Heavenly Jeep Flex
Posted: September 13, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentGreat day up at Lake Tahoe’s Heavenly Valley. The Nevada Jeep Club put on, let’s call it what it was, a car show but Jeeps.
It took place alongside a chicken wing and ale festival at the Village Center at Heavenly Valley, which brought great crowds and lots of people to talk to about Jeeps and the Rubicon.
I was allowed in early to set-up my booth. They initially said don’t park on the lawn but that rule went away when 45 more Jeeps rolled onto the plaza. I scored a great spot.
The booth went together well. but the wind was an issue. I used more clips to hold down my display then ever before. Thankfully, the wind didn’t cause any issues.
The trophies were NOT mine. They were given out at the end of the day.
It was a great place to be on a tourist Saturday at Lake Tahoe.
It was great to have the opportunity to talk to not only my fellow Jeepers and not only the public but people from all over the world. Even the locals were happy to talk about the Rubicon Trail.
If you take the picture from just the right angle, it looks like I’m a winner! The white and yellow Willys truck in the background was one of the cleanest and straightest I’ve seen.
The boys did demonstrate some flexing at the end of the event. I think there are six rigs piled up for the public.
This was my view for almost eight hours. The base of the Heavenly gondola. Thankfully, I had shade all day.
The Nevada Jeep Club and the Heavenly Village says they will be back next year. I think I’ll have to join them.
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Rubicon Ronin
Heavy Metal Work on Trail
Posted: August 22, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bypasses, rolling dips, RTF Leave a commentI used the Rubicon as an excuse to get out of the Reno heat. I left temps in the 80s, headed to 94, for Tahoma with a high of 75.
The Rubicon Trail Foundation was finishing up the heavy equipment work on the rolling dips within the Lake Tahoe Basin management Unit. Most looked great, some were okay and they missed one.
The pictures do not do the work justice. And I’m not a professional photographer. Here’s a rolling dip that was built up and a drain that cleared out.
I didn’t realize that removing hazard trees was part of this project. I was told that more than 40 trees were dropped that were dead or dying and leaning towards the Rubicon Trail. This proactive work prevents trail blockage that would need to be removed later.
Get a firewood permit from the Forest Service and go collect some of that.
Again, the pictures don’t show the result of the heavy equipment reworking the rolling dips.
This was always a pond. The drain did not drop off much before and hand tools were ineffective. With heave equipment, the drain was extended to a point where the water should drain. The plan is to revisit the work in late October to prep for winter. In a perfect world, heavy equipment will be used every other year to maintain the rolling dips.
Sadly, there are still bypasses being created along the Rubicon Trail. This is at what I call Hummer bend as the Hummer Corporation came out and helped with trail maintenance back in the day. It seems that some of the longer rigs (read as 4-door JKs) did not like the sharp turn approaching the rock obstacle at the bottom of the photo.
By driving off trail, their approach was straight, making the trail easier. Why do people drive for hundreds of miles to get to one of the more difficult trails and then drive off trail to make the adventure easier? This required a good deal of work as you can see they moved the blockage of the previous water saturated route in the background. It will need to be fixed.
My log work at the S-turn was moved so people could cut the corner. Are they in a hurry?
The lower log was also moved. But most of my rock work remained. I spent 15-20 minutes throwing a few more rocks around.
Before leaving, I replaced the three logs that were meant to keep people on the trail.
Thinking I was done, I headed out, only to see yet another illegal bypass. This one for no real reason. I’ll work on it the next time I’m out. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of downed trees in the area to use and barriers.
Hopefully, FOTR reads this and puts something together to block the these bypasses to the point no one will move them.
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Rubicon Ronin
Jeep Flex Festival at Heavenly
Posted: August 20, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentI recently heard about a new Jeep event at Tahoe. It’s called the Jeep Flex Festival.
I haven’t set my booth up in a long time, and it’s about time. So, I’ll be at the event with my Jeep and trailer. Only bringing the trailer in order to bring all the booth stuff.
Saturday, 12 Sep 2026 • 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Heavenly Village has enough space for 100 Jeeps this first year to participate in the show and shine. There is no cost to participate but you are required to secure your spot by sending an email to NevadaJeepClub@gmail.com. These spots will fill up fast so please email Matt as soon as possible.
This event is sure to be a fun day for the whole family as you showcase your Jeep at the legendary South Tahoe Heavenly Village venue. We ask all those participating to invite their friends and family and please share the event.
Event Sponsor: Heavenly Village Shops
Trophy’s (Awards)
1) Best in Show
2) Maximum Flex
3) Most Heavenly
Jeeps, chicken wings and ales!
Come on out and enjoy a day at Tahoe checking out Jeeps and eating wings.
We can talk about the Rubicon Trail.
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Rubicon Ronin
TNF Stage 2 Fire Restrictions
Posted: August 14, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: fire restrictions Leave a commentThe Tahoe National Forest has implemented Stage 2 Fire Restrictions.
Here’s what I read as different to Stage 1: no gas grills outside of a steel ring at a formal campsite, increased smoking restrictions, no shooting, and last no welding with an open flame. Does that mean we can arc weld or is that an open flame?
I believe this is for Forest Service property only. Rubicon Springs will have their own rules. I suspect the no campfires rule will be enforced. They will probably allow gas stove used properly. I would suspect they would only want you welding on one of the concrete pads at the Mechanics Shed area. The RTF property will probably have similar rules. I do not know if they have a concrete pad for repairs.
Let’s be smart out there. The TNF already has a fire burning well north of the Rubicon.
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Rubicon Ronin
Rolling Dips not a Reroute (this year)
Posted: August 10, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentThis does not mean the reroute is not happening. The reroute will happen.
The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grant has been approved and has been sent out to the Forest Service. Note the dates of the signatures on the grant, as recent as 7-24-26. This just happened. The US government moves slowly. I’ve been told that DOGE and more important (to the FS) timber programs took priority.
The reroute is now scheduled for 2027. The dates will be mid-August through mid-September. Volunteers will be needed for this effort, especially the first week. Put it on your calendar. FOTR will put something out.
With the formal approval of the grant taking so long, and even with approval the funding would be months behind the approval, the Rubicon Trail Foundation is moving ahead. Knowing the reroute could not happen in 2026, they picked another project.
RTF moved forward with something that’s been discussed for years, literally years. Reworking the rolling dips (water bars) within the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. Although efforts to maintain the rolling dips and subsequent drainages happen every year, this is reworking the rolling dips with heavy equipment.
Here is the very old list of rolling dips (water bars). For the record, they are two different things. RTF has been out to re-locate and reevaluate the current rolling dips and drainages.
Word format…
The heavy equipment rebuilding of the rolling dips will happen August 16th through 22nd with actual work occurring Monday through Friday. Minor traffic delays, less than 20 minutes, and of course we will try to keep it to 5 minutes or so. The dips will be constructed of local materials and will be repairs of current structures, no new structures.
At this time, volunteers are not needed for the actual heavy equipment portion of this project. FOTR might bring in volunteers later to ‘polish’ the rolling dips and clear drainages the heavy equipment couldn’t reach from the trail. They’ll know once they start working the rolling dips.
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Rubicon Ronin
The 'Other' Rubicon 