CLASSIC TRIP - Yosemite Ski Trip, California 1998

This report is dedicated to the late Nic Fiore, a legend in Yosemite, who taught over 100,000 people to ski during his 50+ years at Yosemite, including the day described below...

How about a ski trip? Yes, you can do it if you're in a wheelchair.  To prove it, we present a ski trip we took back in 1998.  Enjoy...

It's February and El Nino has finally hit as advertised. We have received over a year's worth of rain in just this one month.

The month has also started off gloomy with two people we know passing on and a million things to do with little time to do them. We're wet...we're depressed...we need a vacation.

  Luckily, the second half of the month perks up with Tim's birthday and our wedding anniversary. To celebrate, we decide to head back up to visit with Jon and Lois Moroni at their great bed and breakfast, the Restful Nest, up in Mariposa.

Are we tempting fate in this extra wet month? The weather reports for the area don't hold a lot of promise as the anticipated President's Day weekend is upon us.


Crossing our fingers, we load up our tire chains, cold weather clothes, and skis and head on up. To tempt fate even further we left at 3:00pm on Friday, February 13th.

The good weather in L.A. held up until we reached the summit of Tejon Pass (the Grapevine) where we promptly hit wind and rain. The rain stayed with us the rest of the way to Mariposa.

We stopped for a quick bite to eat at the In 'n Out in Fresno and to gas up before heading into the hills. Those hills were a gorgeous emerald green. It was not hard to think we had somehow been magically transported over to Ireland. Arrival in Mariposa was at 8:30pm.

Casey the Wonder Pooch

Jon, Lois, and their black lab Casey greeted us on arrival with a hot bowl of soup and a glass of wine. After exchanging greetings and catching up a little bit from our last trip, we unpacked into our room and went to bed.

Saturday dawned with even more rain. Lois cooked up a superb breakfast that included fresh fruit, bacon, eggs, waffles, muffins, and homemade rolls. This was washed down with some great hot coffee and fresh orange juice.

Today, we headed up to Yosemite Valley. It's about 40 miles from the B & B to the valley floor. The rain made even the tiniest of creeks into raging rivers of muddy water. Driving up the Merced River gorge towards Yosemite, we easily saw a hundred waterfalls...literally at each bend in the road.

The level of the river stayed below last year's flood levels. Once in the valley we saw numerous signs pointing out the high point of last year's flood...a level that was at least 3 feet above our heads!

Although it was still raining in Yosemite Valley, there was plenty of snow on the ground. This made for some seriously cold, wet, and slushy conditions. Determined to make the best of it, we drove a loop around the valley before settling down a bit at the store in Yosemite Village.

From there we took a walk over to Yosemite Falls on one of the few clear paths the wheelchair could take that day. Tim had a ball doing power slides through the patches of snow on the pavement.

Even in this wet and cold weather, Yosemite loses none of its majesty. The falls were spectacular and the walk nice but wet. We came back to the village and decided to do the rest of our sightseeing that day from the comfort of our heated auto. On the way out we pulled over to snap this picture of a coyote walking along the shoulder of the road.

Back in Mariposa, we stumbled onto the neighborhood herd of deer...who graciously posed for our camera...

That evening...being Valentine's Day...the Moroni's made a sumptious dinner for the inn's guest which had grown to include a race car driver and his wife from Newark, a policeman and his family from Vacaville, and another couple from Mill Valley.

The Restful Nest

Jon served a dinner of homemade French onion soup, salad, and stuffed shells. It was very good and very filling. Certainly we were not going to be losing any weight this weekend.

After dinner, the two couples went to the inn's spa while we family types retired to our rooms to watch videos and the olympics.

After another huge breakfast on Sunday, we headed back up to Yosemite. Today, the weather had cleared and we headed up to Badger Pass for an afternoon of skiing.

Nic Fiore, a young-at-heart 76 year old ski instructor at Badger Pass, had arranged for Tim to spend the afternoon skiing with one of the resort's instructors in a sit-ski. Fiore, who just celebrated his 50th anniversary at the resort, operates one of just 4 complete adaptive ski programs in California here at this little ski area located above the valley floor.

We met Tim's instructor, Jerry, who outfitted him with his equipment and took off with him for some serious slope time. This left my wife and myself with the afternoon to ourselves to explore the slopes of this mountain.

While small...the vertical from top to bottom is a mere 800 feet (you can see the entire mountian in the top photo)...the conditions were perfect and the uncrowded slopes gave us a lot of time to explore. The Pass was a comfortable if not exactly challenging place to ski.

