The Hickman courier., 1922-02-16
BIZ W. c sPEER

ounded by them. You probably know
hat we do not have twilight here, as
&c do al home. as q result OF the prox-
nifty of the ocean. But the mountains
ar and near present an exquisite color
at the twilight hour.
from white or brown TO laven-
Ter. then merging into dark blue or
purple. which gradually fades into OBJ
night.
In the early fall months we were very
pleasantly surprised To receive an inyi-
alton from an old friend. formerly a
prominent young attorney of Hickman.
10 visit him at his headquarters. near
Seven Oaks. high up in the San Berna-
limo range of mountains. some forty
miles from Riverside. Anxious To see
him and to make the trip. we took an
early morning start. as the cold wea-
tber had not yet set in. our friend
was in the 4. :. forestry service and
alta toned just "A short distance from Big /
Bear Lake. body OF water as large as /
Reelfoot and located literally in the i
clouds.
We have been over several Of the |
great ranges in our drive To the Golden |
Gate state. hut had seen nothing as
beautiful as we found on this trip after
entering Mill Greek canon and starting
up the ascent
oh. yes A: the control road" was new
10 us-and probably To the reader In
brief. n control road is one with "a
guard stationed on each end of certain
sections Cl7 miles in this instanceb }, be-
cause the road is dangerous on account
of its narrowness and many sharp turns
and zigzags. Traffic is s'permitted to 90
one way for an hour and half. then
the opposite direction for the same
length of time. being operated strictly
on schedule. If you have breakdown
or for any reason fail to make IL thru,
i'm the allotted time. you must Sidetrack
and stay there until traffic again starts
your direction. Without this plan in
operation on such roads many serious
accidents would result
Entering Mill Greek canon one begins
climbing looping. haiTpinning, mp, mp.
up over narrow roads, some OF which
are mere shelves or ledges above yawn-
ing chasms on the one side and tower
ing cliffs of solid rock on the other. DC
casionally we cross rustic bridge
spanning a mountain stream-here and
there a waterfall. pouring over the
moss covered walls. AS we climb we
note though the line is indefinable,
change in vegetation: leaving the semi
u
ests OF pine and oak, which seem 10
grow out of a carpet of wild ferns
waist high. The temperature. too,
gradually drops until we find differ
| ence of 30 TO ~ degrees cooler near the
summit ut an elevation OF 1860 feet
The clouds. like mountains of snow,
are no longer above us-they are on
level or below. Frequently they envel-
op US like a dense fOg-and are quickly
gone There is a rarity or clearness OF
the atmosphere that is never found in
the lower regions. Most like. l would
say. the air feels at home after fine
/ spring shower. plus a sort of subtle arc
matte from the pine cones. An elixir,
/ IL you please, that brings color TO the
face and gives one pep" and appetite.
/ In these high attitudes some people ex-
/ perience nosebleed. and those with
i weak hearts. too. feel the change. but
/ these troubles soon subside- Going up
most all of US feel Il peculiar sensation
about the ear drums. Even the autos
get groggy at certain attitudes. The
| difference i'm the amount of oxygen in
| the air puts the carburetOr on the blink
To give her more or less gas cuts no
lice: the old boat labors like it might be
flowing about six others. My expert
Ience in two different cars is that the
Trouble invariably occurs at an eleva-
ition of between 1900 and 800 feet, and
Iabove 5JOO-presto, the car picks right
up.
We finally reached the top. IL Is
Ilevel In "A way, and not a pinnacle. as
the uninitiated might suppose, but
many square miles in area Here are
marvellous lakes, forests of majestic
pines and wide spreading oaks, inter-
spersed with camps and resort hotels
one of the summer Fairgrounds of Cali
fornians. Our friends camp is located
by a wild. dashing. clear mountain
stream, filled with speckled trout
/ (Captain Shuck. Dr. Curtin and Low
cry stone please take note). This
/ stream Is the combined strength of nu-
merous snow fed springs The air Is
bracing. the sky marvellous blue, dis
tant mountain peaks are mirrored in
the placid waters Of the lake. and with
| the exception of the songs OF birds and
the murmur Of the waters. profound
ouietude reigns. Here one finds oppor-
| tunity for real mental and physical
rest and relaxation
4 This range includes a part of the ia
NOUS Rim of the World trip. dis
tance of 1OI miles. Sightseeing in Cal
| ifornia would be incomplete without
making Ii, as the lakes and mountains
combine to produce one of the most rare
and striking panoramas in the outdoor
world Nature has been lavish in her
bestowal of varied loveliness here.
| Everywhere the eye wanders we are
charmed by the brilliance and variety
of scenes hidden away far from the
madding crowd" in this primeval for
est and mountain fastness. Here one
gets real visions of Nature in her rug
gedest modes of grandeur.
But. like the ocean. even the noun
tains are beginning to show signs of en-
croachment for financial exploitation.
Around the Big Bear lake, hotels and
the sign of the dollar mark are looming
up. Among these are Big Bear Tav-
ern, Pine Knot Lodge, Indian Lodge.
Swastika and others Furnished cab
ins. too, are to be had at so much per.
The city of Los Angeles has also estab-