Our new Rubicon Trip dates are from Sept 15-18

[Disco2Guy]

Your house at 10am works for me Ron.

 

Let's hope the forecast is correct and the rain is gone by the time we're leaving the Bay Area.

 

http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/USCA0584

[LandRonB]

I remember in 2009 we heard wrestling in the wood; made a lot of noise and went away; next day. Could have been the Jeepers (lol).

 

Black Bears do scare easily; I will bring Bear Spray instead of a hand gun.

 

Let's be "camp safe" -

 

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=278447&page=3

 

Looks like we should expect Bears at some point. Are you able to carry handguns on the trail?

[ColinB]

would it be possible on the caravan up, to stop by Eric zitsman's shop so i can grab my spare axels? his new shop is 1 mile off 50 in Sacramento.

[LandRonB]

We should be able to do that if only 1 mile off Hwy 50; can you shoot me his address so I can incorp it in the trip planning; what time do you have to be @ his shop?

[Disco2Guy]

Hey that would be cool. I can finally thank him in person for my rear ladder, 3 years after Mike delivered it for him at my first NCLR Annual Event.

[LandRonB]

I just cleared my inbox (will need to ask our club site admin for more email space) so e.g. Lutz thanks for letting me know that my inbox is full and can't send me any messages. Now my inbox is clear - folks feel free to send me your emegency contact person for our trip to the Rubicon.

 

Also I just PMed everyone the conf call-in number for our 7pm call tonight; call in if you can and if not, no worries, will catch up during the driver's meeting Friday 7am before we hit the trail @ 8am. Call tonight will go over logistics, caravan, optional food pot luck e.g. Ru-beacon breakfast and/or BYO, spare/parts and recovery; also concerns and questions. Let's keep the call lenght to 30 mins no longer than 45 mins.

 

Weather forecast in S. Lake Tahoe:

Tomorrow: High 67 degrees w/20% of rain

Friday: Partly Cloudy H/L 63/43

Saturday: Partly Cloudy H/L 67/38

Sunday: Partly Cloudy H/L 70/38

 

Make sure to bring your cold weather clothing!

[LandRonB]

Here the link to the pdf that has been signed by the Fire Management Officer, Brent Skaggs. Just print it and fill out your info on the top. The link says 2010, but is dated 2011 in the actual file.

 

http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia/passespermits/campfire_permit/calcampfirepermit2010.pdf

 

I tried to print this but the website is down; did anyone print this prior to the site being off-line? Need it for tomorrow.

[LandRonB]

Wohoo! Leaving for the Rubicon Trail tomorrow! Both Rubicon Trail veterans and newbies will tackle "the Crown Jewel of Four Wheeling" for the next 3 days and 2 nights.

 

The lucky 8 Land Rovers going on this trip are: Ron (RRC), Nathan/Arthur (RRC), Colin/Paul (RRC), Nigel/Dave (D1), Rod Besa (D1), Lutz/Brenton (DII), Yubert (DII) and Mark aka Landiman (Series).

 

We all worked hard to get our vehicles modified and ready for this difficult trail (rated 10 in the scale of 1 to 10) including proper lift to fit 33" tires, and then lockers, heavy duty bumpers, sliders (don't leave home and go in the Rubicon without one), diff guards and the list goes on. And other essentials including recovery gears, communication device e.g. CB, food/water for the trip, proper clothing, etc....

 

Speaking of Lucky8, the company, thanks to Justin for helping some of us source out much needed parts/mod to tackle this trail. From lockers to armor, Lucky8 http://www.lucky8llc.com/Default.aspx, is our one stop shoping place for mods/upgrades for Land Rovers.

 

Fellow NCLR members, wish us all well, and our safe return including our beloved Land Rovers in one piece. When the dust settles, 8 vehicles would have entered the Gate Keeper, and 8 vehicles will go up Cadillac Hill and out of the Rubicon Trail successfully is what we are all aiming for.

 

Cheers!

[DiscoChef]

Vaya con Dios senor Ron

 

Wishing you Happy Trails, May the Rovers make it thru the trail without much carnage and enjoy the camaraderie!

 

Will monitor your Spot page

[LandRonB]

Thanks for the well wishes Enrique; hope to see you on the next trip to the Rubicon.

 

Here's the SPOT page for the trip (will turn it on once we get moving and closer to Sacramento): http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0MlWJRzQnqgtEI7qlDHhsmCvkh3k0PsmA

 

Also if you want me to add you as a SPOT "help" or emergency contact, PM your cell # and provider and you'll get text msg should we run into any issues (hopefully not). Thanks again!

