Two roads diverged in a Silverwood, aka Miller Canyon Trail

When I was a kid people always said the same thing: “I hate the desert. It is so ugly. It’s all just a bunch of dirt, no color at all.”

And I was no different; I made the same claims. Now that I’m back I intend to prove myself totally wrong, and what better time to disprove the myth of the brown desert than during what should be the most naturally colorful time of year: the fall. After doing a lil googlin’ I decided to take a trip to Silverwood Lake and take a lil stroll down the Miller Canyon Trail.

If you’re not familiar with Silverwood Lake, it is pretty easy to get to. Whether you are coming from the 15 freeway or from the high desert, all you need to do is make your way to the 138. Once on the 138 you head east. Soon you will find yourself once more in the San Bernardino National Forest.

Once you have passed the sign, it’s not far to our starting point. After about ten minutes of driving you will see the exit for Silverwood Lake. DON’T TAKE IT! For our purposes we are actually going to pass by the main entrance and drive out to the eastern most entrance to the lake - roughly four miles from the main entrance to Silverwood. The signs that you are looking for are for the Miller Canyon group area.

To be honest I’m not really sure when the campground is open to the public and when it is not. On the day I went it was not, but that’s the funny part about smaller national parks - being closed really just means no one is there to greet or help you, but on the other hand no one is there to stop you from enjoying the trail. Just park outside the fence. I entered through this fence here, which is right off the main road you enter from.

After entering the fence you pretty much stay on a paved path down to and through the group camping area. Along the way you get some great pines towering above the trail.

Almost immediately we are hit with our first explosion of fall color. BAM

At the western-most end of the group camp you will see this little guy. Time to get on the trail

Let the color quest begin!

While it’s true that there aren’t any trees bursting into different colors, there are a lot of really beautiful color variations going on.

The trail splits in two directions; one goes down toward what I assume is the creek that is supposed to be here but unfortunately is not. I decide to go down and see what the dried creek has to offer my eye balls.

The answer is plenty.

I love rocks!

Here is an acorn

But there are still miles to go so I head back to the trail.

I find a nice chunk of quartz on the trail. I’ve seen bigger.

The hike overall is relatively short - 5 miles roundtrip. I’m about a mile into it when I start to notice that the trial is a bit more overgrown than I expected. this is not all that troubling but it does prompt me to pay a little bit more attention to the story that the trial is telling me.

There are a lot of things to look for when reading a trail. Like when solving a mystery, all the clues are there - you just have to know how to interpret them.The first clue is the soil. Underfoot the soil is soft and loose, and it gives about a half inch under the weight of my feet. It hasn’t rained recently in this area and the creek is almost entirely dried, which tells me that the moisture that’s in the soil (which is helping it to expand) is coming from underground. All these clues tell me that this part of the trail has not been traveled on in some time.

A little further down the trial my suspicions are verified. The trail is cut off by a pair of fallen trees, their branches strewn here and there, with no clear path around. When climbing over fallen branches I always give it a real good kick - if it seems stable, I find some good hand holds and give it a real good shake. Once satisfied that the fallen tree will not move, I take great care in climbing over.

Once over the logs I see an awesome grove of alder trees off to the left. My focus returns to the trail where I notice something interesting. Its scat! AKA doody.

Based on the size of the doody I can feel pretty confident that it is either from a bobcat or coyote. While I am no doody expert my guess is that it’s from a coyote. Although both animals are primarily nocturnal, they can often be seen in the daylight in the later winter months.

My hope is that what I think is a coyote still is able to find enough food to sleep the day away and is not trolling the trail looking for a snack. I really hope that I’m not totally wrong and that it’s a bobcat that is frequenting this trial.

If I were to say that the thought of being on a trail not recently traveled by anything except animals with teeth didn’t make me nervous I’d be lying, so I do what I always do when i’m feeling uncertain - I sing

You’re a rich girl, and you gone too far,

‘Cause you know it don’t matter anyway.

You can rely on the old man’s money,

You can rely on the old mans money.

It’s a bitch girl, but it’s gone too far,

‘Cause you know it doesn’t matter anyway.

You can say money money

Won’t get you too far

Get you too far.

I come upon a second set of fallen logs. My nerves are a little fried and to be honest I’m kinda doin’ the chubby guy jog at this point.

A few yards after I come to the Silverwood Lake bike trail. I know from my research that I am close to the lake.

I reach the trail’s end at a bike lockup. I could continue on and follow that bike path around the lake, but to be honest I’m pretty well freaked out and less sure that the animal evidence I found is not from a bobcat.

I stop by the lake for a few minutes to have a snack and let the waves calm me down. I haven’t seen anyone all day. Now it’s just me and the ducks

On the way back I decide to try the road veering off to the left of the bike lockup, and it turns out that it runs parallel to the trail and leads me right back to the car. Now it seems more understandable why no one is using the trail and why the park is not making an effort to maintain it.

Perhaps in the spring they will make it more accessible or perhaps they will simply let the forest reclaim it. For me the trail was not what I thought it would be. If anything, this trail was a reminder to never assume that something will be easy, a real no brainer, because when you go in with that mentality that’s when you get tested in ways you didn't anticipate. But I digress - this post is getting away from itself, so let me bring it back round: if you should choose to go to Miller Canyon you will find two roads diverging to silver wood, one paved and one, less traveled. Given what you now know, which will you choose?

