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As I have done a thousand times, I used the wisdom offered by SDAR riders to find new lands to explore.  Although my goal this summer was to ride Colorado, Utah, and/or Mammoth, these times have altered first choices. Dirt Dame recently posted pictures of her dual sport riding on dirt through trees..... which looked so nice, and not far from home...... , in an area I had not been, so I figured that I better get to it!  I called a bud on Monday and asked if he could leave in 12 hours, and he said yes  :) , even though I said we would drive separately and follow all safe protocols... his reply...  "all good".  A mid morning departure from San Diego to Heart Bar Campground, and Voila, an early afternoon arrival and sitting in the trees in a beautiful campground in a forest 👍  .  I planned for 3 rides, a short Tuesday eve, a full day to ride up and over to Big Bear Lake (the main goal) , and a mini thursday morn before heading home.

Right behind the campground , the dirt roads begin, so we rode out to Coon Creek Cabin, where there were 2 treats, a cool overlook to the desert valley below, and a smaller 2 track behind the cabin that lets you wander even more.  Both very enjoyable!

Here is the overlook, although all the windmills on the desert floor are just out of view behind tree:

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The next day we rode 1N04 to 2N06 as the primary roads to meet the goal of seeing the lake from above Snow Summit ski resort.  A very rewarding ride!

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We then rode over to Baldwin Lake to sit by the water and enjoy our pre-made sandwiches.....  but the joke was on us, as that isn't a lake with water. But it was nice to see where more trails start.  There is some single track out that way, and from the north, you can work your way over to north of Fawnskin (where Ken knows about some trails!  ;). 

In the afternoon, after wandering around some (and trying to avoid the crowded tourist areas), we zipped back to hiway 38 to take the 2N93 dirt shortcut back to camp.  A very nice day in the saddle

Basic map info:

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OH, and by the way, recreation.gov, to reserve camp sites, may have the wrong map to choose camp sites at Heart Bar. I will attach the campground copy, the spaces were nice and clean and some with nice space between sites.  ( although I did see some "yellow post" ??  camping along roads out of the campground, but I do not know what that is at this moment).

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My riding bud at the top!

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We rode together, used masks as needed, and had all of our individual cookware, food and drink, each of us with our own truck to sleep in. We camped with distance......  Hey bud, stay on your own side of the fire, and make sure you use alcohol to kill any germs! ) haha. 

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It was interesting how many times we crossed the PCT.  I knew it  drops down out of the Lagunas, through scissors crossing, up over idyllwild and down to the 10 hiway, and then climbed up the mountains, but we must have crossed it 10+ times in the short rides we did. I didn't know that it went so directly through the Big Bear area:

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On Thursday morning, a short spin behind the campground on 1N05 was pleasant and cool in the morning ,,,,,,,   (AND, I had no issue with knowing that most of it could be done in a toyota corolla  :) ) I was on my bike, riding on dirt, and through the trees:

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Bikes rode great (both with new batteries  :)  )  I didn't have to use my new tow strap. no bifs. All good.  Discovered new lands, new roads, and it was a great wander through the trees near Big Bear.  Hope you go soon!

 

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Nicely done MacD...thanks for sharing!

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John, If you need someone to go with you let me know. I do have a place up there. I am getting the bikes dialed in and will be doing some meandering up there soon.

Nice report!

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Looks like a great time. One of my favorite riding areas

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