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1500 HRS: Roll up on the un-bypasseable Big Sluice. Spend about 30 minutes walking the area and wondering what we did to deserve such a fate. You really have to see this thing to beleive it. Boulders the size of Volkswagens.




The Xterra proved to big to take the easiest line near the tree that's RIGHT IN THE CENTER OF THE TRAIL! Shawn had to take the 2nd hardest line. But, he got hung up on this rock which prevented him from taking the best angle on the next big rock, resulting in him getting high centered right...

...here. Time to break the winch out.

The X giving Tony a quick tug
0830 HRS: Earlier in the day Shawn made the following comment to Tony; "Dude... I think you're the only one who hasn't been stuck yet." You guessed it. That completely jinxed him. We were coming down the bottom of Big Sluice and Tony got hung up on a rock. Not where you see in the last picture, but farther down the trail. It took the guys about an hour and a half, in complete darkness (with flashlights dying...) to get him unstuck. We didn't make it all the way to the Rubicon Springs Campground like we hoped before we had to throw up the tents, but we made it close.
AUGUST 15TH - DAY 3
0800 HRS: The group gets up shortly after daylight and decides to break camp, knowing we're not that far from the end, Lake Tahoe, and a desperately needed shower. We roll into Rubicon Springs and meet the caretaker, Kevin, who is in the process of prepping the grounds for the big Jeep Jamboree USA event. He tells us that helicopters will start landing in an hour to deliver supplies and personnel for the event. Roche needs to adjust his tie-rod and Kevin says we can use the repair pad for free.



Coming up the start of Cadillac Hill

Halfway up the hill we destroyed a valve stem on one of Larraine's tires. Time to throw the spare on.

The obligatory Observation Point shot
1400 HRS: So you think this is where the story (maybe "ordeal" would be more appropriate) ends here? With most groups, probably. Not us. The last bit of the trail managed to slice a sidewall on the fresh spare we had just mounted on Larraine's TJ. Luckily, Josh had a fresh spare 33 to throw on and we made it to the staging area near Lake Tahoe.
Final impressions? Near the end of it we all vowed that once off, we would never see the trail again. The next day Josh and Shawn were heard saying, "Well, maybe in a few years."
It was rough. We're not going to lie. It took us more than 20 hours to get through, which is a number that most, if not all Rubicon regulars will laugh at. But we like to look at it this way;
Four Wranglers and one wide, IFS Xterra. No lockers. No autos. No tires bigger than 33. No trail rigs. Nothing but daily drivers. No prior Rubicon experience. No trail guides. No drivetrain damage! The Rubicon trail, start to finish. 'Nuff said.
Here's what you've probably been dying to see...
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