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Submitted for Paul Bredehoft...
The third annual FAKRWEE TRIBE RUBICON RUN was held August 9-13. This year the tribe included tribe leader Chief Lost & Found Tom Rios; Brave #1 Fender Guy Colin Ignacio; Brave Fixen Good Winter Douglas; & new to the tribe this year Brave Cookum Yum Yum Paul Bredehoft.
Day One: the tribe met early in the morning at the exit of Magic Mountain. There we made exchanges of materials from one truck to another so that not one truck was over loaded in weight. When that was all settled we toped off the gas and headed out north on Interstate 5 for a 7 hour drive to Placerville, CA.
Upon arriving i Placerville we settled in at the Best Western Motel. That nite we decided to go out to dinner and found a place called (Poor Red's) it was a real Red Neck place but had great food. They do something different there then any other eating place, the waitress immediately takes your order, while you wait either at the bar or at one of their old fashion shoe polishing seats, your dinner is being prepared. When your dinner is ready, she comes back and calls your name and seats you at your table, and your food is served immediately.
Day Two: Got an early start and headed first for the Ranger station to check out whether we had to get a fire permit for a camp fire, no fires we were told, so that took care of our barbecue dinners we had planned and our famous fire rings at nite. So now on to Loon Lake to finally air down our tires and disconnect our sway bars. We also took pictures here of the 3 Explorers at the start of the famous Rubicon Trail. Well, we only got about 100 ft. when Tom Rios radiod Winter that he was hearing a funny noise under his truck, it turned out to be the famous Superlift Radius Arm problem again. You see, every time Tom has done the Rubicon (which is now his third time) he has broken the radius arm on the trail. All though Superlift has replaced them each time he was determined to get through this year without any problems. Well our fearless mechanic Winter (who by the way in our book is probably the BEST mechanic out there, and he proved it over and over again not only on our trucks, but on strangers trucks also) worked hard to fix the problem. With the radius arm tightly bolted down, we started the trail.
Right from the very beginning of the trail the rocks & boulders began. Our goal for today was to reach Spider Lake and make camp. We almost did not make it. You see each year the trail can be a little different due to weather conditions during the winter months. Well we found out very quickly that it was going to be a little more difficult this year then last year to get through the trail at any great speed, and speed on the Rubicon is rated SLOW! The rocks & boulders really tested your nerves & driving skills. BANG!! well there goes one of my new fiber glass fenders, one of many damages during the trip.
While we were heading up the trail, we came across one of those J#%P things that had stopped on the trail. He was having a power steering problem. Being such good Explorer Samaritans (he was blocking the trail also) Winter walked over to see if he could be of any service. The guy did not have the spare part with him to fix it with, luckily our fearless mechanic did and quickly repaired his truck so that we could all get on our way.
By now day light was getting weak. We were only on the trail for about 10 mins. after the fix when we had to stop. Not to far ahead from us was a group of off-roaders who were watching a J#%P go up a steep flat boulder, when all of a sudden they came running down the boulder. To our surprise when we got out of our trucks to see what had happen, it turned out to be the same J#%P we had just fixed 10 mins. ago. He had rolled over going up the beginning of the Little Sluice.
While the truck was starting to roll the driver tried to jump out (not a smart move) and the J#%P landed on top of one of his legs and almost cut it off. He was lucky that he did not kill himself. Well enough excitement for one day.
We finally found a great campsite right on Spider Lake just before dusk and looked forward to our first gourmet dinner. Our Chef had plan a great feast, the menu consisted of 4-1" Rib Eye Steaks (which were marinating all day in the cooler); fresh white corn on the cob; homemade potato salad and a fresh green mix salad. For dessert our choices were homemade Choc. Chip cookies, Brownies or Ice Cream, needless to say we were all stuffed afterwards. We were by now ready for a good nite sleep (or were we).
Sometime around 2:00 am we were abruptly woken up out of our deep sleep with the sound of two J#%Ps making their way up the trail looking for a campsite, they decided to make camp right next to ours which made the next hour very unpleasant. Well Colin & I got even with them the next morning. At 6:00am I sounded off my car alarm which is quite loud, & Colin started up his truck and gunned it a few times and then backed it up with it's tail gate open and turned up the stereo for awhile until our tribal leader said that was enough.