The only downside to this day was having to put on tire chains to climb up the road to the ski area. Nic and his crew made sure Tim had the time of his life and in doing so also allowed his mother and I to have a good time as well.

Coming back down to the valley, we stop at Tunnel View to snap this picture of the view that just floored us.

Back down the mountain we went with a stop at the Pizza Factory in Mariposa for dinner. The food was good here but the kid with the ear-piercing scream was a bit much (note to the kid's parents: once maybe an accident and cute but to keep egging the kid on should be cause for criminal action!).

On arrival at the inn, we soaked our weary muscles in the hot spa...sipping a glass of good California Sangiovese while marveling at the millions of stars over our heads.

After sleeping like logs we had one more giant breakfast and spent some time in conversation with Lois while Tim played fetch with Casey. One more walk down to the inn's pond and one last breath of the fresh mountain air and then time to head home.

Another weekend in God's country leaves us with our spirits healed and ready to face another day of reality.

-Darryl
Copyright 1998

HITTING THE SLOPES: Adaptive Skiing in the U.S.A

There are several programs in the U.S. geared to helping those with special needs to learn how to ski or even just to go out for a day of fun on the slopes with a couple of professional guides.

Fair warning, though...these programs can be very expensive. Count on spending well over $100 per day. Still, probably more fun than Disneyland which would cost just as much.

There are a few organizations and charities that might be able to lower the cost via scholarships and charitable funding. In my area, Southern California, Ability First organizes a ski weekend camp in the San Bernardino Mountains and Casa Colina in Pomona also offers ski trips for those with special needs.

Here is the start of our list of adaptive programs in the United States...contact the program of your choice for costs and information. Click on links to visit each one.

ALASKA
Challenge Alaska runs an adaptive ski program at Alyeska Resort near Anchorage.
Eaglecrest Ski Area near Juneau has a program.

ARIZONA
The Arizona Snowbowl offers adaptive skiing near Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon.

CALIFORNIA
Lake Tahoe Area -
Alpine Meadows at Lake Tahoe has one of the older, more established adaptive programs around.
Heavenly Valley now has an adaptive program.

Bear Valley, east of Sacramento, has an adaptive program.
The U.S. Adaptive Recreation Association is based at Bear Mountain in Big Bear, 2 hours east of Los Angeles
Skiing legend Nic Fiore started the ski school at Badger Pass in Yosemite National Park and it carries on in his name.
Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra runs the program at California's most popular ski mountain, Mammoth.
In Wrightwood, just north of San Bernardino, Mountain High has an adaptive ski school.

COLORADO
Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center has programs at both Breckenridge and Keystone ski areas.
Crested Butte offers adaptive skiing provided by the Adaptive Sports Center.
Durango Mountain Resort has a program run by the Adaptive Sports Association, which also offers scholarships.
Steamboat Springs is a great ski area and they have an adaptive program.
National Sports Center for the Disabled runs the program at Winter Park.

CONNECTICUT
Ski Sundown in New Hartford has one of the more affordable programs in the country.

IDAHO
Recreation Unlimited runs the adaptive program at Bogus Basin near Boise.
Higher Grounds runs the adaptive program as Sun Valley.
One of my favorite Idaho ski areas, Scheitzer, also has a program.

INDIANA
In Lawrenceburg, Perfect North has the adaptive program.
Paoli Peaks in Paoli offers an adaptive program.

IOWA
If you're near Dubuque, Sundown Mountain Resort can help you out.

MAINE
At Sunday River, the program is run by Maine Adaptive Sports and Recreation.
Maine Adaptive also runs a program at Sugarloaf Resort
Wachussett Mountain in Princeton offers an adaptive program.

MICHIGAN
Michigan Adaptive Sports runs programs at Pine Knob, Schuss Mountain, and Crystal Mountain.

MINNESOTA
Giants Ridge offers an adaptive program near Duluth and Grand Rapids.
Also near Duluth, Spirit Mountain offers a program run by Courage Center.
In Makato, the Mankato Area Adaptive Ski Program runs a program at Mount Kato.

MISSOURI
Snow Creek in Weston offers a program for the Kansas City area.

MONTANA
Is there a better place to ski than Big Sky? Don't know, but there can't be too many and they're open to adaptive skiers too.
Near Bozeman, Bridger Bowl has an adaptive program.
In Whitefish, you can go adaptive skiing at Whitefish Mountain.

