Trail Report: Exploring the Cactus Flats & the Upper Burns Cyn Areas

[Roger]

Today, Troyboy162, Skittles and Her friend Dixie, and I met at the famous Valero Station in Downtown Lucerne Valley and headed up in the mountians.

Our goal was to check out as many of the side trails and interesting sites around Cactus Flats & Upper Burns Cyn. It looked like we were going to get rained on but it never happened.

We got to do a little Ham radio stuff! We talked to Scott OU812, Sara & Rick, and John - Nipple Twister down in Huntington Beach via the Big Bear Repeater.

We checked out:
Judy Kay Mine
The top of Tip Top Mtn
An old arrastra
Lots of side trails
Shooting Star Mine
And a few other mines which names I can't remember

It was a great day with perfect weather!

Here's a few photos:



Veiw from Tip Top Mtn:


Another View:


An old arrastra:


Mary handling a rough section of trail with ease:


Troy in the same area:


Troy coming out of the closet (actually it's a storage room in a mine):


Thank you Troy, Mary & Dixie. It was a fun day!

[troyboy162]

another great run. thanks for leading Rodger! here some of the pictures i took. click on the pictures to make them open bigger.
the ham radios were neat! nipple twister was coming in crystal clear. i mean it was even better then a cell phone!

Roger gettin some of that weird rare stuff they call mud on the east coast


prepare to dive!






not much left of the mine house


this one is quite small inside




this one is bricked up and sealent foamed shut. weird huh? not blm style so i guess the claim owner did it


from this spot it seemed there was going to be considerable rain in out near future


strange markers all over the place on tip top




awesome views!


Roger leading the way


Mary and Dixie headed up through


nearing the top


if trucks could talk this one would have some crazy stories




old communications station house?


yellow jeeps bring joy to the world

[troyboy162]

lunch time at Coupon mine (not sure about this name)

[troyboy162]

arrastra. another sweet one! there may be an even nicer one close by to this one


me trying to gets artsy with the foreground




all it needs is everything and it will be ready to cruise apple valley Hollie-Ann mine




the guy who drove that old truck used to live here...lucky guy huh?




not much for tunnels here. Hollie-Ann mine




i cant beat Rogers caption... haha that cracks me up!


full of unique items in this mine. this is a really ore shoot for being metal


randomly spotted on the side of the road. google turns up nothing on this


the 30 foot section of rocks. Mary and Rodger looked like they coulda been on this stuff all day long without issue


poser shot...heh i really thought the background was neat looking


starting of the trek back to the 18

[Mitch]

Roger,

Looks like you guys had a great time. Lots of familar places. Didn't recognized the Hollie-Ann Mine by name but looks like I've been there. Nice and dust free. Troy, Mary good to see you guy's keeping an eye on Roger!

Mary, new doggie?

Mitch

[troyboy162]

the names thing gets a little odd. i have half of the mines in cali on google earth but the names are often not what are in common use for the mine. also the location of the mines are not always accurate. the names and locations come from something called the MASMILS database.

so between mines changing ownership/name and the inaccuracy of the locations its tough sometimes to be certain part of the rose mine complex is really the "coupon mine" for instance

[Skittles]

The views from Tip Top were breathtaking. I had not been up there. Could see for miles. Kept hoping for rain but not to be, darn. Would have added an extra challenge to the steep climbs & rocks that we went over!! It was a beautiful day and loads of fun. Thanks Roger & Troy for leading.
Yes, Mitch, Ginger is a new one. Dana came between a rattler and LeAnne. Ginger is 6 months old and loves to go jeepin !!

[Mitch]

Troy thanks. I met some guys a couple of weeks ago there at the Rose Mine area. What you listed as the Coupon Mine has been sold and is now privately owned and posted private property. That was a nice easy one to show people. Wish you had bought it instead. Saw some cool stuff today, thought of you guys.

Mary, good luck with Ginger. Can't wait to see her.

Mitch

[troyboy162]

Troy thanks. I met some guys a couple of weeks ago there at the Rose Mine area. What you listed as the Coupon Mine has been sold and is now privately owned and posted private property. That was a nice easy one to show people. Wish you had bought it instead. Saw some cool stuff today, thought of you guys.

Mary, good luck with Ginger. Can't wait to see her.

Mitch

i dont think its posted yet because i didnt see any signs but its not impossible i missed them because i was swivel necking all over the sides of the trail rather then in front of me. its a nice little mine but shooting star is by far the biggest one ive seen in big bear. lots of features too