Marlin Crawler's 15th Annual Round-Up (Rubicon, Sept 17, 2016)

Welcome to our 15th Marlin Crawler Round Up Event!
Sept 16-18, 2016 - Rubicon Springs, California
Official Event Thread: http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=100364

REGISTRATION IS OPEN FOR OUR 15th ANNUAL ROUND UP!

~ Download Registration Form Here ~
(v1.0, 4 pages, PDF, 502 KB)

Click here for a Rubicon Trail Brochure
Rubicon Trail Ethics and Tread Lightly Principles
Detailed Rubicon Trail Map
Alternate Trail Map
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Welcome to the Marlin Crawler Round-Up
The Marlin Crawler Round-Up is one of the largest Toyota-based 4WD events in the world. Held every fall on the world-famous Rubicon trail, the Round-Up has developed into the premiere trail-ride sponsor for the Rubicon Trail Foundation (RTF), a federally recognized non-profit organization dedicated to the future health of the Rubicon trail (see Rubicon Trail Foundation for more info).

Unique Customer Appreciation Experience
This event was first held in the fall of 2001 as a way for Marlin to thank his customers for their support and trust in his products. It was a simple, free event & included a BBQ lunch. After 2003, our appreciation was expanded to include the efforts of the Rubicon Trail Foundation. The event has seen tremendous growth ever since!

Each year participants from the Marlin Crawler Community take on the grueling 17-mile Rubicon trail on an epic journey to the beautiful and historic Springs Campground. Part of the uniqueness and excitement of the event is how members from our large online community forum come together for the first time, putting faces to usernames and getting to see Build Projects in person. The event has attracted forum members from as far away as Florida & Hawaii, as well as international members from Canada, Denmark, Germany, and Australia! But the event isn’t only for Marlin Crawler forum members and Toyota owners! Rigs of all bolt sizes are always on hand and are sure to turn heads! If your rig is Rubicon-capable, then please register today! We’d love to wheel the ‘Con with ya!

Come join the fun!
This Sept 17th we will be celebrating our 15th year of giving back to the Rock Crawling community. Whether you enter the trail from Loon Lake or from Tahoe Lake, get ready for an event to remember!

• 2.5-mile Nature Hike with Marlin Crawler
• Helicopter Rides (to be confirmed)
• Mechanics Repair Station
• Horseshoe Tournament
• Frisbee Golf Tournament
• R/C Rock Crawl Competition

We are planning a delicious Tri-tip dinner, Award Ceremony, a RTF-benefiting Raffle, and a multi-item Grand Prize Marlin Crawler Raffle. All proceeds from this event will be donated to the RTF. To date, $89,502 has been raised and donated by this event to the Rubicon Trail!

Come join the fun at this year's 15th-annual Marlin Crawler Round-Up!

Event Schedule:

Friday (Sept 16):
Marlin's 61st Birthday!
1p – 5p Registration booth open at Springs Campground (come pick-up your registration packet!)
1p – 5p Raffle Ticket sales

Saturday (Sept 17):
10a – 5p Registration booth open (come pick-up your registration packet!)
10a – 7p Raffle Ticket sales
10a Frisbee Golf Tournament
12p Horseshoe Tournament
12p Helicopter Rides (TO BE CONFIRMED)
1p 2.5 mile Marlin Crawler Nature Hike (starts from Registration Booth)
2p R/C Rock Crawl Competition
5p Dinner Starts
7p Raffle Starts
9p Event is officially over! Enjoy the bonfire, music, and socializing with fellow gear heads just as crazy as you!

Pro Tip: Saturday Night Exit Strategy:
Many choose to leave and night-wheel to either Buck Island or the top of Cadillac to set-up camp for the night. This makes for a FAR more relaxing and enjoyable Sunday exit. Even if you are not in a hurry Sunday morning, it is fun to get ahead and wave rigs farewell as they pass through. If you take this night-wheel'n suggestion, plan ahead to be sober at the end of the event before getting into your truck. Night-wheeling is a lot of fun but also challenging, especially through two of the harder parts of the Rubicon (Cadillac Hill or Big Sluice). Please be well prepared and extra patient. Don't risk an unnecessary late-night injury to yourself, your truck, or the trail because you were tired and it was dark. Remember you chose to night-wheel so respect and enjoy the extra challenges! In our opinion this is a highly fun way to add memories to the event and we strongly recommend caravaning for safety & support.

Sunday (Sept 18):

6a Early birds get out relaxed with ease and with time to grab a rewarding lunch in Tahoe or Placerville.
8a It's a traffic jam!
10a If you are still in the springs at this time then we recommend waiting until 1pm to leave. Just relax, make a nice lunch, walk your campsite for any left behind trash, and enjoy the beautiful nature around you
Have a safe time exiting the trail and driving back home!

