Outdoor Adventure USA

Headed out today with the girls for what I was hoping would be a fun little run. It started out great until we got on the shelf road. The girls didn't seem to mind but Bec was on the outside on the way up the road and was definitely not enjoying herself.

We stopped about halfway up and the girls wanted to sit in the back of the truck and eat lunch. Piper went exploring. Roxy peeked through the binoculars. Dillen wondered why the air smelled so much better.

I wish we could have made the whole run. Really wanted to get the girls up to High Point Lookout but I made the mistake of not pre-running it. Mental note taken. Bec was a good sport about it but she's put a giant sticky note on the guide book 'Trail rating of 1 only!!!'. The Pearl run on Sunday might be our only option the weekend of Borrego Fest.

All in all, it was a beautiful day out with my girls. For that, I can't complain too badly. Next weekend is a quick campout near Julian, then Borrego in October. I'm determined to get these girls outside and into the dirt.









Few more photos here.

I'll be heading back out there at some point to make the whole run. I really want to see the other side of the hill as you come down into Warner Springs. There's supposed to be a mine somewhere along the road.

That's a nice run up there. Haven't been in a while. After the winter storms, if you can get up there before the forest service closes the gates, its great trail to run in the snow. Thanks for the report!

Looks like a pretty run. Haven't been up there yet. It's on the list though.

OLLIE wrote:Looks like a pretty run. Haven't been up there yet. It's on the list though.

Let me know when you might go and I'll meet you up there.

How rough does this trail get? I thought it was graded fire road all the way to Highpoint. Did you come up from Hwy 79? I have mountain biked up to Highpoint a couple of times from the South side. Amazing views for sure.

Palomar Mtn has some good hiking trails too. Problem is that it is thick with ticks. That keeps a lot of people away from it.

VCCruzr wrote:How rough does this trail get? I thought it was graded fire road all the way to Highpoint. Did you come up from Hwy 79? I have mountain biked up to Highpoint a couple of times from the South side. Amazing views for sure.

We got on the trail off 79 just east of the intersection with 371. There's a paved road to an RV park off the highway and the trail branches off from that across what I think is the Temecula Creek Wash.

Wasn't rough at all. A bit bumpy in spots. It's just a very narrow shelf road. Not many places to pass should you encounter another vehicle. That's the part that had my wife sketched out. However, we only saw one other vehicle (stock 4WD Tacoma) which passed us while we had stopped for lunch.

I feel your pain when it comes to getting the wife "sketched" out. I made her cry on our first "offroad" adventure (took my family out to base of Pinyon Dropoff via Fish Creek). My kids, on the otherhand, love it now. I took my 2 older kids, 13 & 15 with me for 3 days in Big Bear and did John Bull, Dishpan Springs, and Gold Mountain in both directions. We had a blast! I am going to try and ease my wife back into it with some scenic camping trips. Hope that works.

VCCruzr wrote:I am going to try and ease my wife back into it with some scenic camping trips. Hope that works.

That's my plan at the moment. We're camping this weekend off of Sunrise Hwy then we've got the BorregoFest camp out coming up. I think our next run in the dirt will be Big Pine Flats in Big Bear. Something where the girls can get out of the truck and explore a bit.

smslavin wrote:We're camping this weekend off of Sunrise Hwy

Are you camping in Laguna/El Prado Campground? My brothers and I own a cabin up there, it's beautiful, with tons of hiking and biking trails. If you are, I highly recommend "Lightning Ridge" trail. It's only about a mile long and its trailhead is right at the Laguna campground parking lot at the turn around at the end. It offers spectacular views of the Laguna Valley and is family friendly. Have fun!

Derrick