Day 21: (04/25): to 253.2 :: 14.6 miles

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We make the ridge line early in the day and enter the pine forest. We finally get another good look at the snowy mountains. We can’t tell which one is the highest peak or if we can even see the highest one, but it is certainly pretty. We get into some higher elevation, around 8,500 feet and enter the snow again in the dark shadowy sides of the ridge. The trail reminds us of Fuller Ridge on San Jacinto, only this time more snow is melted off and we can see more of the trail, but it still slows us down. Luckily it only lasts a couple hours, and we rejoice when we reach dry ground. We can’t imagine what it must have been like for the hikers that came through weeks ahead of us. We are glad we are not them!

To get out of the snow the trail moves over the ridge to the sunny side of the mountain we are traversing and we get views down into the Mission Creek drainage. We can see into the oak forest we walked through last night and can actually spot the trail of 8 miles ago. The trail sure takes a round about route sometimes! We have essentially made a bit u turn. We also see the big Palm Springs valley and snowy San Jacinto again. 

We reach a sunny saddle between two ridges and and arrive at a wilderness cabin called Coon Creek Cabin. It’s accessible by dirt road, but we don’t see any vehicles or people, apparently it’s by permit only, and perhaps permits aren’t being issued at this time. The cabin was once a fine mountain retreat for a rich family from Big Bear, but now the place is trashed. It still has some amazing views though! We have been hiking in the San Bernardino National Forest and this piece of property was donated to the forest service. They have since added picnic benches and a pit toilet. 

Some one has placed a recycle bin near the trail for some reason and a trail register for hikers. It doesn’t look forest service related and it’s been filled with thru hiker trash that been strewn about by animals. I pick it all up, but I’m sure it will just get spread around again. I don’t understand why hikers can’t just carry out their Clif bar wrappers! They don’t weigh that much! There is fencing around the building, but the hikers have gotten inside anyway and camped and made campfires inside and left all sorts of trash. It’s depressing. 

As the day wears on, we get closer and closer to Big Bear, hiking on ridges of dry pine and juniper forest. We make camp above Baldwin Lake, the next community over from Big Bear. Bear Bear City will be our next resupply point and we can’t wait to get there because our food rations are getting slim again, and we are hungry!

We never saw Ames again and have seen no one else today. 



San Bernardino mountains viewed from near Mission Trail Camp

Walking in the snow again 

Mission Creek, Palm Springs and San Jacinto 

Tall trees and picnic benches near the Coon Creek Cabin

The old cabin 

The can says no trash, only empty bottles, but thru hikers don’t have any bottles to recycle, they reuse their bottles. There is a trail register in the mail box for tracking fellow hikers, there have been a maximum of 5 a day, but I don’t know how many others, like us, don’t sign them. 

View from the saddle where the Coon Creek Cabin is located 

Looking South to San Jacinto and Santa Rosa peaks 

Impressive junipers 

A fine place to camp below a mighty juniper 

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