Rubicon Trail Itinerary 8/21 - 8/26

I decided to start a new thread for the Rubicon trip since the other thread was getting so long, and we now have firmer plans.

First, here is the roster:
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-Jon/Jess
-Bill/Robin
-Haywood
-Chris
-Young
-Zip
-Jim
-Paul from ROF

Here is the itinerary as it stands right now. I will come back and edit this post if anything changes.

Getting there:
----------------

• Friday 8/21 at 7:00pm - the first caravan meets up and departs from Zip's house in Renton.
  
• Saturday 8/22 at 6:00am - the second caravan meets up and departs from Jon and Jess' house in Snohomish .
  
• Saturday night - camp at staging area in Homewood, CA on the Tahoe side.
  
• Sunday 8/23 at 7:30am - depart Homewood area and head to Freshpond CA.
  
• Sunday 8/23 at 9:00am - meet at Freshpond Trading Post, gas up and depart for trail head.

The Trail:
------------

• We will be going in at Wentworth Springs on Sunday.
  
• Camping at Buck Island Lake Sunday night.
  
• Camping at Rubicon Springs Monday night.
  
• Back at the staging area on the Tahoe side by mid-afternoon Tuesday.

At this point, some of us will be returning home, and others will be sticking around to run other trails in the area (maybe Fordyce) and possibly enjoy some recreational activities on Lake Tahoe.

Let me know if I missed anything...

After a bit of research, I found that there is a brand new, very nice gas station in Freshpond (just past Pollock Pines):

http://www.yelp.com/biz/freshpond-trading-post-chevron-station-pollock-pines#hrid:QOkM-1F1QzhYTL8LMWI3qA

Address is:

7720 Hwy 50
Pollock Pines, CA 95726

This is just 1 mile from Ice House Road, so for those of us coming from the Tahoe side, only 1 mile out of our way.

How about we meet up there on Sunday morning for anyone not trailering or caravanning?

We can gas up there, just 30 miles from the trailhead. This is 15 miles farther out than Ice House Resort, but last time we ran the trail, Ice House didn't have gas - I'm not sure I want to rely on them having it.

According to mapquest, that gas station is 91 minutes (61 miles) from Homewood CA (Tahoe staging area).

Directions from Tahoe to Freshpond
---------------------------------------

• Highway 89 South from Homewood to South Lake Tahoe.
  
• Highway 50 West from South Lake Tahoe to Freshpond Trading Post.

Directions to the trailhead from Freshpond
----------------------------------------------

• Highway 50 East to Ice House Road
  
• Ice House Road North to the turn off for Loon Lake
  
• Go straight at this intersection towards Gerle Creek (past Gerle Creek Campground and Airport Flat Campground).
  
• At the sign for Bunker Hill Lookout and McKinstry Lake turn right onto off-shoot paved road.
  
• Go past Lawyer Cow Camp (some old buildings still standing there) to a faint, narrow road off to the right - that's Wentworth Springs Road.
  
• Wentworth Springs Road becomes the Rubicon Trail after the pavement ends.

If I remember correctly, the staging area is at that last turnoff.

Thanks Bill.

Is this where the staging area is?
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=39+05+06.96N+120+09+43.74w&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=45.688268,78.046875&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=16

Paul from ROF wrote:Thanks Bill.

Is this where the staging area is?
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=39+05+06.96N+120+09+43.74w&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=45.688268,78.046875&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=16

It is near there, but I don't think that is the exact location. From Highway 89 in Homewood, you just follow the signs for the Rubicon Trail. I'll get the coordinates tonight and post them up.

A few more logistical items...

On the Rubicon Trail, EVERYTHING must be packed out - this includes your poop and toilet paper!!! There are pit toilets at the trail heads on both ends, and at Rubicon Springs, but none at Buck Island Lake. While camping there, you need to have some kind of portable potty system (could be as simple as a 5 gallon bucket). We carry a fold up toilet seat that has plastic baggies that attach to it to catch the nasty stuff - available for about $20 at sporting goods stores.

On the Rubicon trail we will need fire permits - even just to use a camp stove. We need one for every stove. They are free, and available from any ranger station in the state of CA. If you get one outside the area, tell them you will be camping in the Eldorado National Forest/Rubicon Trail area.

There is a fee to camp at Rubicon Springs. I don't remember how much, but I think it is around $15 per vehicle. Cash only, the caretaker who camps there all summer will come around to collect, so be prepared.

