A Day on the Trail, on the Snow
Posted: February 23, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: snow, winter Leave a commentGood news, bad news. The good news is I got out on the trail with a bunch of my friends. The bad news is that MY rig didn’t make it. The story is not worth telling. So…
We got to the trailhead, in the residential trailhead as a group of four was heading out on the trail. A half an hour later, we headed out. The trail had been driven on a lot so it was well packed, in the ruts. Out of the ruts it was quite soft and deep.
The creek crossing were the difficult spots. A steep drop in and what seemed to be a steeper climb out, going both directions. Occasionally, there was a side hill on the trail and that made it difficult to stay in the ruts.
This was one of the easier crossing at the Arizona Crossing #8:
Straps were used, winches were used, but we all got up the trail. The trouble came when we ran into that other group headed out. Not exactly sure how far they got but we meet them before we got to Miller Lake.
We started turning our group around at both ends. It took some doing but we got it done. The drive out was uneventful.
Most of the rigs on the trail were on 37s. Everyone had an issue at some point.
No breakage, no injuries, overall a great day.
And there was a lesson learned. We all stop at the “staging area” to prep our rigs for the trail. What exactly do you do while staging your rig? Air down, lock your hubs, disconnect the anti-sway bar, etc.
My suggestion would be to make sure all possible needed tools and equipment are handy if needed. That means before you drive in to the deep creek crossing, dig the winch controller out of the back of your Jeep. Maybe plug in your winch and make sure it’s hooked up to your battery. I promised no names.
Be prepared, be safe, get out and have fun.
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Rubicon Ronin
My TJ is home, so I took it to the trail
Posted: February 15, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: plowing, snow, trailhead Leave a commentOkay, it’s been home for some time, but I was out of state and then down with a cold. With a brand-new engine, I’m trying to put some easy miles on it, but I needed get to the trailhead and report on conditions.
A picture is worth a thousand words. Saturday, 2-15-25, 11am…
There’s about a three-foot wall at the entrance
Placer was out cleaning up the edges.
But they hadn’t got to the Rubicon trailhead. Placer plow drivers have been consistent with a straight plow, no dip, at the trailhead. That results in no artificial wall. Good job Placer.
It appears someone went in, probably yesterday afternoon. Some fresh snow over those tracks. But the tracks are down to ice. The snow level was near lake level and the area probably got a good deal of rain that froze during the below freezing overnight temps. This will change as to drive in further and go up in elevation.
What a pretty picture.
Practicing what I preach, I didn’t drive in alone.
Stay safe.
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Rubicon Ronin
Weather coming in hard!
Posted: February 11, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: be prepared, snow, weather Leave a commentFrom the NOAA website, at about Observation Point:
Sorry for the substandard photo quality. I’ll work on doing better.
Wednesday Night Snow likely, mainly after 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 23. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.
Thursday Snow. The snow could be heavy at times. High near 32. Breezy, with a southwest wind 20 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 12 to 18 inches possible.
Thursday Night Snow. The snow could be heavy at times. Low around 28. Breezy, with a southwest wind around 20 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 10 to 16 inches possible.
Friday Snow, mainly before 4pm. The snow could be heavy at times. High near 29. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 5 to 9 inches possible.
That’s 29 to 47 inches of snow predicted over about 48 hours.
Might be fun to play in but please be prepared. Plan on spending the night (because your buddy broke down.) in below freezing temperatures. The weekend looks promising.
Bring: shelter, sleeping bag, food, multiple changes of clothes, fire starting materials, communications and all the other supplies you’d normally bring out on the Rubicon. Don’t go alone, tell someone where you’re going and when you’ll be back.
Do you guys get tired of me typing out the same rant about being prepared to play on the Rubicon?
Just don’t be THAT GUY.
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Rubicon Ronin
Snow on the Rubicon
Posted: November 5, 2024 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: snow, Sourdough Leave a commentSnow has finally fallen on the Rubicon Trail. I decided to check out how much yesterday. I met a couple from Arizona who were scouting the trail for a real trip next summer. We headed out together.
The trail right out of the staging area was well worn. That area maybe got three inches of snow. Anything with good sunlight had melted.
We decided to head up to Sourdough Hill on the Richardson Lake Trail, 14N39. There were no tracks on the ground in front of us. Okay, we did find bear tracks near the top of the hill.
A couple of poser shots. It was extremely quiet. Minimal wind. Great day.
It was nice to have someone following me to take pictures, even though I hadn’t asked.
At the summit of Sourdough, in the shade, there might have been 5-6 inches. Coming back down, I made a smart-ass comment about this is an awesome day, but we’re one slip of a tire away from wrapping our Jeep around a tree. 100 yards down the trail the back end started coming around on me but I corrected and kept it on the trail.
So, here come the same old safety lines…
Hit the trail prepared to spend the night: food, water, sleeping bags, tent, extra layers, winter boots, etc.
Let someone know where you’re going and when you’ll be back. Stay in touch with a ham radio.
Don’t go out alone. Phone a friend. Be safe, don’t take chances.
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Rubicon Ronin
Clearing Trees, Finding Snow
Posted: June 16, 2024 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: closed, gate, gates, snow, trees Leave a commentToday was supposed to be my annual spring tree clearing trip for the side trails along the Rubicon Trail.
When I got to the bottom of the Middle Fork Trail, I found the gate still locked. It was supposed to be unlocked on June 1st. The gate on the paved road to the top of Barker Pass was also locked. It was supposed to be unlocked on June 15th.
I’ve already sent an email to the Forest Service complaining.
So, not able to clear 15N38, 16E79 and 16E76, I headed for the Rubicon. I went up the Sourdough Trail and cleared eight trees from the trail. I was the first 4-wheeled vehicle to the top this year. But it looked like a pair of motorcycles had already made the journey.
Work smarter, not harder. Fewer chainsaw cuts and more winching.
My reward for clearing that first tree was three down in the same area, right around the corner.
With time on my hands, I tried my luck up the Ellis Lake/Peak Trail. It is quite narrow these days. I was able to get to the area with the open meadow.
This one/group was on the Ellis Peak/Lake Trail. I left it as it was quite large and the go around was not crazy off trail.
Further up the Ellis Trail the snow became more than I was willing to take on. I had already busted through a few drifts and winched over one.
The trail is under all that snow as it goes into the trees! Think side hill on slippery snow, sliding into the trees. No thanks.
I also popped up the Buck Lake Trail but only to the lake, not above. Maybe next week I’n try again, but the FS needs to open a few gates.
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Rubicon Ronin
The 'Other' Rubicon 