Big Bear, September 2004

Summary:

Who: Gregg, Reilly and Sadie in the 4Runner, Steve and Nate on motorcycles
What: Climb Gold Mountain
Where: CA - Big Bear, in the San Bernardino National Forest
When: September 2004
Difficulty: Easy to Hard

Route/Directions:

For Clarks Summit: From the 10 Freeway in Redlands, take 38 North. Not long after it curves east, just past Angelus Oaks, there's a parking lot on the north side with a dirt road starting at the back (easy to miss).

For Gold Mountain: From Big Bear, go to the north-east end of the lake. Heading east, it will become Highway 18. The road to Gold Mountain is about 1 mile east of Big Bear City and will end at some easier roads that either lead west into Holcomb Valley, or east to Baldwin Lake and Hwy 18.

Maps, books, etc.

Guide to Southern California Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails, Charles A. Wells, #39 & #40, pages 151-155.
4 Wheeler's Guide - Trails of the San Bernardino Mountains, William C. Teie, page 93.


Clarks Summit	Gold Mountain

Trip Report:

I've been wanting to go back to Big Bear and climb Gold Mountain for years now - and I finally did it. One of my first off-road trips (back in 1996) was through Holcomb Valley north of the lake. While we were driving on what I thought at the time were moderately difficult roads, we passed a "road" to Gold Mountain. It didn't look like a road to me, so I didn't attempt it. Ever since then, I've wanted to go back and take the challenge. With a recently installed 2.5" lift and 33" BFG A/T tires, I decided it was time.

But first, I needed a warm-up. I started south of Big Bear, taking a short cut off of Highway 38 up to Clarks summit. This was a very nice road with great views and nice trails to hike or walk around. Near the end of my route, I met up with some kids on motorcycles, and their dad trying to pull out one of the bikes that had been driven off the road. The kid was okay, but the bike was a bitch pushing up the steep slope. I ended up coming out on Knickerbocker Road near Big Bear Village.

I met up with Steve and Nate who, that morning, had traversed almost the entire length of the San Gabriel and the San Bernardino mountains on their motorcycles. We had lunch and ice cream in the village, then went on a hike to Castle Rock. This is a short, but steep hike with great views of the lake at the top.

Finally, we all got in the 4-Runner and climbed up Gold Mountain. The were a few tough spots, but what made it really difficult was the long shadows and bright setting sun. I was glad to have spotters. But all-in-all, very little problem getting up and over. At the top, there is an option to take a more difficult route around the peak. We started on it, but when we saw only a huge field of large rocks, we backed up and took the main road. A challenge to look forward to!

Pictures:

Clarks Summit