Community Hiking Club June 2013 Camping Trip

Community Hiking Club

June 2013 Camping Trip

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BLUE RIDGE CAMPGROUND

June 7-9, 2013

Latitude: 34° 21.617 N
Longitude: 117° 41.241 W
Elevation: 7,896 feet

Introduction: This campground is located in the Santa Clara/Mojave Rivers District of the Angeles National Forest. It is located on Blue Ridge, just north of the Sheep Mountain Wilderness. The Pacific Crest Trail runs along this campground.

Directions: From Santa Clarita, take the 14 freeway north. Travel approximately 23 miles and then exit at the Victorville-Littlerock exit (Exit number 30). Veer to the left at the fork (direction Pearblossom and Little Rock). You will end up on Pearblossom Highway. Travel west on Pearblossom Highway for about 6 miles. Make a right at the intersection (with stop lights) to remain on Pearblossom Highway. Continue to travel on Pearblossom Highway. You will pass through the towns of Littlerock, Pearblossom and Llano.

Turn right (south) on N4/Largo Vista Road, which will be approximately 16 miles after your right hand turn at the light. The GPS coordinates for the turnoff to N4/Largo Vista Road are: N34° 29.900, W117° 45.194.

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Travel south on N4 for approximately 7 miles until you come to a stop sign and the intersection with N4 and Big Pines Highway. Make a left at the stop sign onto N4/Big Pines Highway. The GPS coordinates of this intersection are: N34°24.695, W117°46.337.

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Continue to travel (southwest) on N4/Big Pines Highway, until it dead-ends into Highway 2, approximately 7 miles after you make the left turn at the stop sign onto N4/Big Pines Highway. You will see signs for Mountain High Ski Resort.

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Make a right at the stop sign onto Highway 2 (direction Los Angeles). After traveling approximately 1 mile on Highway 2, you will be at the turn-off to the road to the campground (3N26 or Blue Ridge Road), which is opposite Inspiration Point. The last mile marker you will see on your right before the turn-off will be 78.34. You will see these signs on your right, almost immediately before you need to turn off of Highway 2, on your left:

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The GPS coordinates of the turn-off are: N34°22.340, W117°42.595. The entrance to the road will look like this (except that the gate will be open):

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Travel approximately 3 miles down 3N26 to the campground, which will be on your right. Please note that you will be driving under ski lifts on 3N26. Do not be alarmed; you are not trespassing. Before you get to the campground, while driving on 3N26, you will see what looks like a possible fork in the road. Stay to the left when you see this. The right “fork” is a dead-end.

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As you travel down 3N26, you will also see this sign:

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You will see the following sign on your right when you arrive at the campground:

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The GPS coordinates at the entrance to the campground are: N34°21.617, W117°41.241.

Amenities, Fees, and Rules: Blue Ridge Campground has 8 campsites for tents or RV’s up to 20 feet, which are on a first-come-first-served basis (reservations are not accepted). There are no RV sites or RV hookups. You must have a Golden Passport or Adventure Pass to camp, but there is no additional camping fee. There are vault toilets. There are no trash cans at the campground; you will need to pack out all of your trash. There is also NO water available at the campground. Please be sure to bring sufficient water for your hiking and campground needs for the weekend.

Each campsite has a paved parking apron, wood picnic table, and fire ring (no grills). (The average parking apron will fit two vehicles.) However, due to winter weather conditions and/or the heavy usage of the campground, tables are sometimes in bad condition or completely destroyed. Campers may want to consider bringing their own tables. Campers may also want to consider bringing their own stoves, grills, and/or fire rings, as the ones at the campground are sometimes not in the best condition.

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Dogs are allowed, as long as they are on a leash.

Low-profile vehicles are not recommended. This is especially true if Blue Ridge campground is full, and we have to resort to Guffy and/or Lupine Campgrounds as back-ups. Guffy Campground is located about 3 additional miles southeast on 3N26, and Lupine an additional approximate 6 miles down 3N26. The road’s condition worsens as you travel to these other campgrounds.

Weather: The average temperatures this time of year, measured at nearby Wrightwood (elevation 5,935 feet) are a high of 79 and a low of 56. The average temperatures this time of year, measured at nearby Mt. San Antonio (Baldy) (elevation 10,069) are a high of 76 and a low of 49.

Hikes: We will be doing section hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail (mileage to be determined) on Friday afternoon/evening and on Saturday morning. We will go to Navitat Canopy Adventures in nearby Wrightwood (http://www.navitat.com/wrightwood-ca/) to do ziplining on Saturday afternoon. You MUST make your own reservations for Navitat Zip Lines before you get there. Reservations and pre-payment are required.

RSVP: To sign up for this camping trip, contact Dianne by email at zuliebear@aol.com. Please note that by reserving early with Dianne, she will do her utmost to get you a camping site. However, campsites cannot be guaranteed for any of us, due to the first-come-first-served rule enforced at the campground.