Rubicon Trip Report : Aug 6-8
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JK Enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2010
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From: Kenmore, Washington
Rubicon Trip Report : Aug 6-8
Several of us from Puget Sound just returned from running the Rubicon trail this past week. The planning started way back in November and at one point we had 14 rigs signed up but in the end only 6 rigs made the journey. Even Fred "bubblegoose1" had to bow out due to electrical problems with his rig. We were joined by 2 rigs from NorCal, Jason Huckabay "huck271" and his good wheelin buddy Jeff for a total of 8 rigs. Gary H "gary", Alex "nwapache" and I "blueice" met "huck271" this past EJS and struck up a friendship and invited him on our Rubicon trip. Here is the makeup of our rigs:
Alex G "nwapache" - JKU Rubicon with Rock Krawler 3.5" lift on 35's
Gary H "gary" - JKU Rubicon with EVO bolt on coilovers (5" lift) on 37's
Gary T "blueice" - JKU Rubicon with EVO lever/coilovers (5" lift) on 37's
Greg P - YJ with 3" lift and 33's
Jason H "huck271" - JKU Rubicon with EVO lever/coilovers (6" lift) on 40's
Jason U "jungerjk" - JKU Rubicon with OME 3.5 " lift on 35's
Jeff - Dodge Ram 1500 shorty with coilovers (6" lift) on 38's
Mike H - JKU with RE 4.5" lift on 37's
Prior to doing the Rubicon, 4 of us (Gary H, Gary T, Jason H and Jason U) ran the Slickrock Trail on Friday Aug 3rd as a warm up. This was a very fun trail rated most difficult but it had only one truly difficult obstacle. All of us did just fine in clearing everything although we did have fun watching a group ahead of us winch a stock Mitsubishi Montero over that obstacle as well as a builtup modern FJ cruiser. I have no idea why a stock Mitsubishi would try this trail and it paid dearly, both bumpers mangled as well as both rocker panels. Felt sorry for the poor guy. I recommend this trail as it is really fun, scenic has some good rock crawling and takes only 2-3 hours to run including stopping for lunch at the Silver Creek water slide.
Four of us (Alex, Gary H, Gary T and Jason U) decided to do a prelude run of the rest of the Classic Rubicon trail on Sunday Aug 5th and tour the 50 mile paved portion of Wentworth Springs road from Georgetown to Loon Lake. At one time we were thinking of also running the tough 4WD post pile section of Wentworth Springs but opted out due to time constraints, which was a good thing as the trek from Reno to Georgetown via South Lake Tahoe took way longer than we thought and we didn't rendezvous with Jason U in Georgetown until 2:20pm. After lunch in Georgetown all 4 rigs took the 50 mile trek up to Loon Lake and arrived at the campground at about 5pm. We had reserved the group campsite and had a very relaxing quiet time with good company and a large camp fire. Gary T had his wife and oldest daughter with him and Jason U had his brother in law with him.
The next morning, Monday Aug 6th, the 4 of us camping at Loon Lake rendezvoused at the staging area at 10:30am with Greg P and Mike H who had been camping with their families at South Lake Tahoe, and with Jason H and Jeff who came over from the Sacramento area. We all aired down and Jason H led us out onto the trail. We made it 0.7 miles before Greg P had trouble climbing out of the granite bowl. He ended up snapping his rear driver side Dana 35 axle shaft. And of course this would be only type shaft that we weren't carrying spares for. Fortunately Greg P had a satellite phone and Jason H knew what 4WD parts suppliers to call. We first had to determine the total extent of damage and tore Greg P's rear end apart. Only the one shaft was damaged, but the spline end was stuck good in the carrier and took much effort to remove. Meanwhile while everyone sat around and ate lunch Jason H called around to find a shaft. Once he did, Jason U called his wife who was visiting family in nearby Eldorado Hills and had her pickup the shaft and meet Mike H and Greg P at the junction of Ice House Road and US 50. Jason U and his brother in law Bobby stayed with Greg P's rig and put the carrier back in and the passenger side axle shaft. The rest of the group continued on after the 3 hour delay to camp at Buck Island Lake, taking Greg P's wife and two daughters along. The main group reached Buck Island Lake at 5:30pm and only spotted twice, once at a big drop before Walker Hill where 3 rigs ran the hard line and at Little Sluice where 5 rigs ran the more difficult chicken line slab route that bypasses the extreme 300' of huge nasty boulders. The other 3 rigs arrived at camp at 8:30pm and Greg P's trip was saved due to the mechanical heroics of Bobby and Mike H, Jason H's parts finding and Jason U's wife's courrier service.