NEVADA
See Lake Tahoe Area under California, above.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
In Gilford, you can find an adaptive program at Gunstock.
New England Disabled Sports runs a program at Loon Mountain.
One of the oldest adaptive programs is the New England Handicapped Skiers Association at Mount Sunapee.
In the Mt. Washington area, Atitash has an adaptive program.
Waterville Valley has a free first timer program for adaptive skiers.

NEW JERSEY
Ski Campgaw is your spot for adaptive skiing in the Garden State.

NEW MEXICO
Near Ruidoso, Ski Apache has an extensive adaptive program.
One of the world's great mountains, Sandia Peak, has a program run by the Adaptive Ski Program.

NEW YORK
Near Lake Placid, Belleayre has an adaptive program as does Whiteface Mountain.

NORTH CAROLINA
Up in the Blue Ridge Mountains, you can find adaptive skiing at Beech Mountain and Cataloochee Ski Area.

NORTH DAKOTA
Near Minot, Bottineau resort has Annie's House for disable skiers.

OHIO
Near Mansfield, Snow Trails offers an adaptive program.
In Zanesfield, Mad River offers a program run by The Adaptive Adventure Sports Coalition.

OREGON
Near Bend, Mt. Bachelor offers a program run by Oregon Adaptive Sports.
In Coburg, Hoodoo offers adaptive skiing.
Remember "The Shining?" Well, another of the world's great mountains welcomes special needs skiers...Mt. Hood.

PENNSYLVANIA
Near Mercersburg, Whitetail has an adaptive program run by Two Top Adaptive Sports.
Pennsylvania Center for Adaptive Sports runs a program at Camelback Mountain near Tannersville.

SOUTH DAKOTA

Near Sioux Falls, Great Bear Recreation Park offers adaptive skiing.

UTAH

The National Ability Center runs one of the country's premiere adaptive programs at Park City.

At Snowbird, a little south of Park City, Wasatch Adaptive Sports runs a program.

VERMONT
Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports hosts an adaptive program at Bolton Valley.
Stowe Mountain Resort caters to special needs.
Near Warren, Sugarbush runs an adaptive program.

VIRGINIA
Near Lovingston, Wintergreen Mountain is your destination for special needs skiing.


WASHINGTON
Mt. Spokane offers "therepeutic recreation," including adaptive skiing, run by the Spokane Parks and Recreation Department.
Closer to Seattle, Mt. Baker offers adaptive skiing.


WEST VIRGINIA
Snowshoe Mountain offers adaptive skiing as does Silver Creek Resort in the same area.

WISCONSIN
In East Troy, at Alpine Valley Resort, Southeastern Wisconsin Adaptive Ski Program operates.

WYOMING
Many consider it the best ski mountain in the world, special needs skiers can also find a home at Jackson Hole.

If you live near snow in the U.S., chances are you live near a program. Give it a shot!

Happy skiing...

Darryl
Copyright 2013 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

LAKE TAHOE - Skiing Memories

Kirkwood Ski Area

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia

Roman Fuchs under CC-BY-SA license

Lake Tahoe is a very special place for me. It was my annual Spring Break destination for a week of skiing and...uh...other activities while in my younger days.

Lots of memories from those days...winning over $400 on roulette starting with a dollar and treating my friends to a midnite Billy Preston concert at Harrah's with the money; nearly skiing off a cliff while following someone we thought knew what they were doing (he did go off, we didn't...luckily it was deep powder at the bottom); being there the year over 240" of snow fell in just a few days setting off a deadly avalanche at Alpine Meadows; and sitting in a hot tub when it was five below.

Now that this year's storms have arrived, the snow around the lake is better than it's been in years. Tahoe is home to over a dozen ski areas.  Here are my favorites:

1. Kirkwood - about 25 miles southwest of Tahoe.  Simply the best place I've ever skiied.  Very challenging with some remote open bowls and skinny chutes.  Worth the effort to get to.  Limited adaptive skiing available (mostly for blind skiers).

2. Alpine Meadows - Large, open bowls.  Great crowd, little attitude.  Skiing available late into the season...I've skiied here in June.  Full adaptive ski program.

3. Mt. Rose/Slide Mountain - Scary steep slope with unbelievable views of Reno on the Slide Mountain side of things.

4. Sierra-at-Tahoe - Known as Sierra Ski Ranch in my Spring Break days.  Mellow, fun place.  Not too challenging, but this is where we almost went off the cliff during a run through the trees.

5. Heavenly Valley - Massive.  Expensive.  And a bit overrated.  I do like the extremely long runs and being able to start in one state and end in another.

