Pacific Crest Trail: Mile 285 to 298

Sorry this is not along the PCT. Rather a view of Big Bear
Lake at Sunset from the north shore driving into town to
eat at Maggio's Pizza.

Section C
Little Bear Springs to Splinters Cabin – Nobo
Fawnskin to Lake Arrowhead
Miles: 13.5
Hiking with: Gary B & Rob

Lodging: Inn at Fawnskin Cabins - There are a lot of cabins and motels in Big Bear on the south side of the lake. I chose the little community of Fawnskin to stay in because it is on the northwest side of the lake closer to Lake Arrowhead Splinter’s Cabin and to Little Bear Springs. Oktoberfest goes for at least a month on Big Bear with the slogan is “Party like a Local!!!”. Evidently with marketing strategy works pretty well as the town seamed pretty full and consequently the hotel/cabin rates seemed pretty high. We ended up paying $250/night for a 2 bed 1 bath cabin with a futon – at least it had direct TV but no internet. The Big Bear Best Western was $160/night and we would have needed 2 rooms so the cabin sounded pretty good.

Car Rental: Enterprise 229 South Street, San Bernardino, CA 92401 Tel.: (909) 888-3241. A lot of the enterprise locations is they are independently owned so you can rent a car in one location and drop it off at another without a fee. This Enterprise rental location in San Bernardino is owned by the same guy who owns the Big Bear location so we were able to rent here and return the car in Big Bear!!! Yahoo – that saved us about an hour on our last day!!!

Dining: Lake Arrowhead – After we were done with this hike we were driving out on Hook Creek Road. We passed a commercial area & I was looking for someplace to grab a bite. I saw a small sign on the side of a wood planked 1 story building that said “Malt Shop”. We turned around and went back – WOW!!! There is a small sign on the front that said “CedarGlen Malt Shop.” This was the best place I’ve eaten at so far on the PCT!!! This is a must stop – I had their “lowrider” burger. Everyone agreed this place was fantastic.

Big Bear -- Maggio’s Pizza Big Bear, CA – My theory is forget the fancy restaurants go where the locals go. At the hotel the exec told me to go to the Peppermill which is the nicest place in town. When I asked the front desk clerk who looked like a college student where he goes to eat he said Maggio’s – Bingo!!! This is great Italian food at a great price. I’ve eaten here 4 times and never been disappointed. I had spaghetti, Calzone, Pizza, salad – it’s all great. It’s always been full but we’ve never waited more than 10 minutes.

I’ve also eaten at “Get the Burger” in Big Bear which is a popular local Burger Joint, better than fast food, but pricey for a Burger – I’d go there again.

Start: From Fawnskin we took Rim of the World Dr north which “T”s off of the main road next to the Fawnskin Fire Station. It is a well groomed dirt road that any vehicle could go on. Eventually the road turns into Coxey Truck Trail. Although maps show other roads merging and intersections we were on the only main road there was. The road gently climbs up the mountain and then drops into the Holcomb Creek drainage. The PCT runs next to Holcomb Creek at this point.

End: From Hwy 173 which loops around the east side of Lake Arrowhead take Hook Creek Rd – which is a major intersection for this area (no stop light). Stay on Hook Creek Rd. which winds up and down and around for a while. You’ll finally see some signs that say “Splinters Cabin” – follow the signs until you come to a locked gate with some parking to the side. There was a storm that washed out a creek crossing so they gated the road. From here you hike about ½ mile down the washed out road past Splinter’s Cabin to the Deep Creek Bridge and the PCT.

People along the trail: We met 3 groups of people who were spending the weekend at Lake Arrowhead and were just out hiking. They were all on the West end of the trail.

Description: We had a hard time finding the trail where we parked. The Holcomb Creek which the PCT follows ran perpendicular to the road. It was obvious where it came in from the east but we were going to the west and didn’t see any PCT signs or trail so we hiked next to the creek assuming we’d find the trail quickly. After about 50 yards I started looking more fervently for the trail…it was further up the northern bank of the river. The trail must have gone north up the Coxey Truck Trail a little and then headed west. Anyway we got on the trail and continued on. The trail followed Holcomb Creek winding in and out of side canyons in true PCT fashion and then climbed out and over some high country before dropping down into Deep Creek Canyon where the was a very impressive hiking bridge that crossed the Canyon. From here we exited out to Splinter’s Cabin to our car, drove back to Lake Arrowhead and ate at the Glen Cove Malt Shop (don’t miss it – see my comments under Dining), drove back to the cabin at Fawnskin, relaxed and watched a couple of Adam Sandler movies, ate dinner at Maggio’s in Big Bear, and then went to bed.