Rubicon Trail 2008

Photos and text by Pam Ramsey

The infamous Rubicon Trail in California is considered one of the toughest trails in the US.
The legend drew Creeper Jeepers: Pam and Doug Ramsey, Sally Barker, Wendy Klemm, Dave Shannon and Lance Webb to give it a try in September of 2008.
We departed Hesperus in a drizzling rain with jeeps in tow, and camp dogs Dylan and Elmer with 2 solid days of driving ahead of us.
At the start of the Trail, we camped at Robb's Roost, a somewhat unusual campground that caters to off-roaders starting on the Rubicon. After chasing the cows out of our camp spot we finalized the loading of our camp gear and settled in for a good nights sleep.
Bright and early we started out.When asking Jerry McGeorge what to expect, he replied:  "Rocks, more rocks, big rocks, and more big rocks."

 He was not exaggerating, the trail got right down to business. It was slow going, allowing us time to enjoy and photograph the spectacular scenery. We all helped spot through the rough spots.


Just following directions

 

Dave: Which Line?

Pam: Right down the middle.

Dave: OK

Pam: JUST KIDDING!!!!

Little Sluice was tackled by all and allowed for some playing before our first nights camp. We were ready for a quiet evening and some good camp cooking.

In route to camp we passed a brand new JK with a seized up engine.  It was part of a Jeep Jamboree media run that was helicopter supported.   The driver had help coming so we continued on.  We later passed another new jeep with a drive shaft that looked like a barber pole.  The helicopter was bringing them a new drive shaft.   Those guys were tough on vehicles (they obviously weren't making payments)


Lance on Little Sluce

 


Next morning we were off again, stopping for a while at Buck Island Lake, the girls took off their shoes and went wading. The boys kept their shoes on and talked Jeeps.


We only had to pull a strap out once and that was to move a huge rock a bit off the trail so we could squeeze by.

Big Sluice lived up to it's expectations, we've never seen so many huge rocks, we squeezed and inched by with a few scrapes but nothing major,


Yes, Wendy, that rock IS as big as your CJ-5
Wendy in a squeeze

Our second night found us camped at Rubicon Springs, which was like a little oasis. We had a nice spot right on the river and Wendy and Pam went swimming (sort of), very refreshing, (or ice cold depending on your mood).

We woke to the sound of an air horn going off about 2 in the morning along with the rattle of dishware or trash cans. A bear had apparently invaded a camp a ways down the river.
Dylan and Elmer protected us from bears, (or hid in the sleeping bags, depending on who you talk to)

Our last day out found us climbing Cadillac Hill which was everything we heard it was, steep, twisting and more huge rocks.
We made it mostly unscathed to the overlook and did the traditional group photo.

It was then down to Robb's Roost for the night and a celebratory dinner and margarita on their deck. Other off-road enthusiasts joined us for conversation about the trail. It was the perfect ending of the day.
We loaded rigs and camp gear the next morning and began the long trek back to Durango Other than a shelled hub on Ramsey's tow rig (easily fixed, thanks to a Car Quest and a tire store across the street from our camp ground in Utah) and various scratches and dings on the jeeps, we all made it home in one piece.

4 days driving to do an 18 mile trail! Was it worth it? Absolutely! Would we do it again? In a heartbeat!!