor of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, for a half an hour. When I say half an hour, I mean 30 minutes, almost to the second. I got 30 minutes in the seat in his office. I had three typed pages of notes to get through so I talked fast. But that’s easy for me.
Although he didn’t have time to respond to all the issues I brought up, he said he’d get back to me. So, what did I bring up? Here’s a brief outline of topics:
Who is the OHV lead for the LTBMU?
Should be full time and year round but not 100% OHV focused.
Needs to be pro-OHV not just someone doing the job.
We need consistency and quicker responses from the LTBMU.
AAT agreements and paperwork
The Forest Service needs to be quicker and proactive on approaching and supporting clubs willing to adopt
Rubicon Trail
Limbs cut off years ago need to be removed or chipped
The main sign at the staging area
Staging area maintenance
Recreational Opportunity Guide – finish it or drop it
General signage along the trail, paved and dirt sections
Other trails
Buck Lake Trail
Twin Peaks
Middle Fork Trail
Funding
CA State Parks – start writing next years now, include more people in the process
Recreational Trails Program (RTP)
Foundation Grants
How did the Corral Trail get a full time, eight person crew to work that trail since the OHV grant fell through?
He did say he might be interested in a ride out on the trail to see first hand what’s going on. That would be a great education for him!
This one meeting won’t end these issues but now we all know the main guy at the Basin has been told how all those underneath him have dropped the ball over the years.
Truckee’s Fourth of July Parade
Posted: July 6, 2015 Filed under: Travel | Tags: access, education Leave a commentThis past weekend, I was honored to be invited to take part in the annual Truckee 4th of July parade.
The Tahoe Donner 4 Wheelers Club invited me to join them in the parade. This year’s parade focused on the TD4W Club’s Trails & Ales event this July 18th/19th. See the blog below for details or visit the TD4W website: http://td4wheelers.com/
The club had eight vehicles in the parade, two of them towing trailers. The first trailer was a flatbed with a Jeep poised on the trailer as if it were going down a trail. I liked the fact that they had a forest service (FS) carsonite stake stating that the trailer was an official OHV route. The second trailer was the Rubicon Trail Foundation (RTF) trailer being towed by me. I had re-rigged the airlines and had cracked the lowering valve on the trailer so I could raise the trailer while driving down the road and then the trailer would slowly lower itself.
For the most part, the parade went well. There were a lot of people there to watch. Fortunately, our group was toward the front of the parade.
As we exited the parade route, the rain started. No big deal as it was forecast for ‘showers’. We pulled in to the old lumber/rail yard on the east end of town and started to pull off the decorations. That’s when the skies opened up and started pouring rain. We worked faster. We had to get the decorations off from around the Jeep on the trailer and then the Jeep off the trailer.
Then the lightning started. And it was close. You count between the lightning and the thunder. Every five seconds is a mile. We had thunder within two seconds! And it was all around us. Some of us did not have hardtops on out Jeeps. At least I had a bikini top. A few didn’t have tops at all!
CA State OHV grants awarded
Posted: June 25, 2015 Filed under: Maintenance | Tags: access, education, grant, maintenance Leave a commentEarlier, I reported that the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit had failed to apply for any funds for four wheel drive trails. They had only applied for a motorcycle trail that is frequented by mountain bikes. (The project is being lead by TAMBA – Tahoe Area Mountain Bike Assoc.) Then I reported that the Basin had failed to received any funding due to a technical error.
Well the results are out regarding who actually got the money.
Here is a link to the page with the results of those awards. There are several catagories of grant funding so let me cut to the chase for you.
Planning – this would include Placer County’s plan to GPS the east half of the trail:
Placer County: $51,000 (they had asked for ($89,000)
Tahoe National Forest: $90,000
Tahoe National Forest: $488,000
Tahoe National Forest: $623,000
Eldorado National Forest: $591,000
El Dorado County: $590,000
All I can say it that’s a lot of green stickers being bought!
