Trail Report: Late Season Rubicon Trail Run 9/29-10/2/2011

[Russ Chung]

The Rubicon Trail has been on my “bucket list” since I bought my Jeep Wrangler X in 2005. But my Jeep had open diffs, D30/D35 axles and I could only fit 31” tires, so the Rubicon Trail was beyond my capabilities until I could afford a new JK Rubicon. Two years ago, Gerald Lee of Savvy Offroad let me ride along with him on the Rubicon, and I realized that if I had a brand new JK Rubicon, I would NOT want to take it on the Rubicon Trail. Gerald convinced me that I should upgrade my 05 Wrangler X instead of buying a new JK Rubicon. He helped me find an NV241OR transfer case, SYE, and a set of D44 axles and lockers from a Rubicon, along with an AEV Nth degree Tummy Tucker skid plate and he sent me to Mr. Blaine, who installed everything.

When I was at Sierra Trek in August, some local wheelers invited me to join them on the Rubicon “sometime in September” when the trail would be much less crowded than in the summertime. There would be four of us, and our plan was to meet at Loon Lake on Thursday, September 29, and depart on Friday morning, September 30. We planned to spend Friday night at Buck Island Lake and Saturday night at Rubicon Springs, then head home on Sunday, October 2.

I arrived at Loon Lake after dark on Thursday night, and searched for my friends at the nearly empty Loon Lake Campground in the dark, before I found them at the Northshore Campground. The next morning, in the daylight, I saw that the Loon Lake water level was very low. The water was chilly, but I went for a swim anyway.





We ate breakfast, broke camp, loaded up the Jeeps and headed to the trailhead shortly after 10 am. The skies were clear and the temperature was in the 70s. It was a perfect day for wheeling.









The impressive “facilities” that have been installed at the Ellis Creek crossing:





(continued)

[Russ Chung]

The Bypass at Little Sluice Box:



“Let’s Go To The Mountain!”:



Buck Island Lake, our destination:



We took the bypass at the Old Sluice:





Arriving at Buck Island Lake:



We set up camp near the Buck Island Lake spillway. Although the lake was chilly, the air was warm, so I went for a swim to wash off the dust from the trail. Our total travel time from Loon Lake to Buck Island Lake was just under five hours. We encountered only one group of about a dozen vehicles on the trail. They let us pass and we only met a couple of other vehicles the rest of the day.

Cooking dinner at Buck Island Lake:




(continued)

[Russ Chung]

Day 2 – Buck Island Lake to Rubicon Springs

The next day we headed down the Big Sluice:









The Rubicon River bridge:



Entering Rubicon Springs:





We forded the river and set up camp about ˝ mile north of Rubicon Springs:



Our total travel time from Buck Island Lake to Rubicon Springs was four hours. That included about a 30 minute wait at the bottom of Big Sluice to allow a large group to pass in the other direction. Our plan to avoid the big crowds by making a late season run on the Rubicon was working. There was one other group in the campground, but I didn’t see anyone else at Rubicon Springs.

After setting up camp, I explored the area on foot. The river was cold, so I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to go for a swim. That was decided for me when I slipped on a slick algae covered rock and landed on my behind in the cold water. I got used to the water quickly. After my swim I was able to warm up and dry off on the sun warmed granite.

(continued)

[Russ Chung]

Final Day – Rubicon Springs to Lake Tahoe

On Sunday, the skies were partly cloudy and a rainstorm was forecast to arrive on Monday. We hoped to be off the trail well before the rain arrived. As we finished breakfast, our neighbors in the campground left. We took our time breaking camp and packing up our Jeeps in order to give them plenty of time to get up Cadillac Hill.

Cadillac Hill:









The view from Cadillac Hill:





We reached the Observation Point at the top of Cadillac Hill just over an hour after leaving Rubicon Springs. We were happy to be past the last major obstacle on the Rubicon Trail, but our relief was short lived. One of the YJ’s had shackle reversal problems on both sides:



Shortly after repairing that problem, the same vehicle had a problem with play in the steering linkage. The problem was traced to separation between the bearing and the race in the steering linkage. After repairing that problem, we arrived at the staging area near McKinney Lake about four hours after leaving Rubicon Springs. We aired up and headed for home.

But the problems weren’t over. At Lake Tahoe, we ran into a monumental traffic jam at Camp Richardson. It was Octoberfest weekend at Camp Richardson, and the traffic was backed up for about two miles. Once past the traffic jam, we continued down Highway 50 and encountered the typical weekend traffic jam in Placerville. When we neared Sacramento, we took the Prairie City turnoff to bypass the Sacramento traffic. Just off the freeway, my Jeep stalled. I could not get it started. It cranked over, we were getting spark, and I could hear the fuel pump, but the engine wouldn’t run at all. I called AAA and had it towed to the Motel 6 in Rancho Cordova. The next day, I had it towed to the Jeep Dealer in Roseville. A few hours and $800 later, I had a new fuel pump and was on the way home. I briefly considered buying the fuel pump and changing it myself. I had all the tools with me. But the parts stores could not get me a pump until the next day, and with the rainstorm due to arrive that evening, I decided to have the dealer replace it instead of trying to replace it in the parking lot of the Motel 6. The rest of the trip home was uneventful.

The weather for this late season run on the Rubicon trail was nice. The water in the lakes and in the Rubicon River was chillier than in mid-summer, so one would not want to be playing in the water all afternoon, but it was warm enough to take a brief dip to wash off the dust of the trail. It was definitely much less crowded on the trail. We timed it perfect; we got off the trail just before the first storm of the rainy season hit the Sierras.

[vwtipeii]

It looks like you guys had a blast! How did the YJ handle with the roof rack and extra weight on top? Is the ride pretty stable with the leaf springs? We did the trail in mid August and it was perfect. I converted mine to coils and felt like a damn slinky most of the time on the trail and coming down the slab after the little sluce bypass I was convinced I was going to roll down the hill

Looking forward to next year already!

[Roger]

As always, great report Russ. Thank you

[Russ Chung]

It looks like you guys had a blast! How did the YJ handle with the roof rack and extra weight on top? Is the ride pretty stable with the leaf springs? We did the trail in mid August and it was perfect. I converted mine to coils and felt like a damn slinky most of the time on the trail and coming down the slab after the little sluce bypass I was convinced I was going to roll down the hill

Looking forward to next year already!

The yellow YJ has a SOA suspension, so it was already lifted pretty high. The roof rack and the load on top, together with soft shock absorbers made it feel real tippy, especially on the slab after the little sluice bypass.

[Mike]

Great trip Russ! Glad to hear that you hit good weather. I like the Rubicon but not the crowds. Might have to plan a late season trip next year. Great report and pics!

[dirtman13]

Great report Russ. I want to go back now. Thanks for sharing.

[Mitch]

Russ,

Looks like you had a nice time out there. A week later and it would have been a cold, wet trip. Thanks for sharing.

[FishPOET]

Great report and pictures Russ. Thanks for sharing.

[JeepGal]

Extraordinarily jealous!

I havent been in way too long.....gotta get back out there.

Looks like a great trip, glad you finally got to take YOUR Jeep!

Tam

[igofshn]

Tam, we are planning a trip in July. I will post up after the new year.

[MrBash]

Great report Russ. Definitely on the "Gotta get there" list