[LandRonB]

Also if you don't already have it (no worries if you don't, made one for everyone and will dist during the drivers' meeting Friday), this is the map of the trail w/GPS coords: http://rubicontrail.org/map-randy.pdf

 

The coords for the Loon Lake staging area is in attached PDF; will see you there for Thursday night camping or Friday morning drivers' meeting @ 7am; hit the trail (Gate Keeper) @ 8am. Ru-beacon breakfast early 5-6am served.

 

Also as you approach the Loon Lake staging area from the top and going down a grade, here's a photo of the staging area; we will be camping passed the lil brown hut (bathroom) around the spot circled in yellow in the photo.

 

Last, 2nd attachment is a general aerial map from Sacramento to S. Lake Tahoe. A and B on the map are the last two avail gas stations before the turn off to Icehouse Rd ©.

 

A. Crystal View Gas Stations on 6529 Pony Express Trl, Pollock Pines, CA. About 11 miles till you turn left on Icehouse Rd.

 

B. Freshpond Trading Post on 7720 Highway 50, Pollock Pines, CA. About 5 miles till you turn left on Icehouse Rd.

 

I called Crystal View and they sell Super Unleaded and stays open later (8pm). Freshpond Trading Post closes earlier. Shooting to be @ the Loon Lake staging area around 5ish pm, and planning to stop by for fuel @ Freshpond Trading around 4ish pm unless the group decides to stop by Placerville for fuel/last min stocking up on supplies. My guess is the price per gallon will be less expensive in Placerville vs gas stations closer to Icehouse rd being in the middle of nowhere.

[LandRonB]

Ok I finished packing the fridge. Also packed our Friday morning breakfast meal to get us started on the famous Rubicon Trail with our "almost famous" Ru-bacon breakfast: beacon, eggs and potatoes.

 

Will be using Brenton's Kitchen Camp setup to cook our breakfast!

 

Since Nigel/Dave/Rod and Nathan/Arthur/Mark are not meeting us till the drivers' meeting 7am, just brought enough for the folks camping Thursday nite and avail to have breakfast 5am in the morning. Less me know otherwise and can pick-up extras bfast supplies @ Placerville if any others want to join us. Yumm.

[DiscoChef]

PM sent

[LandRonB]

The "I Survived the Rubicon Trail Shirt" that I had customized for this trip and ordered just arrived in the mail yesterday; looks good - see attached photos. In time to wear it for the trip! You can still order after we get back.

 

Also one of my clients gave me a bottle of American Honey for the trip. Trying to make Wild Turkey a top shelf bourbon/whiskey w/the added twist. Will share a celebratory glass on the rocks perhaps Friday or Saturday camping/with keys put away hoping all is going well on the trail so far. Woohoo.

[LandRonB]

PM sent

 

Thanks buddy!

[LandRonB]

Brenton/Lutz, and Colin/Paul are here and leaving the house. Wohoo!

 

Yubert on the way.

 

Dave/Nigel, Rod and Nathan/Arthur and Mark - see you all on Friday bright and early!

[ColinB]

Rubicon was a huge success. I am in sac now on my way home a day EARLY.

[LandRonB]

Like Colin said, the trip was a success. 8 vehicles in; 8 vehicles out of the 22 mile Rubicon Trail. We started @ Loon Lake and came out of Cadillac Hill, and unto Hwy 89.

 

And each definition of "success" varies from getting your Land Rover ready for the trip, running the trail for the first time and finish the entire trail w/o serious carnage; or returning to settle a score; or simply coming along to enjoy the great outdoors and comradee of other 4x4 enthusiast.

 

Without a doubt everyone can agree, both returning veterans and newbies, that Rubicon Trail is both challenging and a breath-takingly scenic trail - true Crown Jewel of Four Wheeling.

 

Here are Rockstars who came on this epic trip for starters; more pictures and stories later....

 

Pic 1) Our co-trail leader Mark, his wife Gana, their dog Chester and the famous Bobtail on Granite Bowl

 

Pic 2) The other co-trail leader Nathan and co-pilot Arthur coming up to Walker Hill

 

Pic 3) Colin and Paul on their RRC running on 35s

 

Pic 4) Yubert on his DII

 

Pic 5) Nigel on his D1 and co-pilot Dave aka Sasquatch

 

Pic 6) Rod coming down "Thousand Dollar Hill" - you can see why this hill was named as such!

 

Pic 7) Me in my RRC heading to Buck Island Lake

 

Pic 8) Lutz and his co-pilot Brenton going up Buck Island

 

Pic 9) Not our leak but to show what we were up against; No fear as long as you listento/watch your spotter

 

Pic 10) And the true "Rockstar"on this trip was Chester!