6. Squaw Valley - Eh, I didn't really have too much fun here.  Much better at any of the resorts above.

-Darryl

From the Desert to the Sea to All of Southern California: Winter Sports in the L.A. Area

It's been said of the Los Angeles area that you can go surfing in the morning and skiing in the afternoon. It is very possible to do but, unless you're a very hard core surfer with an excellent wet suit, the winter water in our ocean will chill you to the bone.

But, if you were really adventurous, absolutely.  It wouldn't be a stretch to surf Huntington or Newport and zip up to our local mountains for a few hours on the snow.

Especially this winter when the long promised El Niño has arrived and is dumping record amounts of snow in the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountain ranges.

I'll let someone else tell you about the joys of winter surfing on our local beaches but I do have quite a bit of experience in our local mountains...but fair warning: I haven't skied here for several years.

At one point, I can remember 15 separate ski areas in our area. Now, due to mergers and closures, we're down to 6.  Here are my thoughts on the areas I've skied over the years.

Big Bear Lake - The eastern most portion of our local mountains contains our biggest areas, Bear Mountain and Snow Summit, which are now owned by Mammoth Mountain (the giant ski area up north). 

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia Bearmountain.com under CC BY-SA 3.0 license

Bear Mountain (formerly Goldmine and formerly Moonridge before that) is my favorite of the two...longer trails, more vertical drop, higher summits, and better snow. But Snow Summit bought them out a few years ago and the area kind of turned into a step sister to it's new owner, which got most of the money and upgrades over the years.  Still, a great mountain for our area and one of the oldest and more established adaptive ski programs in the west.

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia kallahar under CC BY-SA 3.0 license

Snow Summit is a smaller, more cozy place to ski.  Not as challening as Bear Mountain and tends to draw most of the crowds.  It's plusses are that it has complete coverage for snowmaking and you can also do some night skiing here.

Rebel Ridge is a defunct ski area that had some really nice, challenging terrain at bargain prices but that is all just history now. You can now go tubing and sledding there and it's called Big Bear Snow Play.

There was also another, small challenging hill there called Snow Forest.

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia me under CC BY-SA 3.0 license

Running Springs - Lake Arrowhead is a big, beautiful and private lake up in the San Bernardino Mountains...a little closer to civilization than Big Bear (about a half hour closer)...and creator of their own ski area, too.  It's changed owners a few times over the years but Snow Valley remains a key player in the Southern California ski scene in nearby Running Springs.  

It's a huge area (by local standardss) serviced by an equally impressive array of lifts with a very large snow making operation. Night skiing is also available here, giving Inland Empire students a place to come up and burn off some of those calories after school at reduced rates.  While the bottom is mostly bunny hill, there is plenty of terrain up above for those of higher skills.

Green Valley Ski Area is another defunct ski hill in the area that couldn't keep up, especially after its facilities burned down in a fire.

Wrightwood - Formerly home to three separate areas that merged into one. Holiday Hill and Ski Sunrise (formerly Table Mountain) became part of the umbrella of the Mountain High (formerly Blue Ridge) Ski Area. It's biggest plus is that there is no windy, mountain driving required to get there and is the easiest resort to drive to from the cities down below.

In my opinion, Holiday Hill (now Mountain High East) is the best of the bunch here but is now mostly used as an overflow hill for the main Mountain High area (called Mountain High West).  It has nice, long trails. Some are very challenging, such as the two very steep faces you see from the parking lot. An intermediate trail winds down from the east side in the trees and beginners catch the lift back down at the top of those steep runs.

Mountain High West holds a lot of memories for me too, as it was the closest night skiing venue to my college and found me coming up a lot for some midweek, after dark thrills.  One time, finding it closed when we arrived, my friend Donnie and me hiked up to the top with our equipment just to get a ride in and not have a wasted trip.

The former Ski Sunrise is mostly used as a snow play area now.

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia Eric T. Gunther under CC BY-SA 3.0 license

Mt. Baldy - For most people in the eastern part of the L.A. Basin, this is the closest ski area to get to, although the last couple of miles are probably the hairiest bit of driving you can find to get to any of our local slopes.

Technically, it's our biggest ski area but in reality, only the upper portion is dependable for skiing. The lift out of the parking lot takes you up to the base lodge and the run underneath is extremely steep and usually doesn't have enough snow to ski on even if you're expert enough to handle it. 

About half of the slopes on top face south so the snow readily turns to slush in the sun and sometimes melts completely. It doesn't have the financial resources of the bigger areas to the east so it aways seems to be hanging by a thread.  It does attract a good, local crowd, though, and is a great place to ski with fresh snow.

