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Today, Sharon and I decided to go run 1N09 across the mountain front and then drop down to the Santa Ana River and do a little fishing.
Well that didn't work out since when we got to the start of 1N09 at Hwy 330, the gate was closed and locked. Since we were already out, we decided to go check out Keller Peak and the Children's Forest.
We went straight up to the top of the peak first thing:
We climbed the rocks to the tallest point of the peak:
On the way back down, we found the memorial plaque for the B-26 bomber crash on the side of the peak in 1941:
There are still two engines on the side of the mountain and I wanted to hike down to them. The problem was that I could not find a trail anywhere. I climbed up the hill past the marker and eventually saw a flag on a post down the side of the mountain:
But that flag was not close. The circle is that same flag without the zoom:
The whole hillside was covered with thick brush. Mostly some bush that made me think that it was some sort of laurel. The others were manzanita and, my favorite (not), buckthorn!
Sharon wisely chose to wait for me while I tried to make my way down the hill to the flag. It was tough! The brush was as tall or taller than me (6 feet) for at least half of the trip and the grade was steeper than I thought when I started. The brush was stiff and didn't crush down after I passed through it.
Stubbornly, I pushed on to the flag where I found the first engine!:
Looking back the way that I came... The little dot on the rock at the top is Sharon. Note that my path down is not visible in the brush:
The view from engine is nice:
Unfortunately, I stirred up an ants nest at the base of the post. They were all over me and I had to keep moving around to keep them off:
Given the difficulty that I had getting to the first engine, I chose to return instead of continuing down the mountain to look for the next one. Climbing back up was tougher that going down by far. It was a full body work out that left my legs a bloody mess:
We explored the area some more and ran into a group of folks heading out with fishing poles. I asked where they were going and they said that there was a lake nearby. I grabbed my gear and followed the general direction that they went. It was easy to find the lake:
Clearly, there were plenty of catfish in the lake!:
They were way too easy to catch:
I released the one that I caught with no injury to him and then packed up my stuff. We headed back down to Arrowbear and then had dinner at Blondie's Grill. The food was good and the place was packed for Mother's Day.
We went to Arrowbear Lake and I fished a bit. The lake was churning with fish snacking on the bugs flying along the surface. I cast a few times but ended up with a nasty birds nest on my open-faced reel and decided to call it a day.
On the way back down the 330, we stopped at the bridge in the middle of no where:
I don't know how old this bridge is but there is no passable entrance or exit for a vehicle:
The view from the bridge is nice. I need to try to come back in better light:
It was a nice day in the mountains. I still want to run 1N09 and fish the river at the end, but I can't complain about the way the day turned out.
Well that didn't work out since when we got to the start of 1N09 at Hwy 330, the gate was closed and locked. Since we were already out, we decided to go check out Keller Peak and the Children's Forest.
We went straight up to the top of the peak first thing:
We climbed the rocks to the tallest point of the peak:
On the way back down, we found the memorial plaque for the B-26 bomber crash on the side of the peak in 1941:
There are still two engines on the side of the mountain and I wanted to hike down to them. The problem was that I could not find a trail anywhere. I climbed up the hill past the marker and eventually saw a flag on a post down the side of the mountain:
But that flag was not close. The circle is that same flag without the zoom:
The whole hillside was covered with thick brush. Mostly some bush that made me think that it was some sort of laurel. The others were manzanita and, my favorite (not), buckthorn!
Sharon wisely chose to wait for me while I tried to make my way down the hill to the flag. It was tough! The brush was as tall or taller than me (6 feet) for at least half of the trip and the grade was steeper than I thought when I started. The brush was stiff and didn't crush down after I passed through it.
Stubbornly, I pushed on to the flag where I found the first engine!:
Looking back the way that I came... The little dot on the rock at the top is Sharon. Note that my path down is not visible in the brush:
The view from engine is nice:
Unfortunately, I stirred up an ants nest at the base of the post. They were all over me and I had to keep moving around to keep them off:
Given the difficulty that I had getting to the first engine, I chose to return instead of continuing down the mountain to look for the next one. Climbing back up was tougher that going down by far. It was a full body work out that left my legs a bloody mess:
We explored the area some more and ran into a group of folks heading out with fishing poles. I asked where they were going and they said that there was a lake nearby. I grabbed my gear and followed the general direction that they went. It was easy to find the lake:
Clearly, there were plenty of catfish in the lake!:
They were way too easy to catch:
I released the one that I caught with no injury to him and then packed up my stuff. We headed back down to Arrowbear and then had dinner at Blondie's Grill. The food was good and the place was packed for Mother's Day.
We went to Arrowbear Lake and I fished a bit. The lake was churning with fish snacking on the bugs flying along the surface. I cast a few times but ended up with a nasty birds nest on my open-faced reel and decided to call it a day.
On the way back down the 330, we stopped at the bridge in the middle of no where:
I don't know how old this bridge is but there is no passable entrance or exit for a vehicle:
The view from the bridge is nice. I need to try to come back in better light:
It was a nice day in the mountains. I still want to run 1N09 and fish the river at the end, but I can't complain about the way the day turned out.
Awesome pics 
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