SierraFest Rubicon Trip Report

[Letterman]

Oh and on our way out we ran into some old guys that said "we broke our drive shaft, do you have any parts?" So we walked up Old Sluice and found they spun the center section of the rear axle, hard to tell in this photo but the pinion is pointing straight up to the tub of the CJ:

I guess they busted the front end and thought they needed to get on it hard to get out of the bad spot they were in . . . nope!

 

[Letterman]

Opie Driving out on Wednesday:

We ran into John Parsil of the Rubicon Trail Foundation (RTF) he was great to talk to and gave us some great information and trail maps:

 

[Letterman]

Then I got to run the box, spanked it like it was nothing, drove it like I stole it and never even looked back . . . .



It was the best!



I was so happy I even took the wall line out!!!!!!




I DROVE THE BOX!!!!




Phil took photos . . . with my camera . . . most did not come out . . . but I do have a few . . .



So fun . . .



In Opie's rig:

Oh yeah:

It's not mine, time for the wall line:

The wall line was hard, I heated up the tires thinking they would hook up, but after 8 or 9 minutes it never happened, I ended up sliding back down as all four were going forward in first! Opie said "Grab second and hit it!!!" I Asked "can I?!" It popped right up . . . and I was happy:

THANK YOU OPIE! For everything!!!

 

[Gavin96]

this was one of the best threads ive ever read. well done guys. thats what its all about :thumbup:

 

[Phil]

I love when Dave starts his windmill spotting because I know I can't drive and there is going to be a nasty long drawn out recovery after that.

Thanks Dave!

 

[EricsXJ]

Thank you Dave for these pics (and commentary) but more importantly thank you for YOUR leadership and help in making this trip such a great experience!

 

[fyrfytr1717]

Time for me to contribute...

I was one of the above mentioned first timers on this trip. Running the Rubicon has been a goal for me for a long time, dating back to when I first started drooling on Jeeps (Wranglers at the time) in the dealership parking lots during my late high school / early college years. Back then the dream was just owning a Jeep in the first place. The last 10 years or so has been spent dreaming of making my daily driver (which I bought brand new off the lot in 1999) into a trail rig that was capable enough to tackle the Rubicon while still handling my commute. I've had a few opportunities to run it prior to this, but knew better then to attempt it unprepared. Glad I finally made it...

Day one was supposed to be an early Monday morning but ended up being a late Sunday night instead as I figured I'd try to meet up with the guys early and have a relaxing morning prior to starting the trail. Getting packed up took forever and I didn't make it to Loon Lake until about 12:30am. I knew some of the guys were going to be camping "past the dam", but being unfamiliar with the area I didn't really know where to look. I surprised a few folks that still had fires burning that late by asking if they had seen Letterman's "Cherokee". I was greeted by a guy with a rifle at one camp and a barking dog charging me at another. I was feeling all warm and fuzzy inside so rather than bother more folks I continued on toward the start of the trail. I passed the staging area and the spillway and finally turned back when I started feeling uncomfortable proceeding into uncharted territory by myself. Apparently I stopped just short of their campsite at Gate Keeper. I was the guy on the air mattress in the staging area in one of the previous pics...

Day two started with deflating the air mattress and chucking my damp sleeping bag into the back of my rig. Fastest I've ever broken camp. Headed back up to Loon Lake and drove through all the campground areas. Finally gave up on finding the guys early and decided to just head back to the staging area and meet there. Along the way I ran into Dave who was out searching for me. Finally, the "am I lost?" feeling went away...

Me at the hut

Sign on the way in

En route to Buck Island Lake

Some random trail shots...

continued...

 

[fyrfytr1717]

Soup's on!

Bryan looking pretty wedged

But finally pulling through. Soup for Bryan!

Opie making it look easy

Soup for Opie!

Phil putting on a good show

Soup for Phil! The celebratory dance that occurred afterward was quite a show too..

Eric making it look so easy I was questioning why I wasn't even considering trying it...

Soup for Eric!

Dave giving it heck

No Soup for you Dave!

Kelly's "Cup of Soup" bypass route...

I shouldn't poke fun though, my bypass route probably wasn't even worthy of Ramen noodles, no pics either.

continued...

 

[fyrfytr1717]

Opie humping Soup Kitchen while young hikers looked on in horror and then ran for their lives! Well except of course for the one kid who said he wanted to stay and watch. Sorry kid, you signed up for the wrong trip... :laugh3:

more tomorrow...

 

[Letterman]

more tomorrow...

It's tomorrow!!!!!

 

[brothrDave]

Nice pics everyone thanks for the Serenity link Mr Letterman

 

[Letterman]

Nice pics everyone thanks for the Serenity link Mr Letterman

You should have been with us BrothrDave!!!!


I do have one sad part to post, at the end of the trip the cops showed up, it got ugly.

Crime seen, yellow tape and lots of questions as to who did what, it made for a very long Wednesday night.


The following photos you might not want to see . . .

You have been warned!

Yes it is ugly, I did not get any of the blood or oil stains but you can see the yellow police tape everywhere:

I can't talk about what the come out to this is, as it is all still under investigation, but I think we all can see that someone killed an XJ:

There is no way this cut up homicide seen of a once true XJ can ever come back to a full body life:

I know, it is a very sad ending to a Cherokee that had met a tragic end in the hands of a butcher with no regards to full body life, a sheet metal serial killer who satisfies his dark desires with the end to a nice full body two door XJ!

Ok, not that nice of a two door .!. .!.

 

[XJensen]

Not much to look at from the front but that is one nice a$$.

 

[playwithit]

Random pictures from the "Con".

 

[fyrfytr1717]

It's tomorrow!!!!!

My internet tomorrow doesn't start until Mama and the boy are in bed. Usually around 10pm. Unless of course I'm at work...

Speaking of my "probably not even worthy of Ramen" bypass, this is the pic. I love how Jazzy (the dog) is looking on. Looking back at the pic now, I realize I should have stuck my leg out the window to help keep the flares off the rock.

Some of the rigs chilling out after Soup Bowl

Opie and Phil taking on Little Sluice. Wish I had some pics from when the smoke started chugging, but I was too busy running to get my fire extinguisher!

Random scenic shot

Navigating around the abandoned Ranger.

Made for quite the tight squeeze. Wonder if it is still there?

continued...

 

[fyrfytr1717]

Approaching The Slabs and Old Sluice:

Art

Mike

Bryan

Kelly

Phil

Opie

Eric

Dave

Eric taking the steep line into camp at Buck Island Lake

continued (maybe) tomorrow...

 

[sdspearo]

Damn, never knew we had some photogs amoung us!

Tony,
That thar was a nice sequence of photos...you managed to get those rigs almost on the same exact rock/location...nice!

Dave, Kelly,
I've been on the fence of getting an DSLR. Your photos convinced me to take the plunge.

 

[Jes]

Random pictures from the "Con".

Great pictures!
Wish I coulda made it.

 

[Jes]

Not much to look at from the front but that is one nice a$$.

Someone once said...

Looks like a race car crashed into a dumpster.

:laugh:

 

[Letterman]

Someone once said...:laugh:

Sounds like a sales man to me!

You should have been with us Jes, I thought we were more then just "Good Friends!" . . .

Maybe it is time to photoshop you out?