It does not offer any accessiblity at all for wheelchair users.

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia Eekster under CC BY-SA 3.0 license

Angeles Crest Highway - Talk about hanging on by a thread. Mt. Waterman didn't open at all for 7 years and is still waiting to open this year, although their website says they'll be opening in a few days as of this writing.  Mt. Waterman...and it's long gone sister area, Kratka Ridge...are the closest areas to central L.A., the Westside, and the Valley, sitting just above La Cañada on Angeles Crest Highway between Mt. Wilson and Wrightwood.

They also have a problem that no other local area has, a complete lack of snowmaking capability. In a warm climate, prone to drought, it's not a good recipe for financial success to rely on natural snow only.

From the bottom, at it's tiny parking lot (really just a wide spot on the road), all you see are the steepest runs you can imagine ending abruptly at the pavement with nary any slow down area at all. The easier slopes are up at the top prompting most people here to take the chair back down.

I've only skied at Kratka Ridge which was a fabulous place to ski when there was good snow and run by some of the friendliest folks you'll find. The owner once saved my butt when my motorcycle broke down nearby, offering me cocoa and a seat by the fireplace until I could be rescued, so I do have a bit of a soft spot for this defunct area.

The Mt. Waterman side of things could sure use some good breaks during this El Niño year to get back on track financially, it will be interesting to see if they can hang on.

Nearby, Buckhorn Ski Club operates their own little rope-tow serviced hill and lodge. It's a private ski club but you can get a 'tryout' on their hill for only $10. I've never tried this place so have nothing to report on it.

So, active ski areas are
Big Bear Mountain Resorts (Snow Summit and Bear Mountain)
Snow Valley
Mountain High (Mountain High, Mountain High East, and Mountain High North)
Mt. Baldy
Mt. Waterman
Buckhorn Ski Club

Defunct areas are
Rebel Ridge
Green Valley
Krakta Ridge
Snow Forest

There you have it, the Alpine skiing options for those of you who want to get a little time on the slopes in while you're here in sunny, Southern California.

Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: Highway 395 Kicks it Into High Gear - The Northern Owens Valley

It's been 275 miles on the road, probably time to think about somewhere to lay our head. That would be the heart and soul of the Owens Valley, Bishop, California.


With a population of just under 4,000, Bishop is the big city of Owens Valley. It's here that you'll find the major services...stores, hospital, casino, fairgrounds, and lodging. You can get clean, comfortable rooms starting at around $60 at the peak season of summer, up to the $140 dollar rooms at the Best Western Creekside Inn, the prettiest and most expensive place in town.



It's your choice but we'll not spend too much here...Bishop is unpretentious and uncomplicated. We'll keep it simple and cheap.

In Bishop, travelers stock up for the trip ahead. Sporting good stores cater to fishermen and hunters who flock to the local lakes and forests. It's said that you can walk across Crowley Lake, just north of town, by stepping from boat to boat on opening day of trout season. Campers get groceries and road trippers top off the tanks and drain the bladders for the road ahead.


While many just stop for a minute and continue on, Bishop rewards those who linger a little longer.  

Schatz Bakery is the busiest place in town where you can get varieties of bread and baked goods that range from mediocre to delicious. Grab a lunch to go and cross the street to the pretty city park where you can picnic on the banks of the creek, watching ducklings trying to keep up with mom.


You can get cheap gas and gamble for awhile at the Indian casino at the north end of town.


As we leave Bishop on highway 395, we also say goodbye to the Owens Valley.  42 miles north, although it seems much closer, we come the next big attraction...and I mean BIG.


Local DWP hydrographer Dave McCoy set up a number of rope tows to facilitate his love of skiing in the winter. In 1942, he finally found a good, snowy spot and persuaded the forest service to give him a permit to open a ski area. Mammoth Mountain was born.

The name is apt, the mountain is huge and easily accommodates the thousands of skiers and snowboarders that crowd the town of Mammoth Lakes on winter weekends.

Snow can come down hard here...it's not uncommon to drive the streets of this town in winter with walls of snow ten feet high on either side.


Skiing ranges from the easy bunny slopes to the truly scary and expert slopes of the 11,000 foot cornice.


It's not cheap to ski here.  As of this writing, an adult full day lift ticket is $89.  Rooms average around $200 a night in season, although we once found a small basement room for around $90. The closer to the lifts, the more expensive they get...easily topping $500 a night for a room next to a lift.


