The Official Publication of the Toyota Land Cruiser Association. Since 1976 and Still Going Strong.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2006

Rubithon 2006
A Crawl in the Woods

by Todd J. Kaderabek

The following feature is an excerpt from Toyota Trails, the official publication of TLCA. To read the entire article, join TLCA now!

Flying west out of Asheville, North Carolina,  the early morning thick with mist and  anticipation, I’m struck by the beauty of the Blue Ridge—brilliant green foliage interspersed with cold black shadows, the clouds in the distance reflecting pallets of brilliant orange and purple. I live here for many reasons and this unspoiled beauty is certainly one of them. Although confined to the plastic interior of a jet aircraft, I still feel very much at one with the outside world.

I didn’t grow up in the South but have spent the majority of my adult life here, now spanning 20+ years. I spent my childhood in the Lake Tahoe, California, area—my destination today—the Rubicon Trail and Rubithon 2006.

My memories of the Tahoe area are as veiled as the clouds now rushing by my window. As I can now only glimpse bits and pieces of what is below me, I can only remember small wisps of what is behind me—my past, clouded by time. I recall our dog Schultz, then a puppy, falling through the ice bridge that formed over the river near Soda Springs, puncturing a hole in his heart. He persevered and lived to the grand old age of 16. I recall my cousin Brian killing and skinning a rattle snake, its shimmering scales stretched out on a plank. I remember the crawdads in the river behind our house, taking a sodium pill that made me throw up, and the winter when snow covered our home. Spotty memories, some gleaned no doubt from photographs taken by my father—with that odd little camera in the shiny leather case.

But now is the time to create new and vivid memories with friends, some new, some old, at Rubicon 2006, during this 30th anniversary of the TLCA. When Mark Hawley and his 80 series (my ride for the event) picks me up at the Sacramento airport, I can’t wait for the adventure to begin.

The history of the Rubicon Trail is storied and rich. The trails in the area were originally traversed by the local Indian tribes, the Maidu-Nisenan and Washoe. There is evidence to suggest that the Washoe tribe migrated along the area of the Rubicon Trail for subsistence, later giving way to the Maidu-Nisenan tribe (although the two coexisted in the area, trading with each other). The discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill changed the area in a permanent way. Soon the Rubicon Trail area was populated with a mass incursion of non-Native Americans and the Trail saw heavy usage and new settlements cropping up. In 1859 the area was further opened up by the construction of the first bridge across the Rubicon River, which was rebuilt as the current steel bridge in 1947. In 1887, the El Dorado County board of supervisors ensured that the trail would remain open to the public by declaring it a public highway. The trail was reconfirmed in 1991 as a public right of way and remains so today. Oddly, the Rubicon Trail is nothing more than an unimproved county road. Well, sort of….

Mark and I make our way up highway 50, after stopping off at his extremely gracious in-laws’ house for a home-cooked meal. As we gain elevation and the temperature begins to drop, the smell of the evergreens sparks memories and excites my soul. We arrive at the Ice House Resort around dark and enjoy a few cold ones with Erik Christiansen and Steve Fox. I had heard rumors that the Ice House was a dump where I’d be treated badly and have no desire to return. To the contrary, we are treated kindly when we check in, the staff goes out of their way to make sure we are well accommodated, and the room, while rustic, simple and small, is clean with a comfortable bed. All in all, a good experience and we wake on Thursday morning well rested and ready to go.

As the Cruisers and mini trucks and 4Runners assemble, it becomes evident that we are a large group. 34 trucks in all, including two FJ Cruisers—one with the Trail Team, now with a minor lift specifically installed for the Rubicon, and the other from Revtek, fully outfitted and prepped—driven by Revtek’s Randy Haflich. Also along is Chris Wood from ARB USA, in ARB’s 2003 4Runner, equipped with dual air lockers, an OME Prado 2.5" suspension lift, and 265-70R-16 ATs—it’ll wheel. Still it’s hard to imagine a group this large making much headway—and yet there’s talk of making it from Loon Lake to Rubicon Springs in one day. Reports vary related to how much time that will entail, from 4.5 to 7 hours. Turns out it will take us much longer than that...