In Attendance (We had 9 rigs):
Frosty and Lori
Brian P
Mike H
Justin N and James his son (guest of Mike)
Eric V and Lance
Joe T
Jeff B
Scott and Dave
Jim and Carol and Dog Cali
From Frosty:
Saturday:
We met at Raley's in Auburn at 7:00a.m. Headed up to George Town where we topped off the gas tanks. Then on up to Stumpy Meadows.
As we began up the trail Joe had a valve stem break on a rock. We stopped and met up just before the Beer Can Tree and flag. As we continued up towards Phone Tree Jeff got a text from his son and needed to check in to make sure things where good. He was able to have a brief conversation with his son and everything was okay. Thanks Mike H for setting up the satellite as we where in a no service area.
At 12:00 just before Phone tree Joe blew a front tire. When he went over a boulder he came down hard on the front and made a taco out of the rim. After putting on his spare we worked our way up Benchmark where we had on coming traffic.
Once we had cleared the traffic we headed up to Little Sluice where we all made it through with no issues. At 2:00p.m. we where heading towards Rubicon Springs. With the 9 rigs it took a bit longer so we decided to set camp at Buck Island. There where several campers already setup at the base of the dam, so we headed off to the left and found some nice spots with scenic views. Also had 2 outhouses pretty close by. As we went up to find the prefect spot we saw a Coyote up on a rock just above our new camp. He skedaddled when he saw us approaching. The weather was mild and the skies were clear. We all setup camp and made dinner and relaxed and took in the majestic views. As the night came, some watched a movie under the stars and the others had a nice visit. We hit the hay fairly early. We planned on breaking camp and being on the road by 9:00A.M.
Sunday:
As planned, we headed out at 9:00a.m. around Buck Island to the left towards Rubicon Spring and Big Sluice. As we headed around the lake we come to the large step boulders. Looking for the best line, we all filed behind each. Brian worked at it and each time his left front was off the ground. John turned around in front of him and hooked up the winch. He came up easy with no issue after that. As we continued working our way up the trail the first couple of rigs went to the left and the others checked out the right. The right ended up being a dead end so, after getting passed by oncoming traffic the right-hand group also headed up to the left.
Due to the oncoming traffic Joe had got over to the right so they could pass. As he did that the rig slide over the side a bit too far. We had Eric, Jeff and myself setting up the winch cable. Brian had his winch hooked to the rear and Mike had his pulling from the front. They where able to gently get him back on the trail.
We stopped for a break at the camp for Jeeper Jamberee Rubicon Springs but decided to head up a bit to the Rubicon Springs slabs for lunch. Found a nice shade tree and some soaked their feet in the water. It was nice to stop and share our stories of the trail.
We were off the trail about 4:30p.m, aired up, and started down to Hwy 89. Scott got on the radio and said he had a weird noise under the rig and as he would speed up it got loader. Everyone circled back to him and got under the rig. I removed the differential skid plate which we believed was hitting the drive line ( earlier on the trail he landed hard on the back with a big boulder). It took a bit to figure it out but we got back on the road around 6:50p.m.
As we were leaving the trail we came across the Rubicon Trail Foundation group working on the trail. We thanked them for all their hard work as we passed by.
It was a great weekend to be out on the trail. Everyone worked together and made it a fun weekend. It was a first time experience for many in the group. Thank you all for coming and enjoy a great outing.