Some of you know I went back to the Rubicon again this year so I thought I would give a post trip write up. Last year seemed to be a whole lot easier than this year. This year it was super gnarly with a whole lot of I'm not too sure how this is going to work out moments. We stayed a couple nights in Georgetown at a really nice small out of the way place while meeting up with other friends from last year. Sitting around having a cool libation the discussion of who would lead came up. Somehow crickets were heard until someone nominated me, great... I run the trail once before and now I'm your Huckleberry. I personally think this was for revenge since I was the only one who did not break last year. Prior to leaving one of the ladies fell in the parking lot over the piles of gear and asked me if I could sling her arm. After doing that she thought it wasn't too bad (More to follow). Once we headed out on our ascent from the slabs we had our first break when one of the CJ's flexed weird and sent the fan into the radiator bending it like a exploding cigar. The end result with the radiator was not at all impressive either.
We took the radiator out and isolated the broken/cracked tubes using a precision instrument also known as needle nose pliers. After that we JB welded the heck out of everything. It held kinda sorta held as long as the engine was running. We straightened the fan with pliers to resemble somewhat the original tune in hopes it didn't wreack havoc on the water pump shaft and so we were off. One of the other CJ's developed carburetor issues shortly thereafter. We replaced some of the fuel line that had a small leak we surmised may be causing a vapor lock and viola' off again. Somewhere along the line, I managed to rip a lower left shock mount from the axle tube sending the shock wedged between the frame and gas tank armor. We removed the shock and took off. Upon arrival at the Little Sleuce we had a JK towing a trailed that snapped the axle at the hub completely blocking it about 50 yards up, bypass time and thankfully that is one of the obstacles that does have a bypass or we would have been stuck behind for awhile. Once we got just above the tricky slabs above Buck Island Lake I hear over the radio that the CJ isn't starting at all and needs a snatch strap. I backed up and someone already pulled the line and was waiting (Yeah, Yeah I know but this was in a really bad spot). I dragged a loaded dead weight CJ about 50 yards until there was a long left sweeping covered in (big) rocks obstacle. I didn't have the inclination to have the CJ roll me over going up the obstacle so I had to do an Austin Powers 56 point turn and started winching. After changing angles we got the CJ up out of the rough spots and onto a big flat area with amazing views. It was shortly decided we stay there for the night as it was getting dark. Sleeping bags got tossed out and we had a beer with prime rib, potato salad and cucumber salad. Not a bad meal for a bunch of exhausted people.
After a good nights sleep I was awakened by my wife jumping up out of our selected campsite when a tree frog jumped on her face. I surmised better that than Yogi coming by for a visit. After deciding we needed to roll vs making breakfast since the CJ started we moved out. At the bottom I heard the CJ with the radiator was over heating and leaking. At Buck Island we were able to mooch some stop leak from some very generous people and added that along with about half a can of black pepper (It's not just for cooking anymore). After taking off again the CJ with the carburation issues was really being finicky. It was decided to split the group so we left in groups of two while they tried to repair the fuel issues. As bad luck would have it my group had to be separated because of the cooling issues the CJ had to kill some serious dinosaurs out of Buck Island for fear of breaking in a really bad place. Anyone that has ran this trail before knows exactly what it's like up the hill to the big sleuce. Going up was super dicey. I'm 100% convinced I came about 1/2" from going over onto my lid on a very steep left off camber climb. After very carefully engaging reverse I backed down super gently and re-aligned and went on up. This was not a fun stretch to run alone at all.
At the top of the Big Sleuce we rejoined the CJ and had brunch which consisted of cold fried chicken, jerky, chips, Trader Joe's version of Cracker Jacks (No prize inside
) and anything cold we could reach inside the cooler to drink. It was an amazing meal. We heard over the radio the following CJ had more fuel issues and was now being dragged, winched and miracled up by the YJ. They put the electric fuel pump behind the mechanical fuel pump which seemed to help a little and it made it up to the top. On into Rubicon Springs where we stayed for two nights and 2.5 days. It was amazing sitting under a easy up on a granite slab about 2' under water so your legs and backside were always in the cool water. Crawdads and trout were plentiful and I didn't notice one mosquito.
The day we left to start up Cadillac Hill the CJ was having carburetor issues again and seemed to be vapor locking. The CJ with the radiator issues was attempting to drag it up the hill as it has a Ford 302 and a D-60 rear. This kinda sorta didn't work too well because anyone who has been on Cadillac Hill knows what I'm referencing in difficulty. After getting it running again we were trying to run like scalded cats to avoid issues. About halfway up on one of the main obstacles it died. Perfect spot...NOT. We thought maybe the CJ should keep going because if the radiator went we would be really in a mess. I took off with the CJ who very quickly ripped a sidewall on a sharp rock. Changing a tire on an off camber steep hill is not optimal. Thank God and yes I really mean that it happened right in front of a big tree we hooked his winch line to to stabilize the CJ and we got a Hi-Lift under enough to change the tire. At that point I went around followed by the YJ. At the top we took a couple small pictures and played the waiting game. They took the electric fuel pump off and relocated it by the gas tank and ran wires and the switch into the cab. This seemed to help and it ran great at that point.
After catching up with us at the top we headed out and barely made it to a gas station before a CJ ran out of fuel. We all went in and got our hotels and one of the best showers I've had in a very long time. We met up for a dinner at an amazing restaurant ran by a Englishman that is going to be my go to place for Tahoe from now on. We got up after a very good nights sleep in an air conditioned room had breakfast and left. On the way down the 395 my wife got a text message with a picture showing one of the CJ's on the side of the freeway being jerry rigged on the back of the trailer with the wheel and attached axle laying next to the whole operation. Seems the wheel bearing gave out when it was being flat towed so they got it onto the trailer using front wheel drive and a Hi-Lift. The other CJ had to drive itself home. Today my wife got another picture sent to her of the lady sitting in the E.R. with an arm cast. Seems as she went through the entire event with a broken radial head. Very tough lady if you ask me...
My take away was this trail changes every year and this year it got a whole heck of a lot harder this was super tough. Each time I go on something like this the mechanical skills I learn or come up with to keep something rolling is worth it's weight in gold. Bring lots, lots, lots of stuff to drink as it's pretty dang hot. Have easy pre-made food to eat as sometimes it's too much work to prepare meals as you are too busy with repairs and the like. Pack as light as possible every pound puts stress on the vehicle. As difficult as this trip sounded and it was we absolutely loved it! This isn't for everyone but if you have the inclination to ever do this you really should. I'm going back next year and a Dusy Ershim trip is also being planned for September of 2019. I didn't get many pictures because I was driving and our Go-Pro malfunctioned. There was one there that was working and a lot of still pictures were taken. If I can get them, I'll try and post them here or give a link to anyone who wants one. I love this stuff!
