Lock Leven Camp to Campsite on Clarks Grade
Wow...it poured last night but we were able to get some sleep. I awoke at 7:30 AM and needed to charge my phone since it was cloudy and my solar panel will do no good today. Luckily we had access to the building so I went up there to plug it in. My phone is very important to help me navigate the next 2 days. I know that it is not good to rely on electronics, so I hand drew a map and hoped that I wouldn't have to use it.
It took 2 hours to fully charge the phone and then I was ready to hit the road...dirt road that is. Tim is a bit worried because I don't have good maps of the area and also because chances are I won't see many people out there. Don't worry Tim...all will be fine.
It took 2 hours to fully charge the phone and then I was ready to hit the road...dirt road that is. Tim is a bit worried because I don't have good maps of the area and also because chances are I won't see many people out there. Don't worry Tim...all will be fine.
The start of a 2 day adventure.
Of course, how all good days start, I walked up and up and up from Lock Leven Camp. Unfortunately, what I thought was going to be a dirt road wound up being a really old, unmaintained paved road, although there were many parts that were dirt.
A "paved" road.
As I climbed I got s good view of the camp we stayed at last night. If you look real close you can see our motorcycle trailer parked down there.
A long way down.
As I kept going up I found this great place to rest...I mean, take a selfie.
Self-portrait "Rest stop"
After 7 miles of climbing I arrived at Angeles Oaks. I had climbed from 4,518 feet in Mountain Center Village to 5,800 feet. I still have a bunch of feet to go.
I made it to Angeles Oaks.
There was a restaurant here that I had refill my water bottle. I didn't want to eat food here because I wanted to eat the food I'm carrying on my back to lighten the load as I go. But oh, how I wanted to eat here.
Can't eat here...boohoo.
But look at the view from up here. Wow. The mountains are just so cool.
Great view.
I walked less than 1/2 mile on the highway abs then turned down Mill Creek Road. This is where I got a big sad, because the road continued down for 3.8 miles. All that climbing to get to 5,800 feet and now I went down to under 4,802 feet.
Nice dirt road, but never stopped declining.
I finally arrived at the bottom of the road and spotted my next turn. Forest Road 1N54 also know as a Clarks Grade. This road goes for 6.6 miles and climbs from 4,802 feet to 7,816 feet. That's over a 3,000 foot climb, but I am ready.
Hello Clarks Grade.
This road is amazing. The views, the scenery...just breathtaking.
Wow.
Beautiful
Just when I thought I was doing well, the steepness of the climb increased.
More difficult. Oh no.
Actually, I was doing well. It was a bit chilly and overcast, so I wasn't overheating with this long climb. As a matter of fact, I passed a couple of forest rangers at the bottom and they said that the current temperature was 41 degrees, but it didn't feel that cold to me thanks to the 30 pound pack I was carrying on my back.
I set set a goal to hike until 5:00 PM and then set up camp. The more miles I put in today, the less are left tomorrow for my arrival into Big Bear Lake.
It got to about 4:45 PM and it started flurrying. I thought that even though it want 5 yet, I probably should start looking for a campsite. Let me tell you, campsites are hard to come by on the side of a steep dirt road.
I saw a spot but thought that maybe around the next corner there will be a better spot, so onward I walked. All of a sudden the snow started picking up. Luckily around the corner was another spot, so I immediately began to pitch the tent. Somehow I figured out a way to get it up and keep the inside of the tent fairly dry. Me on the other hand was pretty wet. I gathered all my stuff, got it in the alcove of the tent, and then I jumped in.
I through on my night clothes and got into the sleeping bag as soon as I could. I was hungry but decided to skip dinner since I didn't want to drink any water because that may make me have to leave to tent to...well...you know.
As I hunkered down in the tent, the snow was very heavy and the wind picked up as well. This is a picture i took about 30 minutes after getting in the tent.
I set set a goal to hike until 5:00 PM and then set up camp. The more miles I put in today, the less are left tomorrow for my arrival into Big Bear Lake.
It got to about 4:45 PM and it started flurrying. I thought that even though it want 5 yet, I probably should start looking for a campsite. Let me tell you, campsites are hard to come by on the side of a steep dirt road.
I saw a spot but thought that maybe around the next corner there will be a better spot, so onward I walked. All of a sudden the snow started picking up. Luckily around the corner was another spot, so I immediately began to pitch the tent. Somehow I figured out a way to get it up and keep the inside of the tent fairly dry. Me on the other hand was pretty wet. I gathered all my stuff, got it in the alcove of the tent, and then I jumped in.
I through on my night clothes and got into the sleeping bag as soon as I could. I was hungry but decided to skip dinner since I didn't want to drink any water because that may make me have to leave to tent to...well...you know.
As I hunkered down in the tent, the snow was very heavy and the wind picked up as well. This is a picture i took about 30 minutes after getting in the tent.
That's a lot of snow.
Between wind gust, I opened the rain flap and got this picture:
Stuck in a small blizzard.
Then, at 6:45 there was finally calm. Here is the final aftermath, probably just two inches or so, but it remained calm.
The calm after the storm.
Needless to say, I didn't get a picture of my campsite tonight. I will take a picture in the morning and post in tomorrow's blog entry. Until then, wish me luck getting through this cold, windy night.
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