Lockwood Creek/Miller Jeep Trail
Saturday June 25, 2005
Trip Leader
Frank Buddenbrock
Driver & Vehicle Recommendations
Saturday - Lockwood/Miller Trails
All Land Rovers are invited. Drivers should have some offroad experience, as some sections of the trail are technically demanding. High clearance is helpful, as are rock sliders. Stock vehicles should remove air dams and running boards. All vehicles must have front and rear recovery points and carry a tow strap. The trail is filled with twists and deep ruts, rocks and boulders, and steep ascents and descents. There is one drop off section with a drive around. Body damage is a possibility, depending upon driver skill.
Date of Event
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Location and Travel Info
Saturday
From Los Angeles, San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita Valley - Take Interstate 5 North to about 35 miles north of Valencia. Get off about 1/2 mile past Tejon Summit on the Frazier Park/Mt. Pinos Off ramp.
From Bakersfield, Northern California - Take Highway 99 or Interstate 5 South. Continue past the junction of Highway 99 and Interstate 5 for approx. 15 miles up the Grapevine. Get off about 3 mile past Lebec off ramp on the Frazier Park/Mt. Pinos Off ramp.
From Ventura, Santa Barbara - Take Highway 33 North through Ojai for approximately 35 miles to Lockwood Valley Road. Head east on Lockwood Valley Road for approximately 25 miles through Lockwood Valley to Frazier Mountain Road. Lake of the Woods, Frazier Park, Lebec, Gorman are to your right, Cuddy Valley, Pinon Pines, and Pine Mountain Club are to your left. (An alternative route, which has been reported to be both somewhat shorter and faster, is to take Highway 126 to Interstate 5 through Castaic and up to Frazier Park.)
From Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo - Take 101 to Highway 166 east. Continue for approximately 100 miles to Interstate 5. Take Interstate 5 south. Continue past the junction of Highway 99 and Interstate 5 for approx. 15 miles up the Grapevine. Get off about 3 mile past Lebec off ramp on the Frazier Park/Mt. Pinos Off ramp.
Whichever direction you come from, you will exit onto Frazier Mountain Park Road and head west. This will take you past Frazier Park where there are gas stations and food stores if you need them. In about 7 miles you will make a left onto Lockwood Valley Rd. In about 1 mile you will make a left onto 8NO4. On the right you will see the Mt. Pinos Ranger Station - GPS N34 48' 28.15" W119 00' 42.42". This will be our first meeting point. You can pick up an Adventure Pass here or in town from many of the stores or prior at most sporting goods stores. The pass is $5 and is required by the Forest Service for any vehicle stopping on Forest land. Rangers will issue citations to non-pass holders stopping for any reason. (That's what they told me!)
Meals Summary
Meals are not provided. Breakfast is on your own; lunch will be on the trail so bring a cooler and plenty of water. Saturday dinner is a possibility at Big John's Restaurant in Frazier Park.
Itinerary
Saturday
We will meet Saturday 9:00am at Mount Pinos Ranger Station Phone 661-245-3731. Drivers meeting at 9:30am, head out at 9:45am. First we will caravan to the Lockwood trail head and air down. GPS N34 44' 1.96" W119 02' 22.86". This portion of the trail is 8.5 miles and will immediately challenge all drivers with an uphill off-camber squeeze past a large multi colored rock. The remainder of the trail is not as technical but still has several obstacles spread throughout its length. We completed this section on the pre-run in about 1-2 hours. The plan is to take a short break and continue up the Miller Trail where we will stop for lunch at Alamo Mountain. If the Lockwood trail takes more than 2 hours, we will stop for lunch at Lockwood Flats/Piru Creek. Once we complete the Miller Trail we will have 2 options. The plan is to turn around and go back the way we came - Miller to Lockwood and back to town. Depending on time we have the option to head down Alamo Mntn, through Gorman OHV Park and back to town.
Background Links
http://www.frazmtn.com/fmcoc/climate.htm
http://www.frazmtn.com/fmcoc/snowcond.htm
Here's a couple of old trail reports - sorry not Land Rovers:
http://www.off-road.com/toyota/trips/miller/
http://www.desertexplorers.org/tr-MillerJeepTr02/tr-MillerJeepTr.htm
For More Info
Contact Frank Buddenbrock.