2024-10: Crystal Lake Recreation Area

Milestones

• 22nd camping trip in 22 months (SHOW ON MAP)
• 16th county in California.
• 1st time taking celestial photographs while camping

Stargazing – Bortle Class 4

This location has a much better Bortle Class than my backyard (Class 7). For reference, Class 1 is the best. I was really looking forward to seeing more of the sky than ever before.

• Triangulum Galaxy
• Pacman Nebula

My First Bear Encounter

I won’t bury the lead…. a 200lb bear came up to my tent at 8:30pm. When I saw the shadow pass by, I thought it was a raccoon. So, I unzipped my tent and saw this bear 3ft away from me, acting very curious. I always recharge my wheelchair overnight with my Jackery Portable Power Station (293Wh which can restore my wheelchair after “all-day” usage). Well….. the wheelchair charger has several LED lights that blink constantly to indicate the state-of-charge (SOC). Apparently, flashing LEDs were very interesting to this brown bear. He/She paced back and forth in front of my charger, trying to figure it out. I was peeking out of my tent wondering if I was going to be mauled.

I did the only thing I could think of… I zipped up my tent, crawled into my sleeping bag, and held my breath. The only thing worse I could have done was to have pulled out my camera phone and taken a flash photograph. I’m sure that would have gone over really well. But, my “devil-may-care” attitude caused the bear to lose interest. A few minutes later, the bear returned, and like an idiot, I peeked out again. I repeated my previous “winning strategy” and ultimately survived to tell all about it.

Now, you may think I am exaggerating (which I tend to do when telling stories). However, this bear was easily twice as big as me, and the next morning… I found this next to my picnic table:

OK…. this wasn’t deposited the previous night, but it shows I was in “bear country”… without the jamboree!

If anyone tells you what they would do, if confronted by a bear… ask them if they actually ever have. Reality is a whole different experience than imagination.

Besides the BEAR!!!!… the Camping was Excellent

The campground is within the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. There are more than 600 archeological sites within the monument. The monument also has a strong scientific history. Mount Wilson Observatory is internationally known as the place where notable scientists such as Edwin Hubble and Albert Einstein conducted research or visited.

I arrived around 4:30pm, and the whole place was empty. Eventually, only one other camper-group showed up. I was very pleased by the almost-pefect solitude, crisp “Fall” weather, convenient surroundings, and natural beauty.

I drove to Crystal Lake on a one-way road. I got within 500ft, but I couldn’t see it. Interestingly, it is the only naturally occurring lake in the San Gabriel Mountains. It is snow and spring fed and has no other artificial means of being replenished.

Post-Script:

Currently, the only species of bears in California are black bears (they range in color from blonde to black, with cinnamon brown being the most common color). However, the black bear is a surprisingly recent arrival to SoCal. Though well at home today in the region’s mountains, black bears are not native to Southern California. Instead, all descend from 27 specimens captured in Yosemite National Park and released in the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains on Nov. 15, 1933. Six bears were released at Big Bear Lake, six more were released a few days prior near Crystal Lake north of Azusa, and others were released in Santa Ana Canyon, with a total of 27 Yosemite bears eventually released in Southern California’s San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains.

Post-Post-Script:

According to www.bearvault.com, there have only been 180 fatal human/bear conflicts in North America since 1784. That’s an average of 0.75 deaths/year.

It’s estimated that there are around 900,000 black bears in North America. Since 1784 there have been 66 fatal human/bear conflicts by wild black bears. Less than a dozen non-fatal conflicts happen each year, and the vast majority of encounters end with zero bodily contact. Why? Because black bears are far more likely to run away from you than engage. If you do happen to see one you can usually just enjoy the view as it leaves the area.

The chances of being attacked by a bear are about 1 in 2.1 million. In fact, you’re more likely to be killed by a bee or another human than by a bear.