Wrightwood - a Wonderful Respite

The View on the main street in Wrightwood is gorgeous!

 With the gentle breezes caressing the High Desert on a recent Saturday, Laureen and I decided on an early morning drive to the close mountain community of Wrightwood.

Okay, the winds were howling from the south so intensely that a neighbor’s cow flew past our kitchen window. I thought they were shooting a remake of Twister nearby.

“Three straight days of gale force gusts,” I observed. “Let’s head for Wrightwood; maybe the San Gabriels will protect us?”

I remember when I moved to the High Desert back in 1987.  My new neighbor told me that I’d get used to the winds.

He lied. Time to head for the mountains for a respite.

I figured, perhaps the mountains named after the Archangel Gabriel, could possibly buffer the winds we had been suffering from day after day. This angel, according to theologians, played a pretty important role back in the day protecting all sorts of people. Maybe, he’d protect two weary residents from the High Desert from the onslaught of daily 300 miles per hour gusts.

Not sure if it was divine intervention or not, but as we drove into Wrightwood, there were no winds and a very sunny sun above us.

“See, I was right.”

Laureen peered out of the windshield as I found a parking spot. “The mountains act as a barrier; that’s why there’s no wind right now.”

“Ye of so little faith.”

Wrightwood is one of those small towns that beg a visitor just too just Keep Calm and Relax. That could be a great saying on a button. Reminder to self, check marketing on that concept.
Since it was pretty early, the town was just waking up, and parking along Park Drive - appropriate name to park – was easy.

As we exited the vehicle, we both knew that we had overdressed for the outing. The High Desert, with wind gusts of nearly four hundred miles per hour, was a rather chilly 50 degrees below zero, so we had worn parkas, lined jeans, and emus. And this was the beginning of June!
Okay, sweatshirts, jeans and sneakers, but still, with no wind and a bright, cheery sun hovering in the sky, we were suddenly overheated.

“We need to go shopping for short-sleeved shirts,” Laureen stated, unequivocally.

Wow, shopping. That was a surprise.

Wrightwood has a pretty interesting history, as do most places we travel, when you dig into the past.
This beautiful town snuggled into a long valley on the north side of the San Gabriel Mountains is the epitome of human ingenuity.

For more on the history - visit the Wrightwood museum.

In the 19th century, the area was utilized for cattle ranches started by two brothers, Nathan and Truman Swarthout. In fact, the valley in which Wrightwood is now located is the Swarthout Valley, was named after the two brother ranchers.

Later on, a man by the name of Sumner Wright – hmmm, I think there’s a clue here. Wright ended up owning the largest ranch in the wooded area. Wright saw the future of this haven of tall trees and cool temperatures, and began breaking up the ranch into commercial and residential lots. Soon, people were coming from all over Southern California to escape from the heat and crowds from down the hill.

You know, down the hill.

By the early 1920’s, a town had formed, and more and more people were flocking to Swarthout Valley. A boom was beginning. Soon, people who loved snow skiing saw a perfect opportunity on the steep north sides of the San Gabriels and Big Pines Park was developed into a ski resort in 1924. This area, originally was part of a Los Angeles County park.

From there the popularity flourished and the area nearly won the chance to host the 1932 Winter Olympics. There was a big campaign, especially since down the hill, Los Angeles was hosting the Summer Olympic Games, but no – the Olympic committee didn’t believe the area could support all that was needed to be the host of such a well-known world-wide event.

The winner for the winter Olympics of 1932 was Lake Placid, New York. New Yorkers? I mean really. Who wouldn’t rather be in California? They already had the best pizza and hot dogs, then they stole our Olympics. Don’t get me started on New York.

Anyway, Big Pines Park changed its name to the Blue Ridge Ski Area and then eventually to the more familiar Mountain High Ski Resort. This ski area, in the Swarthout Valley is one of the oldest ski areas in the United States. Who’d have thunk it?

We found a couple of shirts (alas, shopping never ceases in my world) and wandered about the town, enjoying the solitude.

A visit to the Veteran’s Memorial on Evergreen Road, was an emotional moment. A beautifully carved memorial stands proudly at the entrance, and the serene setting behind it offers the visitor or local a chance to thank all those who have served our country - past, present or future.

A serene setting to thank those who have or will serve.

Towering pine trees line the streets and fill the mountainsides – Jeffery, Douglas-fir, sugar, ponderosa, Coulter, black oak, and many more pines are there to enjoy. It’s a veritable cornucopia of pine trees. Our favorite is the Jeffery pine. If you stick your nose into the bark, there is a slight aroma of vanilla. Of course, you want to do that on the sly, when no one is looking.

