2016 WAYALIFE Rockin Rubicon Run Photo Highlights

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Summer simply wouldn't be complete for Cindy and I without at least one trip up the Rubicon Trail and for 2016, we would have the pleasure of having JeepFan & Gem Hunter, Trail Bud, JAGS, BitBucket, KICKROX & Chely, Slavens, benatc1 & Alex, NevadaZielmeister, Aspenkid & Ryley, jesse3638 & Lisa, cav♤fighter & Jacob and H2OJNKY and Gaby and their kids join us for the run. Keeping the group small this time around with just 13 total Jeeps, it was by far one of the best runs we've had in years. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to snap as many photos as I would have preferred but below are a few shots of all the fun we had. Hopefully the others in our group will post up their photos as well and to help fill in the blanks. I hope you enjoy :cool:

2 Days Till the Rockin Rubicon Run
Of our friends who don't live in the area, most of them decided to stop by Camp WAYALIFE a day early to strip down and store their tops and doors there.
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Doug needed a little help charging up his air bumps and so we took care of that as well.
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With plenty of daylight remaining, a few of our local friends decided to come down and do a quick run up in the hills behind our house.
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Shot of Ben taking on a tough line especially being that he didn't have rocker guards that could help push him away from the rocks that wanted to eat his door.
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Here's Neil giving a wave as he gets his first taste of wheeling on the rocks.
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After our fun up on Prison Hill, we headed over to the Firkin & Fox where Jim, the owner of it invited us to imbibe and dine at his fine establishment - CHEERS!
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1 Day till the Rockin Rubicon Run
On our way up to the starting point of the 2016 WAYALIFE Rockin Rubicon Run, a handful of us decided to stop by the Brothers Burrito in South Lake Tahoe and to pick up some breakfast for the morning of the run.
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Chillin with Doug and Jason on the lawn of the magnificent Knights Inn, formerly - the South Lake Tahoe Super 8 motel.
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Tony pourin up some pre-dinner drinks.
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Surprise! Steve managed to find the magical self-destructing seat.
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To the RUBICON - CHEERS!!!
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DAY 1 of the 2016 WAYALIFE Rockin Rubicon Run
6 AM sharp, engines fired up and ready to make our way down to the Rubicon trail head on a balmy 35° morning.
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Making our way across the last Loon Lake dam.
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And here we are - the Rubicon Trail!
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Pulling up onto the staging area and getting ready to air down and disconnect.
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Time to get rolling and have some fun!
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Pulling into the first stretch of trail, also known as the Gate Keeper.
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Climbing up the last set of rocks and up onto the rim of the Granite Bowl.
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Cruising through the Granite Bowl.
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Bumping our way up the double ledge and out of the Granite Bowl.
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Running 35" tires and NO lift, Stephan was without question running the smallest Jeep in the line up but he was still able to work it through the rocks.
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Ben had the only 2-door in our group and made use of his shorter wheelbase to wiggle his way through the rocks.
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Jesse was doing great working his way across a harder line in this rock garden or at least, up until an unexpected surprise stopped him in his tracks.
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Any guesses as to what that loud BANG was?
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In addition to having smaller and weaker u-joints, a 1310 drive shaft will also have smaller and weaker yokes.
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Fortunately for Jesse, Steve had a spare 1350 rear drive shaft complete with a new output shaft flange and pinion yoke.
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With Jesse up and running again, we started to roll again but didn't get far before Doug called out on the radio saying he had a flat. As we would discover, a rock or something wedged itself on the inside bead and it was allowing a lot of air to leak out. While it is a pretty simple fix to break the bead and clear it of the debris, he elected to just swap in the spare to help keep things moving along.
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Oh yeah, nothing like handling 187 lbs. of rubber and aluminum.
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With Doug squared away, we were on the move again.
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Climbing up the slab face just past the Ellis Creek bridge.
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Being in a 2-door with its short wheel base wouldn't help much here but the water at the bottom of the face to slicken things up does wonders to work against you.
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After getting off his line and jammed up between a boulder behind him, Ben decided to pull line and put his winch to work.
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On the move again and working our way up Walker Hill.
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Crawling our way up the rocks where Snorkel Eater used to be.
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Pulling up to the base of the Little Sluice.
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Last year, the Little Sluice was starting to rough up a bit and become a bit more fun. Sadly, someone since then felt the need to repave it :grayno:
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While it's still a fun obstacle, there wasn't anyone in our group that had a problem crawling their way through it, even ones running 35's, no lift and no lockers.
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Climbing our way up to the top of the off camber slabs.
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Flexing our way back down.
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With all the snow we had over the winter, I was really expecting to see a lot more water on the trail. That being said, this was the first and really only mud puddle we came across.
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Taking a moment to take in the view out toward Buck Island Lake.
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Working our way down to the lake.
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Taking on the slick rock face just past the Buck Island Lake dam.
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Heading up to the top of the Big Sluice.
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Squeezing our way down through the Big Sluice.
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Running full width ProRock 60's and 40x15.50 Toyos, Doug had to take on the big rocks.
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Crossing the Rubicon Bridge and entering Rubicon Springs well before dark!
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While it isn't necessary to ford the Rubicon River to complete the trail, it is something you have to do if you want to set up camp in the Dirty Dozen. Of course, the water level this year was considerably deeper than what I've in quite some time.
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Yep, I think it's time to pull the drain plugs.
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Setting up camp and Billy doing it in style.
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Tony pouring drinks and getting ready to celebrate.
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To good friends and good times - CHEERS!!
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Okay, so the only buzz kill to an otherwise epic day was the fact that we weren't sure if we could have a campfire. Needless to say, we had to improvise with lanterns.
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DAY 2 - A day of rest and relaxation
The Rubicon River at the crack of dawn. It just doesn't get more peaceful than this.
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Tessa using the opportunity to take a bath.
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Well, so much for that.
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As the day warmed up, a few in our group decided it was time to spread their wings and take flight.
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Tony, Steph, Cindy and I decided to spend the day hiking out to Long Lake.
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After the caretaker came by to collect fees for using the campsite, we found that we could have a fire and promptly put the wood we brought with us to use.
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Mike and Chely almost ready to open up Tacos El Kickrox and serve up some of the most amazing food for everyone.
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Mixologist Tony working his stuff.
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Because it just doesn't get better than this - CHEERS!!
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DAY 3 - Because all good things must come to an end
Having to pack up and leave Rubicon Springs is always hard to do especially when you were able to spend your time there with such good friends.
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Starting our final climb up Cadillac Hill.
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WE MADE IT!! :rock:
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Celebrating yet another perfect WAYALIFE Rockin Rubicon Run with a signature Rock Hard Wet Woody over at the Riva Grill - CHEERS!!
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A SUPER BIG THANKS goes out to all our good friends both old and new for joining Cindy and I out on the Rubicon Trail and for helping us to make 2016 WAYALIFE Rockin Rubicon Run as fun as it really was. We so look forward to doing it again with you and with any luck, sooner than later. To everyone else, I hope you enjoyed following our adventures :cool:
 
