Big Bear 2010 Part one

Ahhh...nothing like looking at someone else's vacation photos! So if you don't want to look, now is the time to politely think of more pressing business and quietly click the screen off.

Still there? Ok then, here is the 2010 Grouch Big Bear trip report.

We left on a Friday when the temperature was starting to climb. By 11 a.m. it was already up to 100F. We towed the little trailer behind the Jeep crammed with the vital needs for our week in Big Bear. As we drove along I210 towards Big Bear the outside temperature climbed to 107F! Glad we have a modern Jeep with air conditioning. Our climb up SR 38 saw the temperature dropping to 102F. By the time we reached Angelus Oaks (our traditional lunch spot in the mountains) it was in the 90s. We stopped for a few minutes to visit with young son at the Boy Scout camp that he does volunteer camp counselor duty at each summer and then pressed on to Big Bear lake.
(click on the pictures for a full-size view)
We used a new cabin rental company and were very happy with the results. We rented a two bedroom place with a hot tub in the back yard. The cabin was big enough for us and Molly and Roscoe

There was plenty of room for me to do one of my favorite vacation activities - reading! At night the sky was dark enough to see a couple satellites each night traveling overhead.

A view of the sturdy Jeep just waiting to set off on the first off-road adventure. A friend and his brave wife journeyed up to join me for some off roading on Saturday. He planned several challenging trails for us to drive. Little did I know what lay in store!

We warmed up with a fairly easy drive to the Rose mine. The shaft was blocked with a grate about 10 feet in which energetic explorers had cut open to gain access deeper into the mine. Being old guys my buddy and I declined to explore further so instead we pressed on to more challenging trails.

We came to this cabin that is open for anyone to use for 48 hours. It was pretty manky and funky inside but if one was caught in bad weather it would be better than freezing. The gasoline stove had a note written on it with a sharpy that indicated that it leaked gas and should be used outside. Good advice!

There is a bunk bed with some nasty looking mattresses on them and various stores contributed by passers-by. We didn't leave anything seeing as we still had further to go and might need whatever we had if we broke down.

We traveled to Pontiac Sluice where the remnants of a late 50s Pontiac convertible can be seen. How it managed to get this far is a mystery. It has been there long enough that the Forest Service has declared it a landmark and will not allow it to be removed! There is not much left of it as people have been carting off pieces for years including the engine! Now that must've been a job pulling the engine in the mountains.

Next we started up Heartbreak hill. It is aptly named and it did a number on my Jeep. I banged on many boulders and rocks going up and coming back down. At some point I collected a deep gouge in the engine oil pan but it didn't punch through lucky for me. At the top of the trail is a monument to a Marine officer KIA in Iraq. He couldn't make it up the trail in his Bronco and his dream was to 'build' his Bronco when he got back to make it to the top. Sadly he never returned. His friends installed the memorial to him in 2006.

A very moving tribute to a fallen Marine and fellow off-roader.


On the way down we encountered a Jeep club called "Extreme Jeeps" who were driving tricked out Jeeps capable of climbing up vertical walls like Spiderman. They seemed a bit crestfallen to see that my Jeep had made it up and was on the way back down in one piece (more or less!).

At the end of the day we all gathered at the 'Cowboy Express' steak house for dinner. Young daughter and her friend were also in Big Bear at a place they rented for 5 days so we treated them to dinner. The food was good and the company even better.