Here's an open invitation for anyone looking for a riding partner in the San Bernardino Mountains. I prefer technical trail riding that requires 4X4. I can ride just about any day (I don't work until 2:00 PM).

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2003 Sportsman 500 H.O.
2004 Prairie 700

 

Thanks! It's hard to find people who want to do that kind of riding!! I only have 3 friends who even own 4X4's, and 2 of them just have them for hunting (compared to 50 people who have sport bikes). What are your favorite trails? We also ride the Sierras and Inyos, during the hot summer months. Looking forward to some snow riding this winter.

 

Reconranger, I would be up for riding the Inyos, definitely! I wasn't sure where I could ride up there. Perhaps you can point me in the right direction. I just got back last week from riding with my wife through the Rubicon Jeep Trail. That's always a fun trail.

Here in the San Bernardinos there are some good technical trails: 2N-17X, going uphill from Lake Silverwood has a nice series of steep hill climbs. The John Bull Trail (3N-10) has some good boulder crawling. Going down into Horse Thief Canyon from Cactus Flats is a fairly technical descent/ascent.

Let me know if you'll join me for a ride.

 

2n17x is a freeway now! They have blocked all but one way up the big hill climb too.

I went up there about a month ago with some forest personell to retrieve a stolen jeep. I drove up from the lake in my Scout w/o any lockers, found the stolen jeep and dragged it up the trail to 3n33 at the top where they loaded it on a trailer and hauled it out.

Maybe we will get some rain this winter so it will be a tougher trail [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

You got the Jeep, but now you have to go back and get the Suzuki Samuri. It's on 2N-33 near one of the lake overlooks. It's actually a fairly easy rocovery.

I must say, the big hill climb looked a little intimidating. If I screwed up, it was going to be a long tumble for my Polaris, so I was quietly thankfull to ride around it. It's just about vertical at the top now. It was dusty as all heck. The Santa Anas should make riding a little more breathable.

I'll be up there again Wednesday morning Oct 23rd.

 

Dang! Whats with all the stolen cars/trucks on these trails. Theres a house trailer on 3n16 above Lucerne Valley that I'm supposed to help retrieve too. It's kinda teetering on the edge!

 

If you like rock crawling, at Ocotillo Wells the hills behind the "Cove" camping area are pretty nice.

 

Have you been on 1W17? I went riding on this trail on Sunday from Crab Flats to Big Pine Flats. Pretty fun area. How is 3N34 from Crab Flats to Deep Creek?

 

I have not ridden 1W17 this year, but in the past it has been tight and rough (the way I like it!) in a lot of places. 3N34 has seen a lot more traffic since the bridge over Deep Creek went in. It was pretty hacked up. We did it on the sport bikes, but got hung up four or five times. A couple of weeks ago, we rode 3N17 west from the junction with 3N11, down to Horse Springs. The road is very rocky, and semi-technical in spots. 3N17 looks interesting going to the east from the junction with 3N11, but didn't have a chance to ride it and find out. Anybody know??

 

I haven't ridden 1W17 for about 3 years. I took my KLR-650 out there. That was entertaining. I thought the trail looked pretty narrow for a quad. The section right out of Crab Flats seemed especially narrow. Are you sure I can get a Sportsman through there without sliding down the mountainside?

3N34 is mostly dirt, with some deep erosion ruts that are fun. There's a nice granite slab that has put more than one Jeep on its top. It's about a mile east of the Deep Creek crossing. I've cleared it in my Jeep, but a few unfortunate souls have either slid sideways and rolled, or they flip end over end, backwards. It's affectionately known as "BallBuster". Have any of you guys tried it? Clearing it would be cool, but the cost of error might just be 697 lbs of Polaris on my chest.

ReconRanger, I went out to the area of 3N17 last year. You're right, it was really rocky and loose. I was out there for a motorcycle crash wherein the guy had to be flown out. We put him on a stretcher, then atop the hood of a Jeep, and drove him up a hill where he could be picked up by the helicopter. We were in a stock Chevy Tahoe, and cleared everything, albeit with a few extra runs in a few spots. It's not really technical, but the view of Apple Valley at the top is nice.