Did some exploration of the north side of San Bernardino mountains Saturday morning with a couple of friend. It was late in the week and I wanted to get out and do some casual wheeling and also give the kids a chance to play. It was spontaneous and we were to play it by ear as to where we'll end up wheeling. It's about getting out, taking it slow, and just burn a day in the mountains. So we packed food and headed out with the 2 trails in mind: Luna Mountain Trail and White Mountain Trail. We met up for breakfast around 8am at a Denny's. SoCalOCFJ came with Luara and Alex. CADavebert brought his 6 y/o daughter Molly. I took my 2 kids 5 and 7. We finished up breakfast and headup the I-15 so we can approach Luna Mountain Trail from the Hesperia side.
The trip planning was terrible as the maps did not clearly state where exactly the trails are. The trails either have different names on the map or did not exist on the map at all. Fortunately CADavebert had a GPS and our intuitions were somewhat accurate. There were plenty of back tracking for sure, but it was a beautiful day and we were just glad to be out.
Luna Mountain Trail cuts across Bowen Ranch and Juniper Flats. This area is full of big boulders that tower above the sageland. From the town of Hesperia, take Deep Creek Road south (runs along the Mojave river), and about 5 miles south, you'll see Powerline Road. Follow Power Line Road and it's
suppose to become Luna Mountain Trail
. PLR runs east-west. It climbs rapidly and though fairly well maintained, certain parts can be a little slipper due to the loose dirt. As you climb, you can see the entire high desert area and also Baldy Mountain in the far distance.
SocalOCFJ on PRL
CADavebert going over the GPS
As it became quite clear that Luna Mountain Trail is probably a myth (to me at least), we found Coxy Trail and took that eastward towards 4n16. We took a break as my boy was getting car sick.
Looking southward. Big Bear on the horizon.
Coxy Trail connected with 4N16 and we took 4N16 north so we can connect with 3N17 (White Mountain Trail). On the way we saw a Ti with Gobi rack parked on the side. The owner must have gone hiking. WMT was suppose to be a moderate trail, but it was a little more challenging then moderate. Maybe it was the storm that swept through recently, but the rocks were sharp, loose, and ABUNDANT! The trail is gorgeous. As it switches back and forth we were afforded spectacular views of both Lucern Valley and the San Bernardino forest.
The trail is very rocky and full of sharp rocks.
Interesting cluster of unknown trees.