The Road Not Taken

by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted If I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

What Kokitac Saw, aka The God’s Eye Hike

This week’s journey takes us to the far away land of San Bernardino - ooh, aww - more specifically the San Bernardino forest, more more specifically, Big Bear. Here I am, on a quest you might say - a vision quest, which would be appropriate when you consider what I’m chasing. On this adventure I am looking for an outcropping of quartz crystal, but not just any outcropping: one shrouded in local legend and mystery, a true natural wonder, seldom seen and almost entirely forgotten except to those who seek it. Tantalizing, no? You bet your ass it is.

Our journey begins in the High Desert, Victorville to be exact. From here we jump on Bear Valley Road which can be accessed from the I15 freeway. We take Bear Valley Road  all the way until it ends at Highway 18. From here you want to turn right onto Highway 18 towards Big Bear. You will be on this road for a while. It’s a pretty straight shot through Lucerne, and on your left you will get a close-up of some pretty awesome rocks and ranches but not too much else. It’s not a long drive and the traffic is very light.

After a short while you will find yourself entering into the San Bernardino National Forest. If you’re not the type who enjoys a twisty turny drive through the mountain switchbacks, then screw you. No jk jk but there are quite a few that would turn the more sensitive stomach, so adventurer be warned.

I should also make one thing clear: there is no “God’s Eye” hike. If you try to google it, you will most likely find various blogs detailing a short drive down a forest access road. Blah blah blah - boring right? I have taken it upon myself to jazz it up, and believe me it’s much, much better.

So you’re twisting and turning through the San Bernardino Mountains when you come upon a sign informing you that you have reached an elevation of 6000 feet. This is your Almost There Indicator. As I mentioned before, this is not a real hike; I made it up. There won’t be any signs to tell you you are there, but just keep your eyes peeled. You are looking for a call box and a tree.

The call box will be on the right side of the road. 

The tree will be at the back of a big dirt lot on the left side of the road.

That’s where you want to park: near that tree in that big lot.

Yeah, that’s nice. Now it’s gonna look like just a field in front of you. Go into that field. If you have good eyes you will have already seen it. If you don't have good eyes, just walk straight forward. And get some glasses for gods sake.

This post is what you’re looking for. This little guy will confirm that you have just joined the thousands of adventure-bound hippies to have travelled on the Pacific Crest Trail, aka the PCT. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, the Pacific Crest Trail is the mother of all trails from the top of Mexico to the bottom of Canada. 

For our purposes this will be our road to Kokitat.

Before the gold rush that brought prospectors to the San Bernardinos, the valley found at the top of the mountain was home to the Serranos. 

Unfortunately, much of the Serrano culture has been lost since many of the Serrano died due to disease while others scattered into more remote areas to escape the settlers. As such, their rich oral tradition has dwindled almost into oblivion.this is the story of Kokitat as I have come to know it.

In the beginning there were twin gods: Pakroki-tat and Kokitat. Both were the creators of man, but they disagreed as to what form man should take. Pakroki-tat thought that man should have two faces - one in the front and one in the back. Pakroki-tat also thought that man should have webbed fingers so that the things he held would not slip through his hands. Kokitat disagreed and the brothers fought endlessly over which was the right way to create man.

Finally, Pakroki-tat grew tired of his brother and left the earth forever, leaving Kokitat to create man as he saw fit, so he created man as we exist today. ButKokitat was a mischevious god. He divided man up and created different language barriers, thus making it impossible for man to communicate, which ultimately resulted in war. 

The people that Kokitat created eventually grew tired of his mischief and decided that it was time for him to go. It is unclear who was tasked with killing Kokitat, some say that Frog was tasked to poison him; others say that it was Woodpecker who bewitched him. Whomever it was, Kokitac eventually fell ill and began to die.

Realizing that death was upon him, Kokitat gave instructions for his body to be cremated. And also to not let Coyote eat his body, ‘cause you know, fuck Coyote.

The people that Kokitac created brought his body to the top of a high hill overlooking the valley where he spent his final days and died. Per his instructions, his body was cremated, but not before Coyote snuck in and stole his heart to eat later. Fucking coyote.

As per their tradition, after three days had passed the men washed away the hillside, spreading his ashes throughout the valley. Legend tells us that that is why there is so much variety of plant life on this particular part of the mountain.

When all the ashes were washed away all that remained of Kokitat were the crystals that made up his eyes, set on the hill top to forever watch over the Serrano and the valley.

In the early 1800’s the gold rush caught up with the Serrano. Prospectors believed that certain formations of quartz crystal displaying particular veins of color were good indicators that there were gold deposits beneath the quartz, and when they happened upon the “Eye of Kokitat” they could not resist. They dynamited the deposit, in search of what may lay beneath.

The trail is beautiful, 

so full of color and variety. 

The legend of Kokitat and the story of the settlers spins through my mind over and over, until finally I turn a corner and see the road that I was supposed to take to get here.

My eyes scan the hillside and I see it peeking through the trees. It’s the eye of Kokitat.

I can’t see any direct path; the road curves around and disappears behind trees to the north. I could follow it, but I’m too excited. So I charge the hill.

The hillside is littered with quartz, some the size of pennies, some the size of my head. I start to trot; my footsteps are clumsy and hard. Could this be the way that the prospectors came?

The hillside becomes steeper and I test my balance and agility; I’m moving faster now. Is this the way coyote came?

Finally I reach the top.

It’s amazing.

No sign of gold, but a man could make his fortune with the quartz alone. God knows there is room enough in my pack, but I didn’t come here for treasure. I came to see how a God chose to spend his last days on the earth, to lay where he laid, and see what Kokitat saw:

The last sight seen by the God of man and mischief.

the end.