Rubicon Trail / October, 2016 / Nikson Overland

[Nikson]

Short and hopefully interesting post for those who have Rubicon Trail on their bucket list.

Rubicon has been on mine for some time, anyone following me knows the list of the 4x4 I've gone through, and honestly I thought at least one of them will get me to Rubicon.

Being that now I'm split 50/50 between Oregon & California, living less than 2 hours away from Rubicon - time has come.

I'm not sure where to start - about the bad or the good!? I'm sure many will differ their opinion with mine, but this is simply IMHO post, thus dont take it too hard if you hear something you dont agree with, or dislike.

Rubicon is definitely not an "overlander's" kinda trail, I think its more of Tillamook State Forest's "Brown's Camp" (Oregon) for those who can relate.
Only in TSF's OHV park you get to choose trail difficulty, as well as have an option of getting out of there quicker via gravel/paved road if you choose so, since trails are not 10 miles long.

I believe that anyone on a 4x4 with winch & good tires can make it through the trail, only question is how much body damage are they willing to take on their rig, and I'm not talking about busted taillight or a scratch on a bumper.

To truly enjoy Rubicon, bring your best suspension upgrade along with the meatiest and tallest tires you can source... and than you'll have fun!

In our case, this trip included Isuzu Trooper (35s) and 4 of the Toyota 4Runners (1st gen/3rd gen & 2 of the 4th gen on 37s) - all locked & SASed.

We left Sacramento Friday before 6am and were home by 6pm Sunday.

All work on the newer 4Runners was done by Max from CATunedOffroad in Sacramento, he is the genius behind those "offroad Cadillacs" as we called them.


We started at the Loon Lake

the usual "airdown" process

trail is marked by reflective markers in similar parts, although in most cases its obvious, as one can see the tread marks

One of the 4th Gens, it was great to have all that flex...

little panorama from our first lunch spot on Friday

Found a good camp spot by Buck Island lake, we wanted to take time to enjoy the trail

Pack In - Pack Out, but if you see something thats not even yours - take it, its up to us to keep these precious places clean for future enjoyment

Another great part about it, is the nice placement of all these outhouses - I guess it would be tough to find a good place to dig a hole for #2:safari-rig:

Another shot of the CATunedOffroad Toyota... sitting on 1ton axles, bumper is CATunedOffroad as well

Wonderful how larger tires and lockers make things simpler... This "cheappo" 1st gen made it everywhere...

We were pulling up to the 2nd nights camp spot - Rubicon Springs.
This bridge is pretty "photo" popular.

Rubicon Springs

Time to share some Trail Stories and lifetime memories

Lunch lineup on Sunday atop of Cadillac Hill

The view as breathtaking, seeing the peaks on the other side being already snow covered

Thanks to Max @CATunedoffroad for organizing the trip, and Dmitriy @stellarbuilt @eurosonic for being an awesome trail chef.

Hope you all enjoy the post!

 

[eurosonic]

Nice write up. That was an incredible trip.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[v_man]

Great report , the Rubicon is incredible...

 

[zelatore]

>I believe that anyone on a 4x4 with winch & good tires can make it through the trail, only question is how much body damage are they willing to take on their rig, and I'm not talking about busted taillight or a scratch on a bumper.



I'd hesitate to say this. On the one hand, yes just about anything could get through with enough work. On the other, I'd say the realistic minimum requirements are 33s, at least one locker, and good armor.

And of course it's a very different trail early in the year before the Jeeper's Jamboree comes through and paves it so they can get a couple hundred rigs through as fast as possible.

I took my LR3 through early this year when the snows were just clearing out. While I didn't do any body damage I gave the armor a serous workout. We did the same route/schedule as you, starting at Loon then camping at Buck Island and Rubicon Springs. Frankly, by the time I was done I wasn't having fun any more...it was just too much work for something like the LR3 to truly enjoy the trail. I came away glad I did it (as far as I know I'm the only one to take an LR3 all the way through) but thinking I probably wouldn't come back with this rig.

That's what the RRC is for....

 

[zelatore]

Oh, and I forgot to mention - nice pics and video!

 

[Nikson]

Oh, and I forgot to mention - nice pics and video!

You have proven my point exactly... To me it seemed like "one" would just get tired of the challenge, thats where Rubicon is really get difficult, it might not even be the actual obstacles that we have to go over, but rather loosing interest or the fun in.

I guess whats good is that its a 2way trail, and one can always turn around if need be...

Thanks!

 

[eurosonic]

wow and LR3 on a the CON. Would love to see some pics.

 

[zelatore]

wow and LR3 on a the CON. Would love to see some pics.

Here's the write-up. I'm not much of a photographer but there's a link to my pics in the thread.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/159420-An-LR3-on-the-Rubicon?highlight=rubicon

 

[lgrt]

To me it seemed like "one" would just get tired of the challenge, thats where Rubicon is really get difficult, it might not even be the actual obstacles that we have to go over, but rather loosing interest or the fun in....