Day 3 - After leaving Spider Lake in the morning we headed out and continued up the trail working our way to Rubicon Springs. One of the side trails we discovered was once a part of the Big Sluice. So we did a pre-walk down the trail to see if it was passable. We debated for awhile and then decided we came all this way we were going to do it. With Winter spotting, it turn out to be one of the more exciting trails we did so far.
We finally reached Buck Island Lake in the early afternoon and decided to stay there for the second nite. We made lunch for the first time in two days. We were so excited the first day that we sort of forgot what lunch was.
Well what did our Chef bring for this meal? Our choices of sandwiches were fresh (by the way our Chef made sure that everything bought was fresh, no process or can food for this elite group) Roast Beef, Smoke Turkey, Honey Bake Ham and Salami with 3 different choices of breads (the Wrap bread seemed to be the most popular). Fresh Pasta Salad, mix veggies, fresh assorted fruits and the popular homemade cookies for dessert.
After lunch some of us decided to go swimming, fish or just plan RELAX! Next year we need to bring some more toys along like some Kayaks, Radio Control Glider Plane and our Radio Control 4x4 trucks. Day 3 ended with another great dinner & videos of our last two days of wheeling.
Day 4 - Once again we got an early start, because this was our last day on the trail, and we still had to do the
Big Sluice & Cadillac Hill. I guess by the forth day we were all pretty good at navigating over the rocks. We made pretty good time and finished the trail by noon.
After taking some final trail photos we headed out to Southern Tahoe and found our nite stay at the Quality Inn Suites. We decided to go out that evening and celebrate our victory in completing the Rubicon Trail once again without any major brake downs (body damage not included thats to be expected). I know I can say this for all of the FAKRWEE TRIBE members "WHAT A TRIP'!!!
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=1767025&a=13645813
The third annual FAKRWEE TRIBE RUBICON RUN was held August 9-13. This year the tribe included tribe leader Chief Lost & Found Tom Rios; Brave #1 Fender Guy Colin Ignacio; Brave Fixen Good Winter Douglas; & new to the tribe this year Brave Cookum Yum Yum Paul Bredehoft.
Day One: the tribe met early in the morning at the exit of Magic Mountain. There we made exchanges of materials from one truck to another so that not one truck was over loaded in weight. When that was all settled we toped off the gas and headed out north on Interstate 5 for a 7 hour drive to Placerville, CA.
Upon arriving i Placerville we settled in at the Best Western Motel. That nite we decided to go out to dinner and found a place called (Poor Red's) it was a real Red Neck place but had great food. They do something different there then any other eating place, the waitress immediately takes your order, while you wait either at the bar or at one of their old fashion shoe polishing seats, your dinner is being prepared. When your dinner is ready, she comes back and calls your name and seats you at your table, and your food is served immediately.
Day Two: Got an early start and headed first for the Ranger station to check out whether we had to get a fire permit for a camp fire, no fires we were told, so that took care of our barbecue dinners we had planned and our famous fire rings at nite. So now on to Loon Lake to finally air down our tires and disconnect our sway bars. We also took pictures here of the 3 Explorers at the start of the famous Rubicon Trail. Well, we only got about 100 ft. when Tom Rios radiod Winter that he was hearing a funny noise under his truck, it turned out to be the famous Superlift Radius Arm problem again. You see, every time Tom has done the Rubicon (which is now his third time) he has broken the radius arm on the trail. All though Superlift has replaced them each time he was determined to get through this year without any problems. Well our fearless mechanic Winter (who by the way in our book is probably the BEST mechanic out there, and he proved it over and over again not only on our trucks, but on strangers trucks also) worked hard to fix the problem. With the radius arm tightly bolted down, we started the trail.
Right from the very beginning of the trail the rocks & boulders began. Our goal for today was to reach Spider Lake and make camp. We almost did not make it. You see each year the trail can be a little different due to weather conditions during the winter months. Well we found out very quickly that it was going to be a little more difficult this year then last year to get through the trail at any great speed, and speed on the Rubicon is rated SLOW! The rocks & boulders really tested your nerves & driving skills. BANG!! well there goes one of my new fiber glass fenders, one of many damages during the trip.