The next morning, Tuesday Aug 7th, 3 rigs (Jason H, Gary H and Gary T) decided to go back and run Old Sluice (aka True Big Sluice) which we didn't do Monday due to the delays. The rest of the group elected to not try Old Sluice and we learned later this began by Alex not feeling well. We were to meet up with the rest of out group at Rubicon Springs for our 2nd camp. Jeff decided to leave his Ram 1500 at Buck Island (as he was pretty sure much body damage would happen to his rig) and ride with Jason H and help spot. The 3 rigs made quick work of climbing back up the Indian Trail slabs for one mile in 20 minutes and reached the fork with the Old Sluice which apparently few choose to try. We proceeded down Old Sluice and the upper half was not too much trouble, moderate rock problems and some tight trees, which Gary H and Gary T are used to from Washington wheelin. Then things got exciting, the rocks got much bigger, the sluice got much narrower and the final squeeze was super nasty. Jason H got through with spotting on his 40's but Gary T following the same line on 37's got stuck and with several rocking attempts and pivoting off his steel flares and rockers got through with no body damage but some good scrapes on the armor. Gary H found a better line and very carefully weaved through on his 37's. It took about an hour to run Old Sluice and return to Buck Island. We were surprised to hear over the CB our other group was only a mile ahead of us at the top of Big Sluice. We learned later why and it is an epic part of the story. Moving along at a good pace without any spotting the 4 of us (Jeff back in his rig) caught up to our other group near the top of Big Sluice. They were having a winch fest through it, especially at the section split by the big tree. The others all went via the easier right side but Jeff went left and almost rolled, saved by hitting the big rock on the right and taking some body damage. Jason H went left squeezed through un harmed and so did Gary T on left or at least he thought so, followed by Gary H on left. Not much further, Gary T noticed his steering not working properly and discovered his tie rod jam nuts were loose, the rod rotated and gasp his Ram assist dangling by its pressure lines with its axle bracket broken away. More inspection showed a hairline crack in the stock Dana 44 passenger tube adjacent to the upper control bracket with some slight leaking of diff fluid. Fortunately the EVO sleeve kept the tube from a full fracture and Mike H had a portable welder and was able to do a trail weld. The PSC Ram was removed and the steering box capped and Gary T had to run the remainder of the trail without it and slowly to boot. The group continued on without mechanical incident to Rubicon Springs. Unfortunately, a human incident followed. We learned why the other part of our group was so slow, they didn't leave Buck Island for an hour after we went back to Old Sluice due to Alex feeling poorly, heart racing and short of breath. Bobby had to drive Alex's rig to Rubicon Springs and when they arrived, Alex was so sick the Rubicon Springs care taker had to call in a CHP EMT helicopter. The EMT's checked out Alex and decided to air lift him to the big hospital in Roseville CA. At this point, Jason H, Jeff, Greg P and Mike H decided to finish the trail up and take on Cadillac Hill immediately. Alex's passenger Jesse didn't have sufficient skill to negotiate Cadillac Hill so the care taker and his wife assisted him, with the wife (an expert wheeler) driving Alex's rig past the remaining obstacles and the care taker following in their big Jeep; so that Jesse could drive to Roseville and check on Alex. Jason U, Gary H and Gary T spent the night at Rubicon Springs. Fortunately before night fall Gary H spotted a momma brown bear with two cubs milling about the camp site. We all elected to hang our food in trees. At about 2am Jason U woke to the sound of paws scratching/swinging his ice chest bottom and pushed the panic button for his JK and scared the bear off.
The next and final morning of Wed Aug 8th, we could see scratch marks on the bottom of Jason's ice chest. We had a quick breakfast and headed out. We zoomed up Cadillac Hill but near the top Jason U broke a valve stem (he also broke one on the Slick Rock Trail) and Gary H had to assist on a tire change in a somewhat precarious spot. We all then zoomed along to observation rock, took some poser shots and zoomed along to the staging area. While airing up Jason U found he had broke another valve stem, aired up as best he could and had to drive 8 miles of pavement down to Tahoe and get both stems replaced at a tire shop. Gary H and Gary T went back to Gary T's cousin's house in Reno and on the drive got a call from Alex informing he was okay and on his way there too, to pick up his full doors which he stored there.
On Thursday Gary T went to his cousin's shop and had his axle tube weld reinforced and did a front end alignment for the long drive back to Seattle. The fix worked and he made the 800 mile trek without incident although he has to do something about the tube before more wheeling (maybe pro rock 60's are his future).