For that price, you will get one of the world's great skiing experiences. Mammoth also operates an adaptive ski program run by Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra that runs around $150 for a full day of skiing and instruction, click on that link for more information.

Back on 395, heading north, we leave all traces of desert behind as we travel through the snowy Alpine forests of the Sierra, Mammoth, and June Lake.  Where we're going is not the sunny California that everybody is thinking of.


We'll be swinging through the Siberia of the west coast in the next leg of this trip.


-Darryl
Copyright 2012 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: Cajon Pass and Searching for a Legendary Road

This is shaky country. The mountains on either side are there because one of the earth’s great faults passes through the neighborhood. Fires regularly scorch its sides, traffic jams it roads, and the majority of L.A.’s rail freight passes through it.

Cajon Pass threads its way through sparsely populated gap separating the San Gabriel Mountains to the west and the San Bernardino Mountains to the east. The modern superhighway, Interstate 15, channels tens of thousands of cars through here every day of the year. Multiple sets of rails carry a few thousand more rail cars towards the massive rail yard in Colton, destined for the warehouses of Southern California. At the bottom of the canyon, a not-old-looking four lane blacktop sits unused.

While the world rhapsodizes about the mother road, Route 66…that road in the bottom of the canyon...many old time state residents also remember the other number assigned to that road.  Highway 395.

Formerly stretching from border to border, the stretch here heading south has been replaced by the interstate.  It is just as legendary as the Mother Road but in a more understated manner.

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It’s not a long drive through the pass…much shorter than the other big pass to the west, Tejon Pass (also called The Grapevine), and when traffic’s running smooth, it’ll only take you around 20 to 30 minutes to make the passage from Devore to Hesperia.

In between those two points is another world that most locals never see.

The intersection of Interstate 15 and state highway 138 is the midpoint of the pass and your portal to the land time forgot.  Head east and you’ll be headed towards the manmade Lake Silverwood.  Beyond that, the windy, climbing highway heads up the mountains to Crestline, Lake Arrowhead, Running Springs and Big Bear in the distance.

Boaters and fishermen love Silverwood.  Crestline is a small, quiet little community popular with hang gliders who launch off of a point west of town. Lake Arrowhead has a nice little village but the lake itself is private and reserved for residents only. Running Springs and Big Bear are popular snow skiing areas and Big Bear Lake is another lure for boaters and fishermen.

While we do have some good times in this eastern portion…Tim goes to camp each year in Crestline, I’ve misspent much of my youth on the slopes of Bear Mountain and Snow Valley ski areas, and we’ve rented a cabin a time or two in Big Bear…turning west on highway 138 is where I’m more likely to go.

Mormon Rocks Courtesy of Wikimedia

Photo by Takwish under CC BY-SA 2.5 License

The first thing you might notice are the rocks. Giant, red rocks tilted at strange angles to the sky.  Little caves dotting the sides, sitting there by themselves, off to the side, all pointing the same way. These are called the Mormon Rocks.

It’s an otherworldly sight. Several miles to the west of here, a collection of these rocks have been turned into a park where Hollywood has used them countless times as backdrops to commercials, TV shows, music videos, and movies from westerns to The Flintstones.  Legend has it that the infamous outlaw Tiburcio Vasquez hid here and the park, Vasquez Rocks, is named after him.

The rocks jut the way they do because the big San Andreas Fault lies just beneath, exerted its upward pressure.  Letty and I have had many picnics under this awe-inspiring view.

Turning left on highway 2 will put you on Angeles Crest Highway and soon you’ll be entering the town of Wrightwood. This cute little village straddling the line between desert and alpine offers some good eats and shopping in its little downtown.

Moving just west of town and you’ll hit Mountain High, one of the area’s biggest ski areas covering three separate mountains. 

There’s not a lot of lodging here in Wrightwood, but there does seem to be enough for visitors who’d like to spend the night.

Jackson Lake Courtesy of Wikimedia

Rennett Stoweunder CC BY 2.0 License

If you’re inclined to keep going down the highway, a right turn on Big Pines Highway will take you to pretty little Jackson Lake, where kids have a ball bluegill fishing, and the desert down below where Devil’s Punchbowl park invites hikers and rock climbers to explore its canyon walls.

Highway 2 will take you all the way back to La Canada and Los Angeles if you have the time and the highway is open, but we’re heading back the way we came, back over to highway 138, Interstate 15, and pointing ourselves north out of the pass looking for that legendary road…

-Darryl

Copyright 2012 – Darryl Musick

All Rights Reserved