Joe Meyer

Checked out the upper gate near the Doble Mine. It was closed. I also contacted the VP of the 4x4 club that has adopted the trail, the Gad-Zuks. Sounds like there are both serious erosion issues due to runoff from the fire denuded hills as well as many hundreds of burned hazard trees that need to be dropped for public safety. Here is an excerpt from the email with the club VP. "Jacoby has had some serious issues due to the fire. Jacoby shortly after the fire became a Black Diamond trail which they then ran a blade through. Then the whole trail you could drive a car through it. But more run off has created more issues making the trail not drivable. Hundreds if not a few thousand dead tree’s need to come down as well."

Ran this with a stock 2008 Porsche Cayenne with ride height adjustable air suspension on oversized 31" all terrain tires. Trail rating is accurate. There are a few sections rated 2, lots of sections rated 3 and one steeper section at the south end just before it meets up with 2N02 that warrants a 4 rating. I used to drive this road all the time in the late 90s and early 2000's. At that time it was mostly difficulty 2 with maybe a few sections of 3. From my perspective I was AMAZED how torn up this road has become over the past 18 years or so. It used to be a fairly comfortable smooth road that any stock SUV could run. That's no longer the case. Now it's a rough and rocky road. Pretty obvious the Forest Service has done no maintenance on this road even though it's a primary transit route on the east side of Big Bear. I wonder if they just don't have the money for road maintenance or if there subtly trying to minimize public access with worsening road conditions.

Ran this at night, north to south, with a stock 2008 Porsche Cayenne with ride height adjustable air suspension on oversized 31" all terrain tires. Since it was dark and we were just trying to make it home through Yucca Valley, I can't make any comments about the scenery. Trail rating needs to be bumped up to 3. There are sections rated 2 but quite a bit of exposed rocks to crawl over that require a little bit of clearance and make for a bumpy ride. I used to drive this road all the time in the late 90s and early 2000's. At that time it was mostly difficulty 2 with maybe a few sections of 3. There is a lot of historical mining activity that took place in the Rose Mine area but also on the offshoot trails like Heartbreak Ridge. If you've got the time, curiosity, and willingness to stop the vehicle and hike around, there are mining holes and remnants all over the place.

Great to run this original route into Big Bear. Concur with others that the trail was mostly difficulty 2 at the time. But of course with use and rain it could deteriorate. It’s a somewhat steep route that switchbacks up a ridge with some good views across the valley to the San Gorgonio mountain ridge.