Bill,
Excellent information, thanks...keep it coming for us 1st-timers

Any other small pieces of advice would be greatly appreciated...like the frozen water containers in the coolers, that will double for water supplies

Zip wrote:Bill,
Excellent information, thanks...keep it coming for us 1st-timers

Any other small pieces of advice would be greatly appreciated...like the frozen water containers in the coolers, that will double for water supplies

Yeah this is a little trick I learned from Jason Nichols in Moab. I'm probably going to freeze 2 1-gallon jugs of water, then use those to keep the cooler cold. As it melts, you get drinking water, and you don't get a wet mess inside the cooler. I'll probably carry a third jug that isn't frozen to have drinking water before it starts melting. Another alternative is to buy a big block of dry ice at the grocery store. That just vaporizes as it thaws, so nothing gets wet.

It also helps to refrigerate everything you are going to put in the cooler for 24 hours prior to loading the cooler. Load the cooler up last thing before you leave. We have a steel cased Coleman cooler, and it will keep stuff nice and cold for 3 or 4 days without replenishing the ice.

Also, any vehicle fluid spills must be cleaned up. I will be carrying a bag of kitty litter, a small shovel, heavy duty garbage bags, and a roll of paper towels. I read somewhere that there are oil spill cleanup kits available for free at a kiosk at the Loon Lake staging area, but since we are going in at Wentworth Springs, we probably won't be able to get them. Better to be prepared...

"pre-cooling" your cooler really helps too. I usually put a 20lb bag of ice in mine the day before I load anything in there. The next day about 1/2 the ice will be melted. Drain the water then load up all your refrigerated goodies and top off with more ice. This works great and almost too good at times. I've had instances where my bottled water actually froze because the cooler was so cold

Bill, THANKS so much for posting all the info and details!!

white knuckler wrote:Bill, THANKS so much for posting all the info and details!!

Jon, does that itinerary work? As far as meeting up at the trading post Sunday morning?

Paul from ROF wrote:"pre-cooling" your cooler really helps too. I usually put a 20lb bag of ice in mine the day before I load anything in there. The next day about 1/2 the ice will be melted. Drain the water then load up all your refrigerated goodies and top off with more ice. This works great and almost too good at times. I've had instances where my bottled water actually froze because the cooler was so cold

Yeah, I usually use a block of ice.

wsm04rubi wrote:

white knuckler wrote:Bill, THANKS so much for posting all the info and details!!

Jon, does that itinerary work? As far as meeting up at the trading post Sunday morning?

Sounds good to me!

For anyone wanting GPS coordinates, here is the staging area (WGS 84 Datum):

N39 02.745 W120 10.029

You can enter that exactly as shown above into Google Maps and view satellite, and if you zoom in you can actually see the parking lot...

And this is approximately where the pavement ends and trail starts at Wentworth Springs (also WGS 84):

N39 00.602 W120 19.856

And finally, here is the coordinates for the Freshpond Trading Post Chevron:

N38 45.647 W120 31.796

And according to my GPS Maps, it actually is about 3 miles from Ice House Road, not 1 mile...

That's pretty helpful Bill.
What's the ETA for people who are going to camp out Saturday?
What's the deal with fires? I assume they're not allowed as well as charcoal?

I was on the rubicon trail website and it said a fire permit was required for every flame device. Stoves, grills, fires. Bill, do you know if that's really required?

Looks like fire restrictions are in place as of yesterday.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/eldorado/news/2009/nr_2009%20fire%20restrictions.pdf

rubicons4 wrote:I was on the rubicon trail website and it said a fire permit was required for every flame device. Stoves, grills, fires. Bill, do you know if that's really required?

Yes that is required, but it looks like there's restrictions and even stoves do not appear to be allowed if I'm reading them correctly.

Paul from ROF wrote:That's pretty helpful Bill.
What's the ETA for people who are going to camp out Saturday?
What's the deal with fires? I assume they're not allowed as well as charcoal?

Jon and I probably won't get there until 10:00pm or so. Zip, Jon and Young probably will beat us by several hours since they are getting a head start on Friday.

If you click on the R-n-L Site link at the top of the page, then the Members link, there are pictures of their rigs there - that will help you recognize them if you get there before Jon and me. Also, cell phones should work in that area, so let me know if you don't have my cell #...

Anybody heard from Jesse lately? Is he still planning to go? I haven't seen him in a while...

pirate is saying propane is ok.