Rubicon2006

Looking forward to a new year on the trails with family and friends

The Vacaville Cliffhangers have just finished their 40th year. To celebrate that event we had a busy year with
some ups and downs and a few new events to grow upon.

We started off the year with four snow runs, two of which were overnight. The day runs included a trip to the
Forest Hill area near Duncan peak and our annual Founders Day run. The two overnight trips were to Letts Lake
and Wentworth Springs. Snow conditions and weather for the Forest Hill run couldn't have been better while we
were met with a very cold rain and wet snow for the Founders Day run.

The Wentworth Springs trip proved to be a vehicle challenge with a snapped winch cable and multiple vehicles
getting stuck in snow and ice. Watching Owens Jeep slide off a miniature iceberg was priceless. A huge bonfire
and more food than we could possibly eat rounded out a memorable night that our club overcame and grew upon.
Letts Lake proved to be a much more relaxing event even though nobody actually made it to the saddle below
Goat Mtn. With a little more daylight and perseverance I'm sure all of us would have made it eventually, yet we
turned back with plenty of appreciation for what this new run has to offer. I would love to have additional overnight
snow runs become a standard event for our club.

After the snow had melted and the trails dried up a bit we moved onto the rocks starting with a trip to Hell Hole
Reservoir and finishing with a trip to Barrett Lake. The annual Ranch Run, Fiesta Days, Rubicon trail (Cantina on
the Con, Walker hill and FOTR work parties) and the Dusy Ershim trail rounded out the year. Unfortunately this
year was plagued with dry conditions and severe fire danger so Sierra Trek was cancelled.

May was certainly a busy month and was started with a Hell Hole Reservoir run led by Matt and Laura with Owen,
Andrea, John and Bob in tow. It turned into a marathon day run and an understanding that a 2 day trip next time
might be in order. One minor vehicle issue didn't seem to hamper the group as they gave a favorable report on
the trip. The Ranch Run was only a week later and we had over 20 people present. As usual it was shooting irons,
clay pigeons, paper targets and lots of food and good friends. Dan and Mary were given awards for their 40 years
of commitment and dedication to the club. Dan Ragen was presented with the Cliffhanger of the Year award. The
Vacaville Fiesta Days parade and security detail rounded out the month.

In June we had members help out FOTR on two different trail projects and had another group do an overnight run
to Walker Hill. This was a good warm up for the Dusy Ershim trail run we did at the beginning of July. This was our
clubs first trip to the Dusy Ershim trail and was run by Greg and his girls, Owen and his daughter, Robert, JJ and
Nadine, Dave and Jill, Matt and Laura and the Regan family. We gave ourselves 4 days to make the trip and
following a long hot drive down the valley, we camped the first night at Courtwright Reservoir which was nestled in
the granite at just over 8,100 feet elevation. Despite our best intentions the trail got the best of us and two days
later we limped out the way we had come in. As with most things in life we will use it as a learning experience and
plan on visiting the trail again in 2008.

Our final run was to Barrett Lake with was also new to our club as a group run. We had two groups head in on
different days and ended up with the first snow of the season and the last run of the trail before it closed for the
year. We also ended up with some vehicle issues that drew upon our resources to overcome and helped show the
benefits of belonging to an organized club such as ours.

Our final event of the year was our Christmas party that was held at the Vine Street Fire Station. Greg and Christy
were gracious enough to host the Christmas party at their home the last few years but were unavailable this year.
They spoiled us with their hospitality for which I would like to express my thanks. It seems typical with all of our
events, and this year was no different, that we had way more food than we could possibly eat and camaraderie we
have learned to expect. It was a nice ending to the year.

I look forward to what 2008 has in store for our club. Sierra Trek will be undergoing some major changes this year
that will indubitably alter our use of the trail. We will have to wait and see how the things work out but we should be
on the Fordyce Creek trail again this year. The Dusy Eershim and it's 32 miles of splendor will be revisited as well.
The trail and it's surroundings are hard to pass up. We should manage another 4-6 snow runs this year which
include the Founders day run and hopefully the same two overnight runs as last year. A number of club members
are also participating in Winter Fun Fest as well. The Blue lakes/Deer valley run should be back along with a
number of trips to the Rubicon.