Rubicon trip Real time trail report... Maybe

[RAT]

I had never been this way before and had a blast on the Forgotten Sluice and Devil's Post Pile.

Coming Down the obstacle at Devil' post pile

Day one Wentworth0106 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Day one Wentworth0101 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Day one Wentworth0091 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Day one Wentworth0083 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Day one Wentworth0081 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Day one Wentworth0074 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Day one Wentworth0060 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Day one Wentworth0029 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

After having lunch and taking group pics on the Wentworth trail, we headed to Ellis Creek where new pit toilets are installed. DWP is also tearing out the old log bridge so we were some of the last to roll rubber on this historic piece of the CON. They tore it out shortly after we crossed.


Day one Wentworth0114 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

cont...

[Mike]

Damage Report

This trip was AWESOME! Really, The Rubicon was very fun, but the whole week was hard to surpass. Check out the other two threads related to this trip:
http://www.myjeeprocks.com/forums/sh...-Barker-Meadow
http://www.myjeeprocks.com/forums/sh...ey-Riley-Trail

Even so, there were more amazing things that we experienced along the way! I'm not sure where to post everything. :dunno:

But the CON took it's pound of flesh... Hmmm, make that several pounds! And the whole trip snacked on even more of the Jeeps before we reached the security of Home. Check out this list:

On the way to the Rubicon:
Phil: Throttle issue
Sergio: Trailer tire blowout

On the Rubicon:
Ryan: Pitman Arm (Seriously, Dropped Pitmans are the Devil!)
Sergio: Broken leaf spring
Doug: Cracked and bent Track Bar Mount
Mike: Broken Track Bar

That is just the 1st Day! Here is the rest:

Doug: Pitman Arm loose
Russ: Shock bent and broken
Ryan: Track Bar Johnny Joint needed to be rebuilt due to a broken snap ring
Kurt: Technology issues (New Tablet crashed, plus other techno issues)

After we got off the trail:
Kevin: Found a broken leaf spring

Barney Riley Trail:
Doug: Broken Sway Bar Link Mount
Kurt: Transmission Issue

On the way home:
Ryan: Trailer tire blowout
Sergio: Trailer tire blowout
Kurt: Flat tire
Mike: Leaking brake line

SO! Did I miss anything? Speak up if I did guys....

[TipsE-Z]

Did you all driver over the same tire spike strip fleeing the seen of a crime on the way home?

[RAT]

After having lunch and taking group pics on the Wentworth trail, we headed to Ellis Creek where new pit toilets are installed. DWP is also tearing out the old log bridge so we were some of the last to roll rubber on this historic piece of the CON. They tore it out shortly after we crossed.

We headed over to Little Sluice to play, but along the way the first of many break downs happened. Sergio's YJ broke a main spring on the driver side front axle and that caused the drive shaft to part. Mike and I both carry redneck welders and had enough welding rod to weld the hardened spring back together. It made it through the rest of the trail without issue.
The NEW BUT UNIMPROVED Little Sluice...

Day one Wentworth0124 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Day one Wentworth0125 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

The Old Sentinal at Little Sluice

Day one Wentworth0130 by MJR RAT, on Flickr



On our way again, it didn't take long for the next break to happen. Doug's track bar mount on the frame ripped and almost tore off the frame. Again, the redneck welder comes to the rescue. Sergio and Cliff provided their winches to pull the frame mount back into shape so I could weld it. We got it put back together and Doug made it off the trail without issue.
I didn't get any pic here but I know others did.

Right after that, and getting close to sun down and open bar time, Mile's track bar snaps in half. He has a spare and was up and running again quickly, but not before the Sun went down and we had to do a night run to Buck Island. Normally fun, but we were all hungry and tired and grouchy. Rolled into camp and had dinner and drinks, and licked our wounds.

We spent the next whole day at Buck Island Lake.
We fished

and geocached

And fished

And checked and improved repairs made the previous day.

We had a pot luck dinner that was the bomb

Buck island Day two0017 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Buck island Day two0024 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

After dinner, some stories and some drinks. No fires allowed this time. ANYWHERE!

20130812_200202 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Got up the next morning and broke camp. Headed to Rubicon Springs.

Buck island in the morning

20130812_075814 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Buck island Day two0007 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Buck island Day two0005 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Buck island Day two0008 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

The big Sluice never disappoints.

rubi springs 20002 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Day one Wentworth0121 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Day one Wentworth0119 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Cont...

