Big Bear Trails

On Saturday, August 20, 2011, a group of over 30 people attended the public meeting held by the US Forest Service for the proposed Skyline Trail. A general description of the project was provided by Deputy District Ranger Omero Torres, along with a short walking tour of existing and new trail sections under consideration for inclusion.

Below is the text of the public legal notice from the USFS:
“The Mountaintop Ranger District, San Bernardino National Forest, proposes to construct and designate the Skyline Recreation Trail, a non-motorized, multi-use trail within the bounds …

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

There are three essential elements for creating good sustainable trails. Good trails that withstand use and weather. Good trails that are easy and pleasant to use. Good trails that minimize maintenance and fight off the greatest trail evil – erosion:

Outslope – A trail’s tread should always be slightly higher on the uphill side so that water can easily drain off. A gentle outslope of at least 2%, preferably 5%, is recommended. Trails without this outslope catch, hold, and channel water, helping erode and destroy the trail. Proper outslope encourages water to …

The Big Bear Discovery Center is hosting a Wilderness First Aid course in Big Bear over the weekend of July 16 & 17, 2011. REI is collaborating with the Wilderness Medicine Institute of NOLS to offer this comprehensive two day course that will teach the wilderness medicine skills needed to recreate with confidence in the backcountry. From the Patient Assessment System through traumatic, medical, and environmental emergencies, the wide variety of topics are designed to prepare you to act if an accident occurs. This is a 16 hour course over …

There are several variations on the Seven Summits theme. You can be among the mountaineering elite who climb the Seven Highest Summits in the world. If you are young, driven, and well-supported, you can be the youngest person ever to climb these 7 highest summits like Big Bear’s teenage Jordan Romero. Or for those with day jobs, you can do Big Bear’s annual Seven Summits Challenge, which encourages mere mortals to hike the 7 highest (and quite scenic) points around Big Bear Lake. Here’s another variation: do Big Bear’s Seven …

Spring in the San Bernardino Mountains is beautiful and unpredictable. I had planned to do a snow ascent up the north face of San Gorgonio Mountain and was encouraged when it snowed two weeks prior, and concerned when it reached 70 degrees a week later. Or was it the other way around? As the saying goes in the mountains, if you don’t like the weather, wait a few hours. All of which makes trip planning a bit trickier. We knew we would encounter some snow since you could still see …

The plan was simple: head straight up from the top of Sand Canyon Road to the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain, elevation 9952′. A bit over 3 miles as the crow flies, and 3000′ of climbing. While it was April and there was some snow remaining in the Big Bear Valley, we didn’t know the exact conditions we would encounter as we ascended. The summit certainly looked snowy, but whether we would encounter hard ice, soft snow, or significant bare patches was unknown. So we came prepared for all three.

Matt and …

Over 150 volunteers from a variety of organizations spent the morning cleaning up decades of dumped trash on US Forest Service Pebble Plain land West of Sugarloaf on August 28, 2010. It’s amazing what a motivated group of people can do on a Saturday morning. Forty tons of trash, including 6 cars, 2 boats, 1 motorhome, and countless couches were removed from the San Bernardino National Forest land, sometimes referred to as “Moonloaf.” For decades this area had been used as an illegal dumping ground.
The Forest Clean Up was …