Topic: RUBICON TRAIL USE GUIDELINES, PLEASE READ

[BigMike]

Thankyou for all who will be attending the event this year. It will be the largest event in its history.

With that said, we want to be certain that all attendees read and print out the Rubicon Trail Use Guidelines and Rules contained within this thread.

We are most grateful for the owners of Rubicon Springs to hold our event, and we hope that everyone attending will return this favor by adhering to and following these very simple guidelines and rules.

If you have registered, then you should have received your registration packet. Within this packet, you will find a BRIGHT YELLOW and a BRIGHT RED paper stating most of the following guidelines and trail use policies.

I would like to put this information in a thread on the forum for those who are going without registering. If you are attending without registering, remember that there is a REQUIRED $15 camping fee if you wish to camp at the Springs ANY NIGHT. Please find Christine and make sure you pay the owners of the spring for your camp spot!



RUBICON TRAIL: ETHICS AND TREAD LIGHTLY PRINCIPLES:

1. Stay on the trail. Never get off the trail. Do not camp some place where you have to make a new trail to get there. Make sure you know the current rules for camping (get on the FOTR email list or check with me if you're in doubt).

2. Be smart about your tires. Air down; drive slow; and don't spin your tires where you don't need to. Stay on the rocks.

3. Follow the established route. Do not create a new route or bypass.

4. Be courteous of other drivers. Don't hold up the line and upset those behind you when you don't need to or have an alternative (such as getting out of the way).

5. Pick up trash you see along the trail.

6. Talk to other riders/drivers about their bad habits if you see some.

7. Never drive into or through wet areas or meadows. Stay on the trail that avoids these sensitive spots.  Don't drive over vegetation. If you have to take a mud puddle that is part of the trail, take the most used line and go slow.

8. If your vehicle breaks down, try to limp it out of the way as soon as you can so as to not hold up those behind you. Every one is on a schedule these days. And no one likes to be held up. We all want to get as much fun in as we can in a short period of time. Be thoughtful.

9. Obey the law.

10. Don't drive over vegetation or make mud holes worse.

11. Help a wheeler in need.

12. Camp at least 30 feet from water sources (lakes, creeks, ponds).

13. Don't shoot in camps or along the trail. There are too many folks up there, and you never know where the granite will send you glancing bullet.

14. Drink responsibly.

15. Have fun; be safe; but be smart about our future.



Rubicon Trail Restrictions in effect:

Rubicon Trail Restrictions (50 feet Right of Way)

By Court Order (due to a lawsuit filed in 2005 against the USDA Forest Service), all vehicles must remain within 25 feet of centerline of the Rubicon Trail -- a non-maintained county road.

In other words, the USFS property on both sides of the Rubicon Trail are temporarily closed to vehicles. You must keep your vehicle within the county easement (50 feet total). Signs are up but are not always reliable. FOTR and county Sheriff personnel try to keep the signage current, but you can't count on it. You must know where the trail is.

IMPORTANT: the trail is only physically 8 to 10 feet wide; but the easement is 50 feet. This means there's some room to pull over here and there to let folks by, but it does NOT mean a free-for-all in that 50 feet of easement. Do not drive over vegetation or drive where vehicles have not gone. Stay on the well worn trail.

Buy books; use a current map; download GPS info from reliable sources; follow the signs; and learn where the real trail is before you go.

Driving off trail or over vegetation is considered resource damage and will cost you!

ALSO, the private property around Spider Lake remains closed to all vehicular access. All Private Property along the Rubicon Trail route needs to be respected. We just need to stay within the trail boundaries at all times. The Private Property owners are adamant that they do not want resource damage on their lands (as is the USFS).

Fines for off trail travel (resource damage) range from $175 to $275 or more for violations of the 50 foot easement (25 feet of centerline).

Note: you can camp or walk any where you want; you just can't take your vehicle outside the easement.

ONE MORE NOTE: Rubicon Soda Springs is private property and they have their own camping rules that you need to know when you use this private land. Contact the caretaker when you camp there. You can read more on renting camping spots at Rubicon Springs here.

PLEASE, it is up to us to obey this court order and to regain our normal access to the trail and the surrounding area. Support the organizations intervening in this lawsuit and who are supporting you and your access to the famed Rubicon Trail (BlueRibbon Coalition, Calif. Assoc. of 4Wheel Drive Clubs, the Rubicon Trail Foundation, and the Friends of the Rubicon (FOTR).

