Halloween on The Rubicon

v_man

Explorer
I gave up trick or treating a few years ago so I didn't have much happening on Halloween, so I loaded up the truck and headed for the Rubicon. My goal was to run it in a day...

After a 3am start from home in the Bay Area, I was on the Loon Lake dam around sunrise...

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Weather was crisp here at 6,300 feet as I came up to the Gatekeeper...

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Shortly there after you get to the Granite Bowl, a huge sea of white rock...

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Small pools of water and little trickles were everywhere, it made some of the slabs a little more tricky...

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The Rubicon often attracts hundreds of 4 wheelrs but the trail was very quiet this morning...

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The Little Sluice...

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When you combine the history of the trail, the remoteness, the ruggedness, and the beauty of the area,
you understand why it is so popular and beloved...near Buck Island Lake..
.

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The day wasn't without its issues. I got stuck here and had to winch out. For some reason my diff breather line started puking
oil here as well....


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The Big Sluice through the forrest soon followed, I crossed the Rubicon river and pulled into a deserted Rubicon Springs, strange to imagine that 100's a trucks party here in the summer...

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A short trip up Cadillac Hill takes you to the observation point where you can relax with the difficulties behind you. A few more miles of trail brings you to Lake Tahoe. The Rubicon is a very special place. Whether you do it hundreds of your friends or all alone, it's always a treat to be in these mountains...

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Crom

Expo this, expo that, exp
That's so awesome! Glad you got out and got to experience it like that, so excellent! Thanks

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 

LR Max

Local Oaf
Nice! Also cool you basically did run it in a day! I hear people going out there for days. Guess its more of a way of dragging out the awesomeness vs. terrain difficulty.

Then again a built runner of 37s does help...
 

plh

Explorer
Guessing it wasn't his first rodeo on the Rubicon.

Great photos and story. Looks like it was an enjoyable time.
 

v_man

Explorer
My Scout on 40's needed a yank on a couple spots.

Yo FJ do you remember where you needed that yank ? I gave myself a yank right there by Buck Island lake , glad to have a winch at that moment ...:sombrero:
 
I towed my trailer through mid week in the middle of September and set up camp at Rubicon Springs in the afternoon. Having the area all to myself I stayed an extra day camped there. It was still warm day and night then. Can't wait to get back there I'm not sure I will ever have it that good again. For me it was better than any word ever written about running that trail.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

zelatore

Explorer
A small group of us from NCLR are hoping/planning to do a snow run on the Rubicon just before Christmas. We'll be watching the conditions closely to see if it looks do-able.

Since I'm a little south of Sacramento and we've been getting our first notable rain since last night, I'm guessing the Rubicon will be getting some snow about now.
 

concretejungle

Adventurer
Thanks for sharing that adventure!

Question: Did you happen to go on the rubithon about three years ago on the wagon run and shear off some gears at the beginning? I thought i remember seeing that big 4 runner with us at the beginning and then thinking your t-case separated or something and you had to exit for repairs early....
 

v_man

Explorer
It was just me, I couldn't convince the wife to get up at 3am and sit in a truck for 16 hours :)
 

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