Blows doors on any wheelin trip I've ever had. Good friends,good trail,good booze and a solid game of Frisbee :) Thanks again to Eddie and Cindy,Doug,Tony and Stephanie but also everyone else who made this trip so much fun. Can't wait to catch up with you wild SOBs soon!
 
Awesome! Such a great group of friends! Also glad to see everyone got off the trail in one piece
 
The caretakers where awesome, they told us to take all the wood we wanted for a fire. We must have just missed you guys lol
 
What an awesome trip!! It has always been a bucket list one for me, but to do it with such awesome people is what really made it one to remember. To all my new friends, thank you.:beer: I look forward to running many more trails together down the road. Thanks Eddie and Cindy for the great time. I will dig through and post some pictures from my phone later tonight.
 
Man what a blast this trip was! I was soooo concerned that I was going to hold the group up due to both mine and my rides capabilities but with awesome spotters like Eddie, Cindy, Riley, and Steph, I only needed two lil tugs from Moby. Sorry to all the fisherman for sucking all the fish out of the pond lol. Thank you to everyone for making this such a memorable and fun experience. For those that were not on this trip, I have to give a special thanks to the WAL crew for singing happy bday to my boy. Im quite sure that turning 14 with the WAL crew, on the Rubicon Trail, will be a story he will be telling for a long long time. What an honor and privledge to be affiliated with this forum and group of people. Thanks again for the memories
 
Great photos, and great driving on 35's with no lift. Just goes to show that picking the right lines and using the right amount of pedal can make you or break you, no matter what you ride on.
 
This trip was the most fun I've ever had wheeling the Jeep. A huge thank you to Eddie and Cindy for everthing. it was so great to meet all the people on the trip and make new friends, truly an experience I will never forget! I'll get some more pics up as well.
 
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