Hey everyone, I am going to the round-up this year and it will be my first trip to the Rubicon trail.
NICE!!! I look forward to meeting ya!
Q1-Which end of the trail and trailhead will the MC round-up start from?
We prefer everyone to begin from the Loon Lake side to run the trail in it's traditional North-bound direction. This is to ensure that everyone gains the best experience from the event and gets to see as much of the trail as possible. That being said, however, the Round Up does not have an "official" starting location. There are a few clubs that get together to form groups that go in together, but officially speaking there is no starting point for the event. Basically, the main objective is to reach the Springs campground before 5pm Saturday for dinner. If you are unfamiliar with the trail, the Springs campground is about 70-75% through the trail, being closer to the Lake Tahoe side. Also there is plenty of tow rig parking on both ends of the trail. The trail is traditionally ran in the northern direction (starting at Loon Lake) however people who do not have as much time or supplies often opt to enter the Springs campground from the Lake Tahoe side. As for a time comparison, Loon to the Springs campground takes about 8-12 hours, or Lake Tahoe to the Springs campground takes about 2-4 hours (both estimates depending on traffic, your pace, your luck, etcetera, however many have experienced taking over 12 hours to reach the Springs from Loon). I always say if you are able to get to the trail by Wed or Thurs, then go in from Loon and enjoy the beautiful trail with low traffic, or if you are only able to get to the trail by late Friday or Sat. morning, then definitely enter from the Tahoe Side so you don't miss dinner!
Q2-We expect to arrive in the area Thursday afternoon. What campground would you recommend we stay in?
We send out directions and a list of accommodations in the area with every Round Up registration. In general, there is a KOA campground in Placerville (530 676-2267), Auburn Gold County RV Park in Auburn (530 885-0990), Motel 6, Super 8, National 9 Inn, Days In So. Lake Tahoe, Harvey's Resort & Casion at Stateline, NV, Quality Inn & Suites, and Holiday In Express in South Lake Tahoe, etcetera.
Q3-Keeping in mind my rig is street legal, would we be better off staying at a campground near the exit of the trail? If so, how long of a drive is it around to the starting point? Can you recommend any campgrounds on that end? I'm OK with leaving my truck and trailer in the campground while were on the trail to make sure it is safe and we have a camp ready to go to when we come off the trail on Sunday.
That is a good idea, especially considering the improved security available at a campground. The KOA in Placerville is about 27 miles south of Ice House Rd and Highway 50, and Auburn Gold County RV Park is about 37 miles south. Sorry I don't have any info regarding camp sites on the Lake Tahoe side.
In reading through some of the threads I've seen reference to the "chalet", what is that?
I think this is just another name for "staging area". The El Dorado Forest Service has installed parking areas with public toilets that resembles a type of forest villa. You can find more on this here
http://www.rubicontrail.org/rubicontrail/parking.asp.
Maybe it will be in the registration packet but is there a drivers meeting or meet up place and time on Friday morning?
We have talked about setting up scheduled runs to help cope with traffic on the trail, however at this time it doesn't look like this will happen. If this changes I will update this thread. It may have to wait until MCR10 for fully scheduled runs.
These are all really great questions, please let me know if my responses didn't quite fill the void or if you have additional questions
Hope to see ya there!
BigMike