[sasquatch]

What a trip! Boy am I tired though...

 

Trip report to come later. Still sleep deprived so a nap is in short order. Until then, enjoy these video's of the trail. Yes, it about a Jeep run - so what. I thought it was great footage, excellent editing, team oriented and a similar sense of adventure of the NCLR Rubicon Run 2011. I found it very entertaining to see the Jeeps taking the EXACT lines that we did. Grab a soda, sit back and enjoy!

 

 

 

[lutz]

Yes it was.Got home around 5:30am buck island to pismo was a drive.Will post up Vid as soon its done.Some pics and gps tracks.

 

http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b113/lutzg/Rubicon%202011/

 

 

http://www.filesonic.com/file/2054305224/Rubicon2011.rar

[Gotrovr]

way to go guys, sounds like a great trip, look forward to hearing the details at the annual event

[Disco2Guy]

This was another great trip! I'll have a detailed report later, but for now enjoy the pics. There are more vids that need uploading so check back.

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/109949025461700025757/NCLRRubicon11

[SLOHybrid]

Well we limped back last night with no front driveshaft and extremely loud rattling spider gears but all was good after 10pm once in the house!

The car also wandered really badly but not as bad as it was coming back from the Dusy with Lutzi.

Really enjoyed finally getting up there although the trip seemed short as it only ended up being 1 night on the trail for us.

I have to say although Yubert had some severe listening issues in the beginning he pulled through but still wins the most Carnage award! did you see his car @ the end?

Brenton the "soup can" Vids were priceless.

Hope everyone made it back safely and hope to see you all in a fortnight.

 

Was on Pirate 4x4 and copied this from a post "How much trash did you pick up this weekend"

 

Two soda cans, a Gatorade bottle, two pieces of plastic trim, (matching, probably from both sides of the same rig ), and a Range Rover muffler/resonator.

( and that was all at Prairie City! )

__________________

Who lost their muffler?????

 

Thought you guys would like this as although not as well prepared as Colin et Paul I did bring a spare engine

 

http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/9687/img8543z.jpg

[sasquatch]

Trip Report attempt -

 

Group #1 (Ron, Colin and Paul, Yubert and Lutzi and Brenton) camped Thursday night at the Loon Lake Staging Area. Group #2 (Nigel and Dave, Rod, Mark, Gayna (sp?) and Chester, Nathan and Arthur) planned to meet up with them at 7am sharp. Riiiiiight! Ice House Road has to be the longest stretch of tarmac that leads to no where?? We showed up close to 8am and were relieved to see the Rovers from the Dam! Nathan and Mark rolled up shortly after and soon we were off.

 

I wasn't quite sure of what to expect from this trail. All the pictures show hardcore sections with dedicated trail rigs and tube buggies laying on their sides spewing smoke from their bellies! I was excited and nervous at the same time. Heck, I didn't sleep well the entire week due to the excitement - but here I am! Thanks Nigel! I never thought I would be able to see this trail. An LR3 can NEVER make it through in one piece. I don't care that Coy and the Boys made it half way through. That didn't count!

 

We were 8 rigs (1 Bobtail, 3 Classics and 4 Disco's) with varying degrees of offroad driving experience. Day one was certainly the learning curve day! Everyone had to get used to their traction devices, heavy loads, new equipment and team members. The morning unfolded nicely as we bobbed and weaved our way down the trail constantly leaving bumper drag scars on the larger boulders. It was interesting to see how the Classics and Disco's were able to take different lines - disregard the Bobtail. It's a freak of nature and follows it's own lines! You can also see how tire size affected certain obstacles. The 35'ers straddled rocks that the 33'ers would drag the diff over. There were only a couple of locations that we initially toiled over and came out just fine. We would politely allow other groups of offroaders to pass. Everyone was polite, friendly and just overall in great spirits to be on the 'Con!

 

I digress. Maybe I should have started out that this was the same weekend of the Marlin Crawler's 10th Anniversary Rubicon Run. 185 Toyota rigs were scheduled to pass through to Rubicon Springs by Saturday for their huge event! We already re-scheduled the trip twice due to Jeep Jamboree's!! It was going to be packed!

 

Our intended destination was Buck Island. Since I had never been on the Rubicon, I had no frame of reference as to how long it would take. The entire trail is only 22 miles or so - how long could THAT take? Well...long enough was the answer! Since my camera batteries were not charged at all, I decided to ditch the rig and spend some time observing the drivers and their techniques (or lack of) and help out in the spotting department. Mark's Wife, Gayna, was such a great help in recommending the proper lines since she's practically a local on the 'Con. Thanks for the help Gayna! She always had great info, a huge smile and a deserving "cringe" when a driver didn't listen so well! Which brings me to...

