I had heard that the road to Lupine was open and in decent shape, but I called the Forest Service on Friday to see if this was still the case. The lady who answered told me it was closed due to bad conditions. Trusting this information, I immediately informed John and Jeff that we'd have to hike in from Guffy Campground. But John, who went up a day early, replied that the gate was open and he already had claimed a camping spot for us. This was a relief, but now I have zero confidence in what the Acton Work Station tells me.
Saturday morning I picked up Jeff in Claremont and we were on our way by 7am. After a stop in Wrightwood for last-minute items, we took the dirt road to Lupine. This was Jeff's first time on the Blue Ridge Road and we stopped for a couple photos of the views.
The descent into Prairie Fork had two interesting sections, a spring crossing with large puddles and the Prairie Fork crossing itself, which was dry but very rocky. My Honda Pilot made it with no issues. I'd caution against taking a sedan down this road, but we actually saw people in a sedan at Lupine, so it's possible. I still don't recommend it.
We met John at the campground. He had picked out the best spots away from the toilets. After hanging out a bit, we put our packs together and started hiking down the road to Cabin Flat.
There were hunters around, but we didn't see anyone en route to Cabin Flat. Below Lupine the road deteriorates, with rough bypasses for downed trees. The tire tracks ended fairly quickly, as trees and brush narrowed the path in some sections. I attacked a few overhanging branches with the machete, but really the trail is fine for hikers, pretty much a road the whole way.
It was a gorgeous day, and at one point we could hear the stream flowing again. The road made a u-turn and approached Cabin Flat, which used to be a large, developed campground. The outhouse is still standing.
And further down the road remains a picnic area with several tables.
Someone had left a suitcase here. We used it to pack out a bunch of garbage.
A path led down to the stream, which was flowing nicely.
I found an abandoned wildlife camera with corroded batteries, so I hauled it out. It died in 2020, having accumulated 15 gigabytes worth of pictures and videos--mostly of deer and squirrels, some humans, a couple shots of a bear's hindquarters, but nothing truly amazing.
After our break at Cabin Flat, we went hunting for the Native Son Mine and found it. You have to crawl inside, but after fifteen feet or so you can stand upright. It goes back a few hundred feet at least. We stopped once the water level reached above our shoes.
Getting to the mine required more machete work and some easy scrambling up and down a steep slope.
We made it back to Lupine and celebrated Jeff's birthday with cake and tequila.
I guess I liked the Cazadores tequila because I got fairly plastered. Jeff made a Ramen bomb so I could eat something hot, and John helped me set up my tent before the expected rain began falling. I remember trying to say words during dinner, stumbling a lot, and then crawling into my tent. Then I passed out drunk.
To be continued...
Maybe the tequila helped? We'll never know.