I finally got out on 16E16!

16E16 is the only motorcycle single track in the Rubicon area. I’ve been meaning to get my dual sport out on it for more than a year now. Well, I didn’t get the dual sport out but I did hike the trail.

Although this is an OHV trail, it’s primary users are hikers, although, I did see two mountain bikers. If you ride this trail, expect hikers around every turn, especially on weekends. Ride with caution.

The trail is about three miles long. It start at Barker Pass at the top of Forest Road 03. It ends at Ellis Peak but you need to walk/hike the last bit. There is a existing ‘trail’ that looks like you can ride to the top. Don’t! That trail is not legal. It is a loose rocky trail that is difficult and there is no place to turn around at the top! The first peak gives you a 360 degree view of Tahoe and everything west. You can hike a 1/4 mile or so to the actual Ellis Peak, just to the north, if you want to say you made the summit.

I would suggest riding this from the Rubicon end to the Barker Pass end. I started at the Barker Pass end and the trail started with a VERY steep climb. This climb had switch backs and large wood beams had been used as water bars. Tough but not impossible to negotiate on a motorcycle.

Just a little further up the trail there is a very technical climb.

Once past the early ugliness, the trail is really nice. Tight in places but doable. Look closely for the snow on the trail. It was August 6th.

The views from the Barker end were awesome.

The trail changes from wide open areas…

To a tight in the trees experience…

Again, I would suggest an out and back from the Rubicon or Ellis Peak end of the trail. You can get more then 3/4 of the trail covered without getting in to the tricky stuff. If you do the one-way, again, I suggest Ellis to Barker.

I’ll try to get more pictures and details on the 16E16 page of the website, after Sierra Trek.

Rubicon Ronin