Gary T doesn't take many pics, so the others will need to post with them. We did have 4 GoPro's along so much video is forthcoming.
Report by Gary T. Enjoy
Alex G "nwapache" - JKU Rubicon with Rock Krawler 3.5" lift on 35's
Gary H "gary" - JKU Rubicon with EVO bolt on coilovers (5" lift) on 37's
Gary T "blueice" - JKU Rubicon with EVO lever/coilovers (5" lift) on 37's
Greg P - YJ with 3" lift and 33's
Jason H "huck271" - JKU Rubicon with EVO lever/coilovers (6" lift) on 40's
Jason U "jungerjk" - JKU Rubicon with OME 3.5 " lift on 35's
Jeff - Dodge Ram 1500 shorty with coilovers (6" lift) on 38's
Mike H - JKU with RE 4.5" lift on 37's
Prior to doing the Rubicon, 4 of us (Gary H, Gary T, Jason H and Jason U) ran the Slickrock Trail on Friday Aug 3rd as a warm up. This was a very fun trail rated most difficult but it had only one truly difficult obstacle. All of us did just fine in clearing everything although we did have fun watching a group ahead of us winch a stock Mitsubishi Montero over that obstacle as well as a builtup modern FJ cruiser. I have no idea why a stock Mitsubishi would try this trail and it paid dearly, both bumpers mangled as well as both rocker panels. Felt sorry for the poor guy. I recommend this trail as it is really fun, scenic has some good rock crawling and takes only 2-3 hours to run including stopping for lunch at the Silver Creek water slide.
Four of us (Alex, Gary H, Gary T and Jason U) decided to do a prelude run of the rest of the Classic Rubicon trail on Sunday Aug 5th and tour the 50 mile paved portion of Wentworth Springs road from Georgetown to Loon Lake. At one time we were thinking of also running the tough 4WD post pile section of Wentworth Springs but opted out due to time constraints, which was a good thing as the trek from Reno to Georgetown via South Lake Tahoe took way longer than we thought and we didn't rendezvous with Jason U in Georgetown until 2:20pm. After lunch in Georgetown all 4 rigs took the 50 mile trek up to Loon Lake and arrived at the campground at about 5pm. We had reserved the group campsite and had a very relaxing quiet time with good company and a large camp fire. Gary T had his wife and oldest daughter with him and Jason U had his brother in law with him.
The next morning, Monday Aug 6th, the 4 of us camping at Loon Lake rendezvoused at the staging area at 10:30am with Greg P and Mike H who had been camping with their families at South Lake Tahoe, and with Jason H and Jeff who came over from the Sacramento area. We all aired down and Jason H led us out onto the trail. We made it 0.7 miles before Greg P had trouble climbing out of the granite bowl. He ended up snapping his rear driver side Dana 35 axle shaft. And of course this would be only type shaft that we weren't carrying spares for. Fortunately Greg P had a satellite phone and Jason H knew what 4WD parts suppliers to call. We first had to determine the total extent of damage and tore Greg P's rear end apart. Only the one shaft was damaged, but the spline end was stuck good in the carrier and took much effort to remove. Meanwhile while everyone sat around and ate lunch Jason H called around to find a shaft. Once he did, Jason U called his wife who was visiting family in nearby Eldorado Hills and had her pickup the shaft and meet Mike H and Greg P at the junction of Ice House Road and US 50. Jason U and his brother in law Bobby stayed with Greg P's rig and put the carrier back in and the passenger side axle shaft. The rest of the group continued on after the 3 hour delay to camp at Buck Island Lake, taking Greg P's wife and two daughters along. The main group reached Buck Island Lake at 5:30pm and only spotted twice, once at a big drop before Walker Hill where 3 rigs ran the hard line and at Little Sluice where 5 rigs ran the more difficult chicken line slab route that bypasses the extreme 300' of huge nasty boulders. The other 3 rigs arrived at camp at 8:30pm and Greg P's trip was saved due to the mechanical heroics of Bobby and Mike H, Jason H's parts finding and Jason U's wife's courrier service.