[RAT]

Big Sluice

New trail markers installed since my last trip in 2009


rubi springs0004 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

These are all along the trail

The Rubicon River was way down at the bridge. This spot is normally flowing but this log jam has choked it off and lillys are now growing in the river. didn't see one trout.

rubi springs0007 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


rubi springs 20011 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

I didn't get many pics at Rubi Springs. All video.

The next morning we headed up Cadillac Hill and up to the overlook for a group photo

group shot by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Group Jeep shot by MJR RAT, on Flickr

It was a great time on the Rubicon Trail, and everyone made it off the trail safely.

Cont...

[RAT]

After leaving the overlook, we headed to the Barker Meadow trail. This is a moderate trail that connects with the Rubicon trail on the East side. It is very tight and twisty, with some great vistas at the top of the trail.


Barker Meadows0015 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Barker Meadows0025 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Sadly, there is a fire burning at Hell Hole that is visible from the top of the trail.


Barker Meadows0027 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

We came off the Barker meadow trail and headed for Tahoe, for much needed showers and dinner.

[RAT]

After a night in Tahoe, we loaded up and headed to the East Carson River and the Barney Riley Trail. The highlight of the BR trail is the series of hot tubs that catch the natural hot spring water so you can soak in the 102 Degree goodness while taking in the scenery.

On the way to Barney Riley

Barney Riley0001 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Barney Riley0002 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Barney Riley0003 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Barney Riley0005 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Barney Riley0006 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Barney Riley0007 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Still a little bit of spring up here

Barney Riley0008 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

At last! The hot tubs. This was the best damn thing on the whole trip for me.

Barney Riley0009 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Ohh yeahhh

Barney Riley0010 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

The view I had the next morning. 530 AM soaking in the hot tub with a cup of coffee. It don't get no betta..

Barney Riley0011 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Barney Riley0012 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Cont...

[NAILER341]

Great pics. Looks like it was a hell of a lot of fun!

[RAT]

We lost several of the group at the end of the Rubicon, but those that chose to come along to BR got a day full of fishing and relaxing. The trout were biting sporadically and we all caught a few.

Cliff and Phil were having a great time fly fishing

Pine Creek 50005 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Beauty little fish. The river supports a nice population of Browns and rainbows.


Pine Creek 50014 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

A pano of the hot springs

20130816_095317 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Carson River Valley

Pine Creek 50031 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Apparently, Oreos do NOT like hot tubs... Go figure. But Chuck likes wet Oreos...

Pine Creek 50001 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

The Ranch house. Spooky little place but really cool

Pine Creek 50030 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Pine Creek 50026 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Can you say Hanta Virus?

Pine Creek 50025 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Pine Creek 50024 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Really cool that no one messes with this stuff

Pine Creek 50021 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Pine Creek 50019 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

THe Eastern Sierras have the most awesome skies

Pine Creek 50018 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Pine Creek 50016 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

I took a river tube (cheapee from Target) to play around on. Walked a mile up river and put in at a ford to enjoy a slow, leisurely drift down the river. Not so much. I made it about half way back and the SS Titanic struck a rock and sank. But it was still fun...

20130816_111611 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

[RAT]

So, after we left the East Carson River, we headed out to spend the night at a gem of a campground that Doug found just North of Mammoth. On the way out my transmission started cavitating. No idea why the fluid level dropped but after adding a couple of quarts I was back on the road.
We lost some more of our group at this point. So that night it was Kevin, Scotty, Ciara, Mike and Sharon, Doug, and myself. We enjoyed a great evening at the camp ground sitting around one of only two fires we were able to have.


Pine Creek 50033 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

The next morning Scotty, Ciara and kevin hit the road for home. Doug, Mike and Sharon and I headed to Mammoth Lakes to fish. We hit Mamie Lake on Doug's recommendation. It did not disappoint.

Three nice rainbows in just a few minutes

20130817_101906 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


20130817_092430 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Mamie Lake is shallow but really pretty

20130817_075521 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

After a morning of fishing, we headed back to camp to pack up. Doug headed home at this point, leaving just myself , Mike and Sharon. We headed to Bishop to spend a night in a hotel and get clean.
Next morning Mile and I went to my super secret squirrel fishing spot. As always it does not disappoint. We only caught two. Mike caught a sharktapuss of a trout. It looked to be about 16" long and fat! Unfortunately... it bit through the line before I could get the net on it. Bye bye lunker...
I caught the one trout that kept eating my bait and leaving me with bare hooks. Took four tries. we originally thought it was the one Mike caught earlier, but when I cleaned it there was only my hook and three juicy hunks of powerbait in it's stomach. So the troutapuss is still out there.
Best pic I could get. I think Mike has some.