[BigMike [OP]]

Additional Guidelines also included in each Registration Packet:

Camping Along the Rubicon Trail

1. Never camp right on top of your neighbor. Allow some room. Be polite in choosing your tent or trailer parking spot.

2. Do not go to the bathroom just any old where. Bring along a pack-it-out set up. Be courteous of your neighbor. With all the people using the trail, we can't allow toilet paper white flowers to become a natural part of our landscape. Pack out your trash too.

3. Do not get off the trail or make a new trail to set up camp. Camp where folks are supposed to camp.

4. Report unruly campers to law enforcement if, after you've spoken with them, they won't settle down.

5. Always Tread Lightly! Set the example for the kids watching you.

6. After packing up your camp, do one more walk around and pick up any trash -- even that of others less thoughtful. Be sure to get the cigarette butts also. They do not decompose immediately.

7. Maintain legal and common sense distances from water sources such as lakes and creeks.

8. Turn off noisy devices and loud music after 10:00 p.m. -- party softly after that.

9. Camp Fire Permits: are required! Please get one at any USFS or CDF office. Obey fire restrictions.

10. Camp at least 100 feet from water sources such as creeks, lakes and ponds.

[BigMike [OP]]

Important notice regarding camping at this year's Round Up:

If you or someone you know is planning on camping on the Springs campground private property and has NOT registered for the event, please be warned that there will be an on site care-taker who will be visiting each camp to collect $$$ for unpaid camp sites to ensure proper use of their land.

As for those who have paid the camping fee by Registering, please please! bring your registration packet as proof that you have paid to camp. If you already registered but are unable to prove it, you will be required to pay the camping fee to the care-taker if questioned without proof even if you have paid for it through registration. So please bring your registration packet.

For those who do not know what the "Private Property" includes, if you plan on camping anywhere along a 1 mile stretch from before the Green Bridge across Rubicon River to almost the base of Cadillac Hill, you are camping on Private Property and should extend your gratitude by paying the simple camping fee.

If you can not prove you registered, then please be aware of the following camping fees in effect at anytime in Rubicon Springs:
$15 near the main base camp area
$10 anywhere else along this 1 mile stretch, even if camping next to the Green Bridge!

Remember the toilets, kitchen, tables, camp sites, dance floor, drink bar, and the beautiful landscape take time and man hours to clean and maintain. Without this land being private, we might not have this nice area to visit!

Please pass this news to anyone you see on the trail!

Thankyou,
Marlin Crawler & Rubicon Springs Camp Ground

[BigMike [OP]]

When a trail like the Rubicon has no sanitation facilities (yet), the answer is pack it out! To give you an example of the magnitude of this problem, we counted the users and the use of the Rubicon during the summer of 2001. 35,000 users ventured over the trail during one three month period in 2001. They generated 70,000 pounds of human waste!

This was calculated by a back country sanitation engineer. It's an average figure for the Rubicon during peak season. It's hard to imagine. Think of it as pile of 18 jeeps stacked on top of each other. That's a lot.

Because the Rubicon has no installed toilets, this waste is either left behind or hauled out by us, the users. But you ask, why can't we just bury it along the trail? Well, if you've been out there during busy summer seasons, you know a couple things; 1) we can't always find ground soft enough to dig a hole (where there's no granite); and 2) not everyone carries a shovel even if they could dig; and 3) most importantly, the Rubicon resides in a very sensitive area (with drainages that flow to Lake Tahoe and the America River), and waste products can make their way to water tables through rain and runoff.

We cannot afford to let this close our trail. The anti-access crowd would be happy to include this as a reason to close our trail someday. We can prevent this. WE can pack it out.

You can carry the best answer: a Pett toilet system with privacy tent.

You can use an Outback Pack, cardboard toilet, and combine this with Wag Bags from the Pett system as this makes the results landfill and dumpster safe.

You can dig a small hole and use the Pett Wag Bag in it (with the landfill safe results).

You can use the plastic bucket (rubi-can).

But whatever you do, PACK IT OUT starting now, this trip.

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO ON TRAIL SANITATION PRODUCTS