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DAY 2
Buck Island Lake to Rubicon
Springs
After a nice evening of rest after the 10 hours of driving the day before we were glad to hear it was only about 2 miles to Rubicon Springs. That day was very long and we were quite tired that night. Well my slice in my tire was still leaking good so Brandon crawled under and put a few plugs in it. As the day went on it slowed the leakage and I did not have to pump up the tire but every hour or so. It helped. The CTIS system is great and it saved me from having to change my tire this trip. We all got packed up and we started out around 9 am. Since my wife Star was video tapping the event we moved up about the middle of the pack so we could video some of the front people. We were 3rd to the last the day before. We were now behind Paul and Sonia in the 2 door pickup and John and Mary were behind us in a wagon. We started off across a a creek and it was nice to get some water on the truck as it had been a dry run the previous day. We headed up to the dam and crossed it and started up the hill along side Buck Island Lake. The views on this section were spectacular as the lake was in the background and it was a nice clear day. We cam up on a rock slab that you had to go high on to keep your wheel from sliding into a spot with a sharp rock sticking out. Well I did not know this and did not go high enough. I felt the wheel slide into the crack and tried to just power out of it. Well that was the mistake as I should of stopped and backed up and went higher. So I hear this loud hiss and know I must of destroyed the tire. Well I backed off the rock and saw what happened. The rock face was up against the wheel face and bent up the CTIS protector plate and snapped off the 90 degree elbow for the air line. Well at least the tire was ok and it did not matter as it was the sliced tire any ways. We disconnected the CTIS valve to keep the other side from deflating. We then removed the broken brass fitting and installed a spare one I had just bought a week before. Inflated the tire and were on our way. I could of changed the tire to my spare but this was a much easier repair. So we continued up the trail next to Buck Island and headed down a very narrow section leading to the Big Sluice. It was so narrow with brush on each side you could not even walk or get by on the sides. Well it drops you down into the Big Sluice and I tell you when I saw it I said we have to drive down those rocks no way. Well lucky for me I was about 4-5 in line so I got to watch a few of the other trucks do it first. With the great guidance from Ron and John I could see we were in good hands. As you come down the first big slab you have to turn sharp and this causes your front tire to lift off the ground a few feet. Really cool for pictures as you see on the main picture page. Well it was my turn and with a death grip on the wheel and both feet on the pedals I just watched John K. as he gave me the hand signals to turn left, turn right , slow down and move on. He made it almost easy. It was funny as you came off a rock and bounced as you landed John would even do a little dance imitating what you were feeling inside your truck. It was very funny to watch him. So I was over the first drop and now onto the last one that was like a 5 foot drop off this hugh boulder. You had to use lots of brake and just creep down. The trailer hitch hit towards the end as you hit the ground but no big deal as it had hit a few times before. So I was over the rough stuff and continued down to a big boulder that you have to go around by riding high on the hill. It was that wonderful tilting feeling with wheels in the air. While I was coming down the end of the section Ron and Tim were trying to figure how to get past this last section that had two hugh boulders that we could not fit through even with 15 point turns. Tim B. tried for about 15 minutes in Ron's truck and finally got through it but not without some body damage. Well at that point they decided to use Dave's winch to move the rock a little to make it easier for the rest of the group. All it took was a little pull to move the rock about 5 feet or so. This allowed the rest of use to make it through with only a few 3 point turns. It was so close that everyone left some skid plate paint on the rock. The trail continued on with lots of narrow sections and rock drop-offs but after the Big Sluice we all thought we could conquer anything. We finally came up to Rubicoin Springs and crossed the narrow bridge into the campground area. It was quite a show to have 13 Hummers rolling into camp. The trails through the campground were very narrow and some were mirror folders. We finally got to the main area but there we not many places for 13 trucks to camp so we headed to a big spot on the other side of the river. We cam up to a water crossing and were being waved on from the other side to cross in the deepest section. It was funny to see this little kid with a raft in the water stare wide eyed as 13 Hummers came driving through the water. I noticed it looked pretty deep and when it came my turn I was looking out the window and the water was close to the door handles !! Lots of fun! Well after everyone was through I heard the stories about water shooting through the gear shifters and people having a geyser in their truck. Well my truck is new so the shift boot is in good shape so I only got a little water in on the floor. We realized later that the trail on the right is not so deep. But after all the dry trail ride we all wanted to play in the water. Well we had made it into camp around 5 or so and it gave everyone lots
of time to enjoy the river and rocks at Rubicon Springs. A bunch of people
went off to fish as soon as the got there. Some die-hard fishing nuts.
Star and I set up camp and made dinner. We were next to our camping buddies
John and Mary in his Wagon and Brandon, Scotty, Les, and Marshall in Brandon's
mega equipped wagon.
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