Sunday Exit Strategy:
As mentioned above, because the Springs Campground is situated between two of the more difficult sections of all Rubicon, Cadillac Hill to the north and The Big Sluice to the south, traffic backs-up quickly. To make matters worse, there are multiple narrow sections such that if one truck breaks down then no one is moving until it's fixed. If this is your first time attending a Rubicon event of this magnitude then take note: The raffle will end after dark and the bonfire will still be kindling warm long after midnight. If you have a long drive to get home Sunday night then we implore you to be back on the trail before 6am. Be responsible with your time: Partying until 2am with your alarm clock set for 5am is a recipe for disaster.

Official Run CB Channel: CH 10​

Marlin Crawler does NOT support any type of Trail Abuse or any kind of Ignorance to our Natural Resources and Public Roads. We advise ALL attendees to please print out and follow the Rubicon Trail Ethics and Tread Lightly Principles. Respect the land that we have and those who care for and work hard to keep our Public Land open to the Public! Any violations of the Trail Ethics and Tread Lightly Principles may result in serious and possible legal repercussions.

Please Tread Lightly at the 15th Annual Marlin Crawler Round Up!


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Event Features

The Main Event:
The main event will be held Saturday, September 19th at the Rubicon Springs Campground. We strongly recommend all participants arrive at the Springs Campground on Friday or earlier to avoid heavy traffic. Please note this is private property and only registrants may camp without penalty from the property caretaker(s).

Registration:
STRICT Deadline: July 31. This is the only way to get a Grand Prize Ticket! Registration Packets will be waiting for you at our Registration Booth behind the Caretaker's Cabin, Springs Campground beginning Friday afternoon at 1pm.
There will be no late registration however we will accept on-site registrations with the following penalties: a) Cost an extra $20 that will be donated to the Rubicon Trail Foundation, b) Cannot guarantee a t-shirt your size will be available, c) Cannot guarantee a meal will be available, and d) NO GRAND PRIZE TICKET.

Find a Group:
Cramming 150+ Rock Crawlers onto any single trail is a real challenge. If you are traveling alone, we strongly encourage joining a group! It's easy to post right here to our forum to find a travel group. Rock Crawling with others is a great way to meet people, learn trail safety, etiquette, and watch other rigs in action!

Grand Prize Raffle:
Everyone who registers before the July 31st cutoff will receive a Grand Prize Ticket! The Grand Prize Raffle takes place after the general raffle, and is very exciting, offering multiple, large Marlin Crawler prizes such as a rebuilt heavy duty transmission!

Raffle Ticket Pre-Sales:
We are now offering Raffle Ticket pre-sales! Located on page 3 of the event registration packet linked above, you will find optional Raffle Ticket Pre-Sale choices. Pre-sale and on-site tickets will come from the same ticket sequence and color, and will be mixed together for the raffle. Therefore, the odds of winning are the same! The purpose for the pre-sale is to encourage more donations for RTF (100% of raffle ticket sales are donated to the RTF). If you purchase raffle tickets and cannot make the event, we will refund your raffle purchase(s) minus $10 which we'll donate to the RTF.

Saturday Events:
Check the Registration Booth for time/locations. $1 entry fee per person/event, donated to RTF!

Mechanics Pit:
Should your rig find itself beaten and bruised from the trail, we will have mechanics on-site located just south-east of the caretaker's cabin. Donations accepted for the RTF.

Helicopter Rides:
We are working on getting our popular Rubicon Helicopter rides back for this year's event! Confirmation to be posted on our website. If confirmed, rides will take place Saturday afternoon and will cost approximately $60/person. Enjoy an unforgettable bird's eye view as you check-out Spider Lake, Buck Island, and the entire Springs area from above!

Plan for NO Campfires:
It is no secret that California is in a serious drought. As such it is highly likely that the El Dorado National Forest Service (EDNFS) will enforce fire restrictions during our event. Please be prepared for "No Burn" regulations and always take precaution when using your cooking or heating apparatuses! Propane-powered portable camp fires (such as a

$200 Camco 58031 Little Red Campfire Compact Outdoor Portable Tabletop Propane Heater Fire Pit Bowl for Camping, Tailgating, and Patios, 11.25"

Camco 58031) are usually acceptable but we advise checking with the EDNFS first.

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UPDATES FOR MCR15:

- We have raised the event cost by $5, from $65/person or $85/co-pilot package, to now $70/person & $90/co-pilot package. The event has been $65/$85 ever since 2011.

- We are still waiting to hear back from the Helicopter Crew The cost for Helicopter rides has been $60/person in the past but they mentioned concern for fuel price increase which unfortunately sounded like an indication for a higher price.

 

Pictures from last year's event! (142) https://www.marlincrawler.com/gallery/2015/sep/2015-marlin-crawler-round

 

Got an update -- We now have 50 rigs Officially Registered!

Congratulations to Jon W aka wingman, Brian M, and Misael T aka CrazyYota for being the latest Weekly Winners! These three will receive an additional Grand Prize ticket

Registration is set to close in a little over two weeks on July 31st!

Looking forward to another awesome time on the Rubicon!

Regards,
BigMike

 

Got my invoice for it. Looking foward to a good time.

 

Only 5 days remaining to register for the 15th Annual Marlin Crawler Round Up!

Eleven registrations came through just yesterday alone so the event is filling up!

See ya on the Rubicon in September!