The next morning, Tuesday Aug 7th, 3 rigs (Jason H, Gary H and Gary T) decided to go back and run Old Sluice (aka True Big Sluice) which we didn't do Monday due to the delays. The rest of the group elected to not try Old Sluice and we learned later this began by Alex not feeling well. We were to meet up with the rest of out group at Rubicon Springs for our 2nd camp. Jeff decided to leave his Ram 1500 at Buck Island (as he was pretty sure much body damage would happen to his rig) and ride with Jason H and help spot. The 3 rigs made quick work of climbing back up the Indian Trail slabs for one mile in 20 minutes and reached the fork with the Old Sluice which apparently few choose to try. We proceeded down Old Sluice and the upper half was not too much trouble, moderate rock problems and some tight trees, which Gary H and Gary T are used to from Washington wheelin. Then things got exciting, the rocks got much bigger, the sluice got much narrower and the final squeeze was super nasty. Jason H got through with spotting on his 40's but Gary T following the same line on 37's got stuck and with several rocking attempts and pivoting off his steel flares and rockers got through with no body damage but some good scrapes on the armor. Gary H found a better line and very carefully weaved through on his 37's. It took about an hour to run Old Sluice and return to Buck Island. We were surprised to hear over the CB our other group was only a mile ahead of us at the top of Big Sluice. We learned later why and it is an epic part of the story. Moving along at a good pace without any spotting the 4 of us (Jeff back in his rig) caught up to our other group near the top of Big Sluice. They were having a winch fest through it, especially at the section split by the big tree. The others all went via the easier right side but Jeff went left and almost rolled, saved by hitting the big rock on the right and taking some body damage. Jason H went left squeezed through un harmed and so did Gary T on left or at least he thought so, followed by Gary H on left. Not much further, Gary T noticed his steering not working properly and discovered his tie rod jam nuts were loose, the rod rotated and gasp his Ram assist dangling by its pressure lines with its axle bracket broken away. More inspection showed a hairline crack in the stock Dana 44 passenger tube adjacent to the upper control bracket with some slight leaking of diff fluid. Fortunately the EVO sleeve kept the tube from a full fracture and Mike H had a portable welder and was able to do a trail weld. The PSC Ram was removed and the steering box capped and Gary T had to run the remainder of the trail without it and slowly to boot. The group continued on without mechanical incident to Rubicon Springs. Unfortunately, a human incident followed. We learned why the other part of our group was so slow, they didn't leave Buck Island for an hour after we went back to Old Sluice due to Alex feeling poorly, heart racing and short of breath. Bobby had to drive Alex's rig to Rubicon Springs and when they arrived, Alex was so sick the Rubicon Springs care taker had to call in a CHP EMT helicopter. The EMT's checked out Alex and decided to air lift him to the big hospital in Roseville CA. At this point, Jason H, Jeff, Greg P and Mike H decided to finish the trail up and take on Cadillac Hill immediately. Alex's passenger Jesse didn't have sufficient skill to negotiate Cadillac Hill so the care taker and his wife assisted him, with the wife (an expert wheeler) driving Alex's rig past the remaining obstacles and the care taker following in their big Jeep; so that Jesse could drive to Roseville and check on Alex. Jason U, Gary H and Gary T spent the night at Rubicon Springs. Fortunately before night fall Gary H spotted a momma brown bear with two cubs milling about the camp site. We all elected to hang our food in trees. At about 2am Jason U woke to the sound of paws scratching/swinging his ice chest bottom and pushed the panic button for his JK and scared the bear off.
The next and final morning of Wed Aug 8th, we could see scratch marks on the bottom of Jason's ice chest. We had a quick breakfast and headed out. We zoomed up Cadillac Hill but near the top Jason U broke a valve stem (he also broke one on the Slick Rock Trail) and Gary H had to assist on a tire change in a somewhat precarious spot. We all then zoomed along to observation rock, took some poser shots and zoomed along to the staging area. While airing up Jason U found he had broke another valve stem, aired up as best he could and had to drive 8 miles of pavement down to Tahoe and get both stems replaced at a tire shop. Gary H and Gary T went back to Gary T's cousin's house in Reno and on the drive got a call from Alex informing he was okay and on his way there too, to pick up his full doors which he stored there.
On Thursday Gary T went to his cousin's shop and had his axle tube weld reinforced and did a front end alignment for the long drive back to Seattle. The fix worked and he made the 800 mile trek without incident although he has to do something about the tube before more wheeling (maybe pro rock 60's are his future).
Gary T doesn't take many pics, so the others will need to post with them. We did have 4 GoPro's along so much video is forthcoming.
