100mph Meadow

Long before I started running the Rubicon (I first drove the Tahoe side in 1985) there were a few special spots along the Tahoe side that no longer exist today. In 1984 a tremendous amount of work was done by the FS and volunteers. Mud holes were filled in (bottom dollar hole), a bridge was built over McKinney Creek (eliminating the “Car Wash”), gabions were installed (users added a “pet rock prison” sign), etc. I’m not sure when the reroute happened but “100mph Meadow” went away.

100mph Meadow cut the corner of the intersection of the Rubicon and Barker Pass Road (Forest Road 03). The story goes, that after crawling up Cadillac at one mile per hour, the Jeeps would reach the ‘meadow’, switch in to high range and open up the throttle. The meadow floor was of such a consistency that it did not develop bumps and you could really clean out the carburetors.

Here is where the trail broke out of the forest and headed across the meadow. With the current S&G100 issues, I’ve learn a little about meadows. They have a built in way to ward off other plant/tree species. So when the Jeeps stopped driving on the trail the trees moved in. They didn’t move in to the meadow, which can protect itself, they moved on to the Jeep trail that had nothing living on it, it was dirt. So, the trees grew ON the trail from seeds probably left by Jeeps.

Here is a shot looking across the meadow and then south to Sourdough Hill:

The second half of the meadow and evidence that I was on the trail, an old Jeep rim.

Trees growing ON the trail on the east end of the meadow and the trail disappearing in to the forest.

It was cool to get out and walk around and check things out. I found another old logging road that would be cool to reopen but don’t hold your breath.