With about 200 trucks signed up to run the Rubithon it was necessary to break up into smaller groups of approx 20 - 30 in each group. Jon Bundrant, Tim Jenkins and I volunteered to lead the 11 AM Thursday group. Our group along with all the others came together at Rubicon Springs. We had 20 Cruisers, Pickups and 4Runners in our group.

The 9:00 am group ahead of us did not leave until 10:30. We choose to weight till about 11:30 to try to give the group ahead of us a chance to get past the first obstacle when coming in via the Loon Lake entrance as we did. We checked each truck to make sure they were trail ready and set out. Our goal was to reach Spider lake before night fall.

As we arrived at pinch rock we came across to a FJ-40 that had every conceivable accessory added to it. It was decked out top to bottom with digitally controlled spot lights, snorkel and exhaust routed a full 8' above the ground. Every manner of electronic accessory were tacked on where ever an empty space could be found. He even had front and rear ARB lockers and a front winch but he was so busy adding accessories he did not have time to hook up the lockers or winch. He drove into pinch rock and wedged himself between the rocks. The engine was running, the truck was in gear and the clutch was out but none of the tires were turning. It took only a few minutes between the rocks to squeeze the life out of this cruiser leaving it unable to move at all. Using a tow strap the tail gunner of the group in front of us pulled him out after several trys. We thought this cruiser was part of the group in front of us and they thought it was part of ours. Once he pulled over he figured it was time to connect the installed lockers. We choose to go around him hoping to stay well ahead of him. He was going to need a new clutch before continuing on the trail.

As we continued onto the slabs we came across the next trail victim. Parts and tools lay all around the broken cruiser. It's front differential had failed and had been removed for repair. After checking that repairs were under control we continued across the slabs and took a break for lunch.

After lunch we headed up and out of the "granite bowl" but a loud bang-snap halted our progress. One of our cruisers had his pinion shaft break leaving him with no rear drive. One in our group had a spare that would fit and charged the broken cruiser owner $100 for the used pinion gear. I thought this was a little funny. I have always loaned people parts and tools with the understanding that they return or replace them after the event. $100 for a used pinion gear (without ring gear) seems like someone is taking advantage of the situation.

I stayed behind to make sure things could be fixed as the rest of the group continued on the trail.  After setting up the ring and pinion I left to continue the trail, the owner was sure he could install the diff and make it back to loon lake. It was now 5:30 PM and I was just starting out from the bowl. I motored along quickly to catch up with the others in our group. I came upon another broken cruiser. His home made crossover steering setup had broken it's Heim joints. Knuckle bolts and bearings were also damaged. He had been working on it for hours and seem to think he would get it running again soon so I continued on the trail.

A few minutes later I came upon another injured cruiser, this one also had a broken rear pinion gear and he had totally dissembled the rear end of his truck. The same guy that had sold the first pinion gear for $100 now saw an even better opportunity to make a buck and sold this second guy a used pinion gear (without ring gear) for $250 this time! This little opportunist was making a killing on desperate Cruiser owners that had little choice but to pay the outrageous prices or catch a ride back to town and find the needed parts. Can you say highway robbery? This is not my idea how members of the same club (TLCA) should treat one another. If you give someone a part or tool on the trail they should return it or replace it. It's offensive to me to charge for parts based on how far in the trail you are. I have never seen such nerve and gall on the trail.

My wife and I arrived at the little sluice and we caught up with the rest of our group. We each took our turn going through the sluice. Three of our group made on their own through the little sluice, the others were winched up "Toyota Rock". After watching the others I could clearly see the line and I walked right through. Nere the end of the sluice I needed a couple of "Nerf Riders" to keep my 4Runner off the rocks.

As our group was heading out one of the FJ-40's in our group rolled over onto it's side. No one was hurt but the cruiser now has some additional damage including a few dents and broken windshield. This cruiser was very heavily loaded with 5 people and provisions.

We headed on over to find a camping spot on Spider lake and we arrived just as it was getting dark. A quick dinner and we were off to bed.

The following day we started out around 9am. We broke into two groups with a few taking the slabs and the rest taking the old sluice. We came back together near the big sluice and we all came through and headed down to Rubicon springs. The springs were completely full of cruisers in all shapes and colors. I took a while to find a camp spot but we found one in the "dirty dozen" camp site.

Around the camp fire we exchanged stories of the adventure in. There were about 200 or so trucks at the event. At least five cruisers broke pinion gears on the trip, most (or all) of these were a result of too much lift for the drive shaft length resulting it the u-joints binding and the end of the pinion gear snapping off. There were also a total of four trucks that rolled on the trail and one more in camp (this guy was doing stupid stunts with his cruiser and surprised no one when he rolled it over and crushed it's body.

Saturday included lots of fun and games for the whole family and raffle with lots of great prizes for everyone. On Sunday everyone was on their own and headed up and out.