Bigger Ed

About five years ago my sons and I were backpacking Dusy Southbound, and somewhere between East Lake and Summit Lake two Jeeps came along going Northbound. They cautioned us that there were four more Jeeps behind them, but they were having trouble on Thompson Hill. We finished talking and they continued on to Ershim Lake. We didn't see the other Jeeps until two days later at Dusy Creek/Courtright, I talked to one of them fishing the Creek. He said two of them broke on Thompson Hill, and they all decided to turn around. He said he's done the Rubicon for many years, but this trail is a different animal all together, you can break in a hurry on this trail.

I hear a lot of stories like this.

Albino Lizard

The Rubicon is harder than the Dusy. Hands down. I have run both including the Dusy in both directions. Thompson hill is definitely challenging going uphill. I ran the Rubicon last week in a day and a half. The dusy takes 3 days. If you are concerned about Thompson, just start at Kaiser pass. It took 30 minutes to go down hill. I climbed it in a yj with 33's.

Both trails have their own flavor and are not to be missed.

BKGM Jeepers

I agree with the post above!
I've run both trails multiple times. Dusy is much easier than the rubicon. Dusy only has one challenging section in 33 miles of trail. But it also has lots of fun sections.

The Rubicon is shorter, about 20 miles total, but the last 7 miles are easy.

Both trails are excellent experiences. Dusy offers fantastic views and the experience of driving through trees struck by lightning..

BKGM Jeepers

I ran Dusy last year and have run the rubicon twice this year. Each trip was a day trip, but Dusy involved some fantastic night wheeling. I was off that trail at 3 am.

I think the responses here reflect different builds and driving experience.

I have passed broke down rigs on both trails. 90% of breakdowns are from a lack of proper maintenance - dried out u joints and loose bolts snapping off. A heavy right foot is another common cause.

Bigger Ed

Yes, I already covered that. You can get a wide array of opinions on difficulty of Dusy, just like any other trail. The best opinion would come from someone you have wheeled with and know his capabilities. When we rely on other people ratings it's a craps shoot.