Fatigue is one of the biggest obstacle... The Rubicon just keeps coming at you. It is relentless and you can't take your eye off the ball for a minute. But after you do it, there are no long overlanding days you can't handle. Rubicon prepared me for Baja and other trips, knowing how to maintain focus, spot the easy(ish) line and stay attentive to the task at hand.

Rubicon might not be for everyone but what you learn in seven miles will last a lifetime.

 

[zelatore]

Rubicon might not be for everyone but what you learn in seven miles will last a lifetime.

I agree it's not for everyone, but at the same time I'd say everyone should do it at least once. It's the bucket-list trail for anybody in north america. Jeep didn't name their flagship (and arguably the most capable stock vehicle on the market) Rubicon for nothing.

 

[Nikson]

I can only agree with both comments,

From my perspective as a "finger-pointer" and photographer, it was tiring to "walk" it for the most part, dont get me wrong, I could walk it in one day probably.
So I can see it being tiring to anyone considering amount of attention needed to pick the right line.

Taking time going over Colorado passes, I would agree that its similar overall, where attention span is short for some nowadays especially, and I agree with the fact that Rubicon prepares us for greater places & bigger challenges.

I'm hoping to organize an event where guys from abroad could come over and experience it as well.

Cheers fellas!!!

Fatigue is one of the biggest obstacle... The Rubicon just keeps coming at you. It is relentless and you can't take your eye off the ball for a minute. But after you do it, there are no long overlanding days you can't handle. Rubicon prepared me for Baja and other trips, knowing how to maintain focus, spot the easy(ish) line and stay attentive to the task at hand.

Rubicon might not be for everyone but what you learn in seven miles will last a lifetime.

I agree it's not for everyone, but at the same time I'd say everyone should do it at least once. It's the bucket-list trail for anybody in north america. Jeep didn't name their flagship (and arguably the most capable stock vehicle on the market) Rubicon for nothing.

 

[HopeOverLandandSea]

Dumb question, but could this simply be "hiked" instead or is there an alternate / parallel trail that goes through the same territory. As I got healthier, my desire to drive through trails has lessened and yet this trail is on my bucket list. But I would have to build a specific truck for it and not sure I really want to when hiking is "free" too!?

My current expedition rig is a STOCK Wrangler and I am trying to keep the suspension stock, but add just the few items like a winch, a rack for my kayak, and organize the rear for cooler and such. Goal is to basically take my trail riding as far as a stocker can go, I figure Jeep spent millions on the engineering why not try and use it as originally intended?

 

[zelatore]

Yes, you could hike it. Technically it's a county road so walking would be fine. It would be a little unusual, but no reason you couldn't.

Heck, you'd probably make better time than most of the rigs.

 

[Nikson]

Honestly, I believe its possible if you do it sometime around Jamboree time when they prep the trail for the run.
Keeping stock suspension is one thing, but tires and underarmor is a must have, along with a winch in case its needed.

What I meant by hiking is that I was a co-driver & video/photo as my own choice, in return I ended up walking/hiking most of the time, cant really get much footage from inside if you know what I mean.

Just keep in mind that Rubicon isnt recommended for a "non-locked" vehicle, and I would have to agree.

Dumb question, but could this simply be "hiked" instead or is there an alternate / parallel trail that goes through the same territory. As I got healthier, my desire to drive through trails has lessened and yet this trail is on my bucket list. But I would have to build a specific truck for it and not sure I really want to when hiking is "free" too!?

My current expedition rig is a STOCK Wrangler and I am trying to keep the suspension stock, but add just the few items like a winch, a rack for my kayak, and organize the rear for cooler and such. Goal is to basically take my trail riding as far as a stocker can go, I figure Jeep spent millions on the engineering why not try and use it as originally intended?

 

[OSV]

Dumb question, but could this simply be "hiked" instead or is there an alternate / parallel trail that goes through the same territory. As I got healthier, my desire to drive through trails has lessened and yet this trail is on my bucket list. But I would have to build a specific truck for it and not sure I really want to when hiking is "free" too!?

you could hike it no problem, camp anywhere as long as it's next to the trail? vehicles have to remain within something like 20' of the trail... take a camera and hang out at the soup bowl.

dirt bike would be a blast on the 'con, because you can dodge the big rocks... although some people like going over the big rocks

My current expedition rig is a STOCK Wrangler and I am trying to keep the suspension stock, but add just the few items like a winch, a rack for my kayak, and organize the rear for cooler and such. Goal is to basically take my trail riding as far as a stocker can go, I figure Jeep spent millions on the engineering why not try and use it as originally intended?

offroad capability isn't the primary engineering goal with most modern vehicles.

i would suggest getting a locker, gears, air compressor of some sort, and the biggest tires you can fit, before getting a winch.

the bigger the tire, the easier it will be on a trail like the 'con, or a sand pit like glamis.