20130818_071554 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

These are by far the largest trout I've taken from this spot. Pretty damn cool.

Celebrating a wonderful trip at Estorga's Mexican restaurant in bishop

20130817_173131 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

After catching the monster trout, we decided to go to Lake Sabrina. The lake was drained last year and is still almost empty. But the Bishop Creek flowing out of it is still roaring and full of trout. Mike and I had a go at it. He caught some nice ones; I got aced.

Road to Sabrina

Pine Creek 20001 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Bishop Creek

20130818_133948 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Fish Wrangler
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ratpatimages/9556863316/


20130818_132251 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

After fishing here we decided to go spend our last night out at Pine Creek. Mike has had good luck catching Browns there before, so off we went. On our way we stopped in Bishop to get ice and booze. While they were in the store I saw this truck driving around the parking lot

Pine Creek 20005 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Pine Creek 20006 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

I struck up a conversation with them and found out they are from South Africa. They shipped the truck over to Boston and have been exploring the US for a few months now. Nick and Lillian. Super nice and full of awesome stories about their travels. They have been all over the world; Namibia, Zambia, Congo, Spain, England, all over Europe. They are headed to Central and South America soon. They were looking for a place to park for the night and we convinced them to camp with us at Pine Creek. They accepted and we headed up.
They have a blog and website so if you would like to follow their adventure check it out.

www.ourcruiser.com they mentioned they had not updated this site and it looks like GoDaddy has closed it.

www.landcruiserquests.com

Our camp site at Pine Creek

Pine Creek 20012 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Pine Creek 20011 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Come evening the skies darkened and a huge thunder storm let loose in the canyon. Lightning, thunder, wind and rain. I loved it!

Pine Creek 20009 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Pine Creek 20008 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

The sky caught fire as the storm rolled in

Pine Creek 20025 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Pine Creek 20021 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

We sat under my hobo camp tarp and talked and drank the evening away. It was a wonderful last night of a spectacular trip. The next morning I woke up to this


Pine Creek 20020 by MJR RAT, on Flickr


Pine Creek0002 by MJR RAT, on Flickr

Snow on the White Mountains across the valley from us. SNOW! In August! And it was over 100F in Bishop, which lies at the foot of those snow covered peaks. Too cool.

Mike and I fished a little more that morning and then packed up and headed home via 395. 10 days, 3 major trails, break downs and repairs, hot tubs, fishing, storms, good current friends and making new international friends. It doesn't get any better than this.

Thanks to all that came to explore with me. let's do it again soon!

I will post some videos later today.

[Russ Chung]

...

But the CON took it's pound of flesh... Hmmm, make that several pounds! And the whole trip snacked on even more of the Jeeps before we reached the security of Home. Check out this list:

On the way to the Rubicon:
Phil: Throttle issue
Sergio: Trailer tire blowout

On the Rubicon:
Ryan: Pitman Arm (Seriously, Dropped Pitmans are the Devil!)
Sergio: Broken leaf spring
Doug: Cracked and bent Track Bar Mount
Mike: Broken Track Bar

That is just the 1st Day! Here is the rest:

Doug: Pitman Arm loose
Russ: Shock bent and broken
Ryan: Track Bar Johnny Joint needed to be rebuilt due to a broken snap ring
Kurt: Technology issues (New Tablet crashed, plus other techno issues)

After we got off the trail:
Kevin: Found a broken leaf spring

Barney Riley Trail:
Doug: Broken Sway Bar Link Mount
Kurt: Transmission Issue

On the way home:
Ryan: Trailer tire blowout
Sergio: Trailer tire blowout
Kurt: Flat tire
Mike: Leaking brake line

SO! Did I miss anything? Speak up if I did guys....

Cliff's CB antenna broke off on the first day on the Rubicon.

[CVD]

Cliff's CB antenna broke off on the first day on the Rubicon.

Thank you Russ, for lending me a spare antenna. I didn’t want to miss the stimulating and intellectual conservation!

I'll get it back to you shortly.

[RAT]

Some quick clips.

[RAT]

[RAT]