 

Yubert!! Sir. You have an extremely strong fortitude to be able to endure the "trail customization" that you did to your rig. It takes BIG cojones to tackle the Rubicon with limited hardcore trail experience. His rig was a beautiful Ruby Red (Don't know the factory name color??) outfitted with an ARB front bumper, sliders, rear bumper, CDL - all the fixings for a capable trail rig. We certainly had a learning curve going on with Yubert. Initially, spotting for Yubert was difficult. He would only listen for a moment, then do what he thought was correct. This tug of war of the minds led to a couple of tippy situations and body damage. But this is a mixed blessing Yubert. You have won the Most Carnage Award as well as the Most Improved Driver Award!! Through all this damage (Driver's side door, driver's side passenger door, driver's side rear corner panel, passenger's side rear corner panel, rear bumper...) Yubert never lost his cool or passion to complete the trail. Well done Yubert!!!

 

The rest of the crew had strong experience and it showed. I was confident spotting anyone of these guys. In fact, I rarely had to speak - hand signals and eye contact got everyone though without drama. Great driving guys! Thank you Mark for leading us through and showing the proper British lines through the maze of Mini sized boulders.

 

It's 10am and we're making pretty good progress. I figured it was a good time to wrap a couple of frozen burrito's in foil and throw them on the intake manifold of Nigel's Disco. Should be ready for lunch in a couple of hours. The lunch destination was Little Sluice. I've heard horror stories of this place. If there's a God, please, please, please have a bypass! We continued on our way and had the usual "stucks" - high centered, dragging diffs and wedges. I was a rock stacking fool! When our group landed in the difficult zones, all the Toyota's would pass us - or at least try to. They would peel off our "easier" lines and take the difficult line. Honestly, these guys got themselves so twisted up and stuck it was hilarious. Almost every time, our lowly group of Rovers would methodically make our way through and leave the 'Yota's in the dust. Good times!

 

We arrived at Little Sluice around 12:30 or so. Right on schedule. After the obligatory "looky-Loo" of some random buggies stuck in the hole, we all headed back to the rigs to enjoy some fine dining. Burrito's were perfectly cooked!! For the record - Bean and Cheese for me and Beef and Bean for Nigel. This will be relevant later! Everyone relaxed for a bit and honestly, I lost track of all time from this point on for the rest of the weekend. It purely turned into Day time or Night time. Nothing else mattered at that point. Soon, misc. tools started popping out and a couple of large sledge hammers could be heard pounding down sliders so the doors can open again. Mark was having some sort of E-Locker engagement issues. He tore apart the locker and did a bit of troubleshooting before buttoning it back up. Hopefully it was fixed and 3-wheel drive would be a thing of the past. Nathan was also battling a similar 3-wheel issue. On Sunday, Nigel would also experience the 3wheeled monster. The Rubicon does not discriminate!

 

I'm guessing that we finally made it to camp around 7pm. Someone else can confirm this. I was beat. If I was going to lift my wrist towards my face to view my watch, it better have an ice cold Guinness in my hand! I walked quite a bit of the trail moving from spot location to spot location. I have also been battling what I think is a partially torn achilles tendon. There's a lump half way up the tendon and touching it is near impossible. Hiking injury from 6 mos ago. I was chomping Motrin like PEZ along the trail. Little did I know, Saturday was going to be brutal!

 

We all set up camp and licked our collective wounds - body and rigs. Mark got a fire started and we all slowly set up our sleeping arrangements and prepared for a quick meal. Ahhhhhhh. Pffffftttt was the sound of my Guinness cracking open and welcoming me to the trail! I just melted into the camp chair and enjoyed a well deserved cigar and beer. Soon, we were cooking up a nice Santa Maria Tri-Tip for dinner. Yum! The Crew was soon sitting in a circle around the fire sharing trail stories with full bellies and huge smiles. Ron busted out the American Honey and we were well on our way to a nice liquid blanket to go with the dropping Sierra temps.

