Pacific Crest Trail: Mile 255 to 268

Sunrise about mile 267.

.Section C
Baldwin Lake to Deer Spring Camp
Miles: 13
Hiking with: Gary

Lodging: Best Western in Big Bear, CA. This is the only “chain” hotel in Big Bear and besides I manage some Best Westerns so I get a discount – so I’m staying here. Prices are high in Big Bear – you may find a better deal elsewhere but the Best Western was quaint with great beds, cable tv, internet & a great breakfast (not so with a cabin or home rental)!

Car Rental: Enterprise Car Rental Big Bear, CA It was nice to rent close to the trailhead but at a cost. They didn’t open until 8 am and were closed on Saturday and Sunday. So I got it Friday morning and returned it Saturday afternoon in their lot and got charged for Sunday… I’m ok with that. It was a Nissan compact that cost me $40/day and went incredibly fast on the dirt roads and I only scraped the bottom once (the beauties of a rental).

Dining: – Across the street and up a little bit from Maggio’s Pizza (my first choice) is “Get the Burger” which is a popular local Burger Joint, better than fast food, clean, but pricey for a Burger – I’d go there again.

Start: From Hwy 18 on the north side of Lake Baldwin (frequently a dry lake) we turned north towards the city dump on Holcomb Valley Road, a well groomed dirt road toward the City dump. About ½ mile up you’ll see a small sign for the PCT and the trail on both sides of the road. We parked on the side of the road.

End: Off of Hwy 38 we took Forest Road 2N01 to the east. There are very few roads off of Hwy 38 – especially on the east side and the terrain drops off quickly. About 0.5 mile down the dirt road is a dry creek, park in the small parking area to the left (3 cars), and the PCT crosses the road at mile 255 about 0.5 miles before the PCT comes to deer springs and a trail camp.

Permit Required: You need an adventure pass to park anywhere in the southern California National Forests which is $5/day or $30/year (I never used one south of I-10 and never had a problem but I’d just by 2 annual passes and be done with it). We got our pass at the Big Bear Walgreen’s and at the B&B where we stayed another time or you can get one online – which may be easier.

People along the trail: We saw no other hikers.

Description: We started this hike in the dark but within 10 minutes the sky was blue and the sun just creaking up over the horizon. This is the best time to hike with great lighting for photographs. I always say that miles before 10am are zero miles – by 10 am you still feel fresh even though you’ve done 10 miles. If you started at 10 am and hiked 10 miles by 3 pm you’d be tired. It’s something about the cool air & low angle of the sun that makes the miles easier. The first part is a great stretch of trail is on the edge of the mountains with little tree cover and great views to the Mohave Desert below. Soon the trail curves into the mountainous terrain and follows a pretty little canyon with a small stream up to Deer Spring Camp and then to the car. We were done by noon, drove back to get the other car, dropped it off at Enterprise Car in Big Bear, ate at Get The Burger, and cruised back to Phoenix taking Hwy 18 down the north side of Big Bear (if you’re heading to Phoenix this is a great alternate drive back rather than I-10 again).