While we were heading up the trail, we came across one of those J#%P things that had stopped on the trail. He was having a power steering problem. Being such good Explorer Samaritans (he was blocking the trail also) Winter walked over to see if he could be of any service. The guy did not have the spare part with him to fix it with, luckily our fearless mechanic did and quickly repaired his truck so that we could all get on our way.
By now day light was getting weak. We were only on the trail for about 10 mins. after the fix when we had to stop. Not to far ahead from us was a group of off-roaders who were watching a J#%P go up a steep flat boulder, when all of a sudden they came running down the boulder. To our surprise when we got out of our trucks to see what had happen, it turned out to be the same J#%P we had just fixed 10 mins. ago. He had rolled over going up the beginning of the Little Sluice.
While the truck was starting to roll the driver tried to jump out (not a smart move) and the J#%P landed on top of one of his legs and almost cut it off. He was lucky that he did not kill himself. Well enough excitement for one day.
We finally found a great campsite right on Spider Lake just before dusk and looked forward to our first gourmet dinner. Our Chef had plan a great feast, the menu consisted of 4-1" Rib Eye Steaks (which were marinating all day in the cooler); fresh white corn on the cob; homemade potato salad and a fresh green mix salad. For dessert our choices were homemade Choc. Chip cookies, Brownies or Ice Cream, needless to say we were all stuffed afterwards. We were by now ready for a good nite sleep (or were we).
Sometime around 2:00 am we were abruptly woken up out of our deep sleep with the sound of two J#%Ps making their way up the trail looking for a campsite, they decided to make camp right next to ours which made the next hour very unpleasant. Well Colin & I got even with them the next morning. At 6:00am I sounded off my car alarm which is quite loud, & Colin started up his truck and gunned it a few times and then backed it up with it's tail gate open and turned up the stereo for awhile until our tribal leader said that was enough.
Day 3 - After leaving Spider Lake in the morning we headed out and continued up the trail working our way to Rubicon Springs. One of the side trails we discovered was once a part of the Big Sluice. So we did a pre-walk down the trail to see if it was passable. We debated for awhile and then decided we came all this way we were going to do it. With Winter spotting, it turn out to be one of the more exciting trails we did so far.
We finally reached Buck Island Lake in the early afternoon and decided to stay there for the second nite. We made lunch for the first time in two days. We were so excited the first day that we sort of forgot what lunch was.
Well what did our Chef bring for this meal? Our choices of sandwiches were fresh (by the way our Chef made sure that everything bought was fresh, no process or can food for this elite group) Roast Beef, Smoke Turkey, Honey Bake Ham and Salami with 3 different choices of breads (the Wrap bread seemed to be the most popular). Fresh Pasta Salad, mix veggies, fresh assorted fruits and the popular homemade cookies for dessert.
After lunch some of us decided to go swimming, fish or just plan RELAX! Next year we need to bring some more toys along like some Kayaks, Radio Control Glider Plane and our Radio Control 4x4 trucks. Day 3 ended with another great dinner & videos of our last two days of wheeling.
Day 4 - Once again we got an early start, because this was our last day on the trail, and we still had to do the
Big Sluice & Cadillac Hill. I guess by the forth day we were all pretty good at navigating over the rocks. We made pretty good time and finished the trail by noon.
After taking some final trail photos we headed out to Southern Tahoe and found our nite stay at the Quality Inn Suites. We decided to go out that evening and celebrate our victory in completing the Rubicon Trail once again without any major brake downs (body damage not included thats to be expected). I know I can say this for all of the FAKRWEE TRIBE members "WHAT A TRIP'!!!
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=1767025&a=13645813
Anyway, I must say, I ate better on the trail than I do at my own house. This is a great group of guys and like Tom said, hopefully we can get more Explorers together and run it next year. If you guys could see the look on some of the peoples' faces asking, "what is that?" When you say it's an Explorer, they are in disbelief.
Nobody really expects to see an Explorer out on that trail, and you can see the irritation in their eyes when an Explorer can make it up, down or around an obsticle better than their J**p, landcruiser or hybrid rig. 
