September 4-7, 2015Pine Mountain Lynn and Jamie celebrated their 40th Anniversary with a little weekend getaway to Pine Mountain. We had such a great time! Many thanks to Kevin and Dini who put a weekend at their cabin on the auction block for the Friends of the SMVRR's Gala in April.  The name is perfect. Best bear claw. Ever.  All the commercial activity of Pine Mountain is in a small, easily walked area.      The Enchanted Forest.         Our home away from home.   A scrub jay, I'm told. From our cabin's front porch.     It was there a minute ago, I swear.       Trailhead to the waterfall.       Gnarled wood.    Gnarled rock.    We turned around when the trail became more rock climbing than hiking.     Nightmare Before Christmas?    We went to the Blues, Brews, and BBQ Mountain Festival. First up, Wumbloozo.                Wahoo!   One of the first sites entering Pine Mountain from the west.  Not far up the trail from the parking lot, headed to the peak of Mt. Pinos about 2 miles away.  There were pine cones all over the ground, and none in the trees.         We kept thinking it was just around the next bend, or over the next crest.   The tower in the distance gave us hope, but it was still a ways past it.     Tadaaaaaa!  Welcome rest at the peak: 8848 feet high. Two hours round trip for us. That might be the Cuyama area in the distance center, about 30 miles away.       There was a sign there that said, "It's much farther than you think." We guessed.  This facility was at the parking lot where we started.  Back at the wine tasting place in Pine Mountain. Mimosas!      Oh my. 375ml of champagne, OJ, and ice. The full bottle is up-ended into the OJ/ice!   Cell phone pic from the cabin window.  A selfie for our 40th at the Mt. Pinos peak.  At the summit, another trail heads out to the next peak over (Cerro Noreste), 4.5 miles.  We thoroughly enjoyed Cafe Silva Bella. This is our only shot from this restaurant.  We left our mark.  Monday morning we got a bear claw (as usual) and a couple sips of coffee on our front porch. Lynn spotted the rabbit.  Then off on the Enchanted Forest hike. The trailhead was just up the street.          Lynn finally found her walking stick.      
On our way home we got a shot or two along Hudson Ranch Road ("95") which gets you from 166 to Pine Mountain. This view is roughly looking to the southwest. This road roughly follows the San Andreas Fault. Pine Mountain is part of an interesting area geologically, where the San Andreas Fault meets the Garlock Fault and where five distinct geologies of California meet: Coast Range, Great Valley, Sierra Nevadas, Mojave Desert, and the Transverse Range.      We topped off our trip with lunch at Robert's in the Village. Yup, fabulous as usual. Jamie Foster Photography |