Same old snow
Posted: February 20, 2024 Filed under: Access | Tags: plowing, snow Leave a commentReports say we’re at 89% of our normal snow fall. The berm at the Rubicon trailhead shows that, but the Homewood ski area was a little light on snow. No one had accessed the trail since the latest plowing that probably happened yesterday.
There appears to be quite the usage going on due to the ruts…
Further up the trail wheeled OHV use is very apparent, along with hikers and cross country skiers.
Placer County may have got the message about not plowing a dip. The current plow is straight down the road so there is no excessive berm at the trailhead.
Although I was in the trail Jeep, I wasn’t about to venture up the trail.
There will be many more storms over the Rubicon. If you go, be prepared for any type of weather. Be prepared to spend the night. Don’t go alone.
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Rubicon Ronin
Are we going to have a winter?
Posted: December 28, 2023 Filed under: Access, Maintenance, Travel | Tags: news, plowing, snow, snow wall, snow-plow, weather, winter Leave a commentAre we going to have a snow wall at the Rubicon?
Last season gave us an incredible amount of snow fall. Some would argue too much. All that snow made for great spring runoff and the filling of our reservoirs.
Strangely, all season long, there was only the typical or expected snow wall at the entrance to the Rubicon. With record snowfall, there was no record tall wall. Individual efforts were made to maintain access to the trail:
Even group efforts were made:
And although these efforts were successful:
Winter continued:
As the above pictures shows, the efforts to maintain access were snowed on but clearly left a designation of where OHV enthusiasts should enter the trail.
My personal belief is that the reason we did not have a HUGE wall was due to the fact that Placer County plowed straight across the entrance to Rubicon Trail. When Placer County plows any kind of “dip” or “wide spot” at the entrance, that extra snow moved adds to the height of the wall at the entrance.
In the picture below from a previous winter, the “STOP” line is clearly visible in the plowed area of Evergreen Way. That stop line is several feet back from the edge of Evergreen Way. That shows that Placer County plowed an extra fifteen feet of snow on top of the wall, further attempting to deter OHV users.
Let’s hope Placer County continues to plow the entrance to the Rubicon Trail without a dip or wide spot.
Although really tall, the height is uniform across the entire stretch of the wall. No extra height from plowing a dip or wide spot.
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Rubicon Ronin
Almost made it…
Posted: October 30, 2023 Filed under: Access, Maintenance | Tags: FOTR, maintenance, snow Leave a commentThis morning, I met up with a few fellow FOTR volunteers at the entrance to Blackwood Canyon. The goal was to meet the dump truck full of twelve yards of rock for the upcoming FOTR maintenance effort on November 5th.
Well, we met up with the truck, but we failed to get the truck to the dump spot. The drive was tight.
The very last grade was a LONG north aspect that actually had the big rig slipping towards the edge and drop off. He correctly backed down and we decided the correct line of action was to turn around.
This was as far as the rig made it.
On a side note, even if you have a mobile ham radio mounted in your rig, always bring your handheld as a back-up. This antenna set-up does not work without the whip installed.
This is how I store the antenna when not in use, as it fits better in the garage.
But at some point, over the last few days, I lost the whip. About to call the Ham Radio Outlet to order a replacement. Maybe Amazon can next day deliver? If not, I’ll have my handheld.
Shannon is trying to work out the details to get rock delivered to keep the FOTR work party on the 5th on track. Stay tuned.
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Rubicon Ronin
Side Trails Update
Posted: August 1, 2023 Filed under: Access, Maintenance, Travel | Tags: snow Leave a commentOkay, when at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. So, I tried the same route that I didn’t make do to snow and this time I got through. Now, there was still a few snow drifts. And up the Ellis Lake Trail, there were many!
Still evidence of people driving off trail to get around snow drifts. I threw a few small trees down but a larger effort (and tree) will be needed. This was the Red Cabin Trail (16E79).
Trail on the left, illegal bypass on the right. It’s uglier where the bypass comes back in to the trail.
Still 16E79.
This time of year, really? How hard are mini snow drifts?
One tree was not quite across the trail but pushing people to the side. I got out my new DeWalt mini chainsaw and trimmed all the branches on the underside.
