July 18th-21st 2024
This article is intended to help plan a trip to the Rubicon Trail/Fordyce Trail trip in July. Some information can change as we hear more details but the start date will be the morning of July 18th.
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This trip is intended to be a drive-through the trail utilizing your rig for camping and transportation from spot to spot. There are some previsions outlined for participants with non-street worthy buggies that need to trailer on public roads and highways.
Rubicon Trail
The first day of the trip we will meet on July 18th at 10:00am, at the “Loon Lake Rubicon Trailhead”. This area has bathrooms, places to park your two rig/trailer, and where we would air down for the trail.
Additional parking, and where I prefer to unload, is just before the trail entrance, at the Loon Lake Chalet. This area is flatter and larger to unload, park your tow rig/trailer, and camp the night before if needed.
The location to the chalet is easy to find on Google Maps by using address “Loon Lake Chalet Ice House Rd, Pollock Pines, CA 95726”.
The entrance will be a left hand turn and can creep on you pretty quick. You will see a power station on the right hand side 200 yards before the driveway
Route for Buggies
The current plan for non-street worthy rigs is to arrive a day early, July 17th, and park at the exit of Rubicon Trail. This group would leave their tow rigs at “Rubicon Trail Staging Area Tahoe Side” and begin the trip from the exit.
The goal would be to make their way to Buck Island lake and set up camp. Waking up early on the 18th and making their way to Loon Lake trailhead for the official start with the group.
Fordyce Trail
Exiting the Rubicon Trail on Friday the 19th allows for an overnight at a hotel. This break also allows for shopping for any essentials and fuel before starting. Start Fordyce on Saturday 20th and camp on the trail. Exiting Fordyce Sunday the 21st.
Communication on the Trail
The best option in radios that I have found are the Rugged Radios. You can purchase the older analog version V3 handhelds. Or the newer R1 which is digital and analog.
Another option is a radio found on amazon, the Baofeng BF-F8HP radio. This radio can be programed to the same channels. That’s why I like to have everyone with one of these radios.
Lodging Before The Trip
You will want book lodging for the night before, July 17th, within an hour of the trailhead. Georgetown, CA is a small mountain town with a couple of motels. There is also Icehouse Resort The popular spots is Georgetown, California or “Ice House Resort, 9199 Ice House Rd, Pollock Pines, CA 95726”.