The modern Dutch Oven (DO) has always intrigued me. A versatile cooking vessel, most often made of cast iron, it is used with hot coals below it, but also on the lid. In this way heat is generated from above as well as below, cooking more evenly. I should state up front that I’m […]

Big Pine Flat Trail Date Driven: 10/24-25/13 Length: 26.6 miles My drive time: 3 hours Start: intersection of Green Valley Lake Road and Crab Flats Road, N34º 14.013′ W117º 05.364′ End: At pavement at Holcomb Valley Road, N34º 18.214′ W116º 49.355′ GPS Track: GPX or KMZ format. (right click -> Save As) Source(s): Trail “South […]

  Friday After completing Big Pine Flat Trail, it was a short drive into Big Bear City where we planned to refuel and pick up some food. Despite its name, it more like a mountain town than a city, with a population of about 12,000. Driving down what seemed to be the main drag looking […]

Friday morning, I grudgingly awoke and climbed out of my warm, cozy sleeping bag in the back of the Land Cruiser. The fall temperature had dropped into the upper 30s overnight and we were camped at about 6,500′ elevation. As always – but especially when it was cold like this – coffee was the absolute […]