Way off on the Ellis Lake Trail (16E18), there was a HUGE tree trunk across the trail. It is rotten, probably doesn’t weight a whole lot, but I decided I didn’t want to fight it today.
In the same area as the tree trunk, there are some very large snow drifts.
My favorite find of the day, was on the Rubicon. Okay, maybe it was Forest Road 03-04. But right at that intersection, someone decided to camp and build a fire! Unfortunately, it’s not the first time I’ve come across a campfire in the middle of the trail.
Get out there and explore those side trails.
Fire restrictions are now fully in place.
Be safe.
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Rubicon Ronin
Rubicon Side Trails – report
Posted: July 16, 2023 Filed under: Access, Maintenance | Tags: snow, trees Leave a commentEvery winter is different, but every spring is the same. Regardless of the strength of winter, spring always shows all the trees that were dropped over the winter. This year, my spring tree clearing trip on the side trails of the Rubicon was delayed with the huge winter dump of snow. I actually went too early as I couldn’t make some of the trails.
I started in Blackwood Canyon, going up the Middle Fork Trail 15N38. The trail was unusually wet. A lot of the drains off the rolling dips need to be cleaned out. No trees down to speak of but I picked up a wheel/tire that probably bounced out of the back of a pick-up truck. Since I didn’t want to haul it around all day off road, I left it at the pit toilets at the intersection with the Pacific Crest Trail for the Forest Service to deal with.
The Red Cabin Trail 16E79 was next. It did once have a red cabin, but it was gone well before I started Jeeping in 1985. It didn’t take long to find the first sizable tree across the trail. There was evidence that someone had driven around this tree.
It literally winched off the trail with no need for a chainsaw. But I used my new toy (chainsaw) to limb off the side once the log was moved.
There were many smaller trees on or encroaching the trail that were not worth taking pictures of. This one deserved a photo. The chainsaw came out and then it was winched to the side
After moving the log, I had to navigate the snow. I very much appreciate my locking differentials.
Much further down 16E79 I couldn’t follow the trail anymore. With too many tree wells trying to suck in my TJ, it was time to turn around.
Once back up to Forest Road 03, I took 03-04 around to the bottom of 16E79. There were a few small snow drifts on 03-04. Almost immediately the snow was hiding the trail enough that I didn’t bother heading up the trail.
Below 16E79 is Barker Meadow OHV Trail, the Hobbit Trail or 16E76. Too many names for one trail. It was wet but minimal snow. Mud in spots. The photo below doesn’t show well but there were a few similar spots with small trees and branches across the trail.
There were two snags hanging above the trail on 16E76. As they were not blocking the trail, I didn’t remove them. I’ll send the coordinates to the FS to deal with those.
Once on the Rubicon, I headed back towards the staging area. There were many places where it was obvious people had driven off the trail to get around now melted snow drifts. Please, “Turn Around, Don’t Go Around”. Snow isn’t that difficult.
The Ellis Peak Trail 03-04-12-05 had snow at the higher elevations. Before I ran in to a few Jeeps coming towards me and taking their time in the snow, I was able to get stuck. I turned around to avoid the snow in the trees and the four Jeeps coming towards me.
From the direction I was going, I didn’t see the undermined section of snow, but I should have assumed it. Tree strap, winch line, unstuck and moving.
I finished the day running up to Sourdough Hill on the Richardson Lake Trail 14N39. Beautiful views up there. On the way back down, I broke a local myth about rattle snakes. I had heard that there were no rattle snakes in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Too high an elevation and too cold in the winters. Well, this not so little guy was right along the trail at the old sheep herders cabin. It was a very healthy snake, probably over three feet long. I used the zoom feature to take the picture!
I mentioned a new toy, I mean tool. This DeWalt electric saw was worth the price. Perfect for the little branches sticking out along the trail that might rip a soft top or for limbing up a log along the side of the trail to prevent ripping a sidewall. I had extra batteries but never needed them.
Under the don’t do what I do category, I removed two safety features of this saw. One was a trigger lock that required one finger to unlock and then one finger to activate. The second was a plate at the tip of the saw to prevent kick back. Both would have slowed me down and caused many frustrations.
I’ll try and get back out as soon as possible to remove more trees so others won’t be tempted to drive off trail.
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Rubicon Ronin
The 'Other' Rubicon 