Report by Gary T. Enjoy
JK Super Freak
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,374
Likes: 0
From: Kirkland, WA
Posted from Bend Oregon:
The Rubicon lives up to the hype! As those of you following my new build are aware, I decided to take Crush down, instead of the trusty Silver Bullet
She performed flawlessly, the RK 3.5" max lift was outstanding. I had more flex than anticipated, the control arms never got in the way, and the ride was very smooth. ATX slab bead locks let me air down to 10psi with no fear, while the nitto mud grapplers wrapped around everything and provided excellent traction.
Day 2 was interesting as an hour after I got up, my heart started pounding away in excess of 200bpm. I tried to shrug it off as anxiety over another day of balls out rock crawling, but it wouldn't stop. I had to use a substitute driver to get down big sluice (holy cow, that was a beastly section of never ending rock obstacles). 4hours later with no end in sight for my chest pain, I made the unavoidable decision to call 911. CHP flew in with a paramedic and told my I was tachycardic. After running some tests on site they made the call to fly me down to the hospital in Roseville ca. The cardiologist informed me I had an episode of SVT, and that more tests would be needed to assess damage to my heart. Please read up on this common heart condition, as it turns out there is a simple way to end an episode quickly.... If you find yourself in a similar situation with a racing heart that won't slow down simply blow on your thumb like a breathalyzer. Doing this will reset your heart and prevent damage.
I look forward to another trip to the Rubicon next year so I can do Cadillac hill myself, instead of substituting a professional massive props to the California Highway Patrol for their kindness, courtesy, and professionalism. Their services are free to us common folk, and in danger of further budget cuts.
Photos and videos forthcoming when I'm back home...thanks to everyone for making this an GARY trip!
The Rubicon lives up to the hype! As those of you following my new build are aware, I decided to take Crush down, instead of the trusty Silver Bullet
She performed flawlessly, the RK 3.5" max lift was outstanding. I had more flex than anticipated, the control arms never got in the way, and the ride was very smooth. ATX slab bead locks let me air down to 10psi with no fear, while the nitto mud grapplers wrapped around everything and provided excellent traction. Day 2 was interesting as an hour after I got up, my heart started pounding away in excess of 200bpm. I tried to shrug it off as anxiety over another day of balls out rock crawling, but it wouldn't stop. I had to use a substitute driver to get down big sluice (holy cow, that was a beastly section of never ending rock obstacles). 4hours later with no end in sight for my chest pain, I made the unavoidable decision to call 911. CHP flew in with a paramedic and told my I was tachycardic. After running some tests on site they made the call to fly me down to the hospital in Roseville ca. The cardiologist informed me I had an episode of SVT, and that more tests would be needed to assess damage to my heart. Please read up on this common heart condition, as it turns out there is a simple way to end an episode quickly.... If you find yourself in a similar situation with a racing heart that won't slow down simply blow on your thumb like a breathalyzer. Doing this will reset your heart and prevent damage.
I look forward to another trip to the Rubicon next year so I can do Cadillac hill myself, instead of substituting a professional
massive props to the California Highway Patrol for their kindness, courtesy, and professionalism. Their services are free to us common folk, and in danger of further budget cuts. Photos and videos forthcoming when I'm back home...thanks to everyone for making this an GARY trip!
Last edited by Nwapache; Aug 13, 2012 at 07:16 AM.
JK Super Freak
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,210
Likes: 0
From: Covington-ish, WA
Sounds like a pretty interesting trip. Can't wait to see some more pic's. I lived the trip vicariously through JungerJK's facebook posts. Thaks buddy! 
Alex, glad to hear you're ok.
Crazy to think how much time and money it cost just to find out you could have just given your thumb a blowjob. 
Just messin' with you.
Alex, glad to hear you're ok.
Crazy to think how much time and money it cost just to find out you could have just given your thumb a blowjob. Just messin' with you.
Last edited by mdash; Aug 13, 2012 at 10:45 AM.
JK Freak
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 575
Likes: 0
From: Everett, WA
Sounds like you guys took a beating! Good thing you were prepared with that welder! Been there and done that, only we had to use ratchet straps and that wasn't successful. lol. Can't wait to see the pics
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JK Super Freak
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,374
Likes: 0
From: Kirkland, WA
Originally Posted by Nwapache
Nwapache=Alex I'm good so far. Dr appt tomorrow to schedule the tests I walked out on in California.
I'm good so far. Dr appt tomorrow to schedule the tests I walked out on in California.
JK Newbie
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 83
Likes: 0
From: Maple Valley, WA
The trip was awesome. Here's a quick video of Mike taking a more difficult line on a section of the trail. I have more video to come, but actually have to edit those
Rubicon Wheeling 08062012 - YouTube
Rubicon Wheeling 08062012 - YouTube