Off of Pine Street is a skate park, and the Hollis M. Stewart Children’s Park. A great place to picnic while the kids run around like crazy, having fun.

The park is fun for kids of all ages.

Wrightwood is truly worth the trip, no matter the time of year.

According to a long-time resident by the name of Denice, “Wrightwood is one of those places people love to visit during any season. The winter for the skiing and sledding, and the rest of the year to hike, bike, or just to walk around and relax in our beautiful weather.”

And, Wrightwood is open! Get thee behind us, COVID-19!

“Soon, we’ll be seeing people visiting from all over Southern California again after the virus. On a typical weekend, there are huge crowds enjoying themselves. My husband and I have lived here thirty years, and we love it.”

Loving Wrightwood is easy to understand. For a day, a few days, or living there permanently, it is one of our favorite places to visit. Come on, that’s the best of both worlds.

I don’t even know what that truly means – but a trip to Swarthout Valley is a must.

Wrightwood Ride

A nice day for a bike ride - just take some Advil first!

A quaint small village of a little over 5,000 people hugs the sides of the San Gabriel Mountains which is only a fifteen mile drive west of Highway 15 and five miles west of Highway 138 on Highway 2 in Southern California (that's a lot of highways to remember). It is one of the easiest, but sometimes rather busy, drives to local skiing in California - when drought conditions don't linger on and on that is.

But Wrightwood is much more than simply a place to visit when the snows fall making all the fun happen at Mountain High Ski Resort - it's a community rich in history and a place where families can visit any time of the year for pure enjoyment.

A tenet of J and L is to visit local places. A short drive here or there can pull out gems for a family to explore and remember for a lifetime. A picnic beneath pine trees on a hot summer afternoon, a hike through natural mountain trails or just sitting bar side in a small saloon with friends wiling away a few hours with good conversation makes these short jaunts so worthwhile.

A family member once told John that they had taken a trip of a lifetime - but every trip is a trip of a lifetime.

Our intrepid friend, Paul Bakas and John decided to break their routine of bicycle riding along familiar paths and peddle their way up some rather steep mountain roads to visit this friendly little town less than twenty minutes from the abode of J and L. That's twenty minutes in a motorized vehicle - a lot longer by human muscle power working the calves, thighs and heart of both riders. A short five mile nearly two thousand gain in altitude took forty-five minutes but the return same five mile trip took an astonishingly eight minutes - it was all down hill.

Maybe 2 forties!

"Dude! That was quick - I'm not sure I peddled at all on the way back."

"Good thing we didn't take a header over the bars - we were hitting forty."

"I need a forty after that."

Something cold to look at during the hot summer

Anyway, the original inhabitants of the area now known as Wrightwood were the Serrano Indians who lived here before the first settlers made their way past the Mormon Rocks and north up through the Cajon Pass.  In the 19th century cattle ranches started to develop by the hard work and tenacity of a couple brothers - Nathan and Truman Swarthout. A larger ranch was created a short time later by Summer Wright (hmmm, Wright is right on with the name of the town) but in the 1920's others found the beautiful location to enriching and started building residential properties within the tall trees as a way to beat the heat from down the hill (that's what we call going into the Inland Empire, Orange County and beyond (or the I.E. or the O.C. if you are truly a hipster).

A nice place for Paul to get a bite to eat.

Soon some ski bums learned that the north facing San Gabriel Mountains had some wicked slopes and with a little back breaking work lifts were starting to pull (rope lifts at first before the high speed chairs) up during the snow season for hours of skiing fun. Big Pines Park was the original name of the ski area located in Swarthout Valley before it was changed to Mountain High in 1975. A bit of fascinating history was that the 1932 Winter Olympics were to be held at Big Pines Park but after visiting the Olympic Committee decided the area didn't have the experience or facilities for such a large event and instead awarded Lake Placid as the host of the 1932 Winter Olympics.

There's a Catch-Twenty-Two. You don't have the experience and we're not going to allow you to gain any either.

And maybe grab a beer too - just saying

Thousands of skiers visit the area each winter allowing the city at nearly 6,000 feet above sea level a chance to show off its' friendliness and warmth. But as stated earlier - Wrightwood is a place for all seasons as the boys proved with their bike ride on an early Tuesday morning.

Restaurants, parks, small fishing lakes, quaint shops are just a few reasons to go out and explore this mountain town with clean air and cool temperatures. It is a place which breathes 'relax' and 'enjoy' yourself.

And isn't that what sometimes an explorer just wants to do?