 

This is where my personal adventure starts. I purchased a nice hammock from REI and thought I could sleep in it. I've used it during the day to relax in and thought it may work for the overnight. Uggggghhhh. It was horrible! For starters, I'm not a "back sleeper" sort of guy. I figured I could suck it up and make it work. I had a Thermarest style self-inflating sleeping pad in the hammock in the hopes that it would splay the hammock out a little more so it didn't feel like a nylon cocoon. I threw in a decent mummy bag and figured I was good to go. Now, since I've used it before during the day, I already knew that this hammock was a perpetual movement machine. I don't care how long you lay there without movement, you WILL swing to and fro until the end of time. Sounded like a bad formula to me when you combine a few adult beverages and a sea sick machine - so I tied off one side of the hammock to a tent stake that was stretching out my rain fly. Problem solved. Uhhh. Not quite. My mummy bag's slick nylon shell would slide around like a greased pig on a boogie board so I never found myself laying properly in the hammock. The pad provided great insulation from all the cold air surrounding me so I didn't want to ditch the pad. Sleep for 10. Wrestle for 40. That was my schedule for the entire night. Finally around 4am, I tried to lay on my stomach. Oh God! Ever see Nadia Comaneci do one of those reverse back bend thingy's?? Yeah. That was me for around 30 seconds!!! Mark enjoyed this analogy quite a bit! The only thing that made me feel better about my horrible night in the hammock was Nigel's face as he popped out from his Tent Cot. Apparently, they are pretty air tight and the Beef and Bean burrito was quite a match for his depleting fresh air source inside!!

 

Back to the trail. Big Sluice, Rubicon Springs, Cadillac Hill...these are some pretty impressive names of Off Roading lore. And we were headed straight for it! Big Sluice. What can I say? Big rocks. Big drop-offs. Big damage potential. Everyone did a superb job in listening to their spotters! We all got through with minimal fanfare and were certainly not the slowest group to go through this section.

 

A couple of stream crossings and we were now entering the "zoo". Rubicon Springs was packed with all the Marlin Crawlers. Tent and Rig City!! People just looked at us like we had antlers. It was awesome! Nathan drove through a deep mud section and got himself stuck. All I heard was an out of place "burble, burble, burble". I crested a rock section and saw him in a nice 30* angle leaning on the Driver's side of the rig with mud and water halfway up his door. The sound was his exhaust pipe two feet under the mud! A quick pull from Colin and we were off again. We ran the gauntlet through the Springs and all the MC crowd. The parts helicopter was buzzing low the entire day giving 60 dollar rides to everyone. It was cool to take photo's as it buzzed overhead until the rotor wash blasted the inside of our rigs!

 

We moved on through the Springs and headed towards the Graves enroute to Cadillac Hill. I wasn't sure of what to expect there at all. Brutal! You go from one wet, steep, off cambered section to the next for a good 100 yards. We spent some time there. Other groups started to stack up behind us and the pressure was on. Yubert managed to wedge himself between some rocks and a tree preventing him from moving forward or backwards. Some great teamwork and Colin's winch got him out. This was the last obstacle and it should be all downhill from there. Well, it turns out that I had to walk from the bottom of Cadillac to the top at the overlook. Our group split into two and my ride went uphill without me. I stayed back to help out with the spotting and we eventually had to jack up Rod's Disco to re-seat a wayward rear spring. That was a long, steep hike to the top. The ol tendon was singing the blues!!

 

Time to celebrate! We made it! We enjoyed the view and spend a bit of time high five-ing and taking photo's. Cool. All we have to do is drive down the generally rough fire road to one of the lakes and set up camp again. Wrong. There were no campsites left and the Tahoe Staging Area was packed with trucks and trailers. No chance here. It's now 8:30pm and were whipped. Collectively, we decide to hit Tahoe City and find a pizza place for dinner. We arrived at 9pm and they close at 9pm. They were kind enough to let some smelly 4wheelers stay and have a hot meal. The pie was really, really good! Warm food always makes the tired go away. We all steamed home after the pizza. Nigel and I traded off time at the wheel to make it home. One would sleep and the other would drive with one eye for an hour or so. Finally home at 1am. 46 hours from door to door to do the Rubicon. Epic. Truly Epic.

 

Thank you to everyone on the trip for the help, support and encouragement every step along the way. Let's do this again over 4 days AND during the week next time - hint, hint...

 

With Love,

 

Dave

[NigelCowan]

GREAT WRITE UP DAVE!!!

 

It was an experience driving the Rubicon, one that I have waited two decades to do! I've read about the Rubicon as a teenager living in a small town in another country and thought it would only be something I would read about. Well now I have completed it from end to end! I want to thank all of you for putting the trip together and I want to thank all of you who helped spot me through the difficult parts! What a great bunch of people to ride the trail with. I truly enjoyed the company of the LR folk, I couldn't imagine a better group of people to ride the trails with. No one would be left behind, no matter how little they listened or followed directions...

 

Thanks again guys!!! What an experience!!!

 

I also want to thank all of you who have posted up pictures. GREAT SHOTS!!!

 

Now off to Canada and Scotland! I wish I could catch up with you at the annual but it'll have to wait.

 

See you soon on the trails!

 

Nigel