^ ^ ^ As you climb over this berm the faint trail is a little easier to see (but barely).

^ ^ ^ The trail goes between these two trees.

After a few more steps you come to another open area (which is quite possibly one of the downhill ski runs). Here the already faint trail tends to disappear again. The idea is that you need to cross this clearing by going diagonally down hill heading to the other side of the cleared area.

^ ^ ^ Try to pick up this faint trail going down that crosses the clearing.

^ ^ ^ If you have trouble picking up the trail again, this landmark will help.

The path you are looking for is at right-angles to the forked tree in the middle-ground. Opposite the forked tree to the right, the path goes down a slope towards what looks like a wooden bridge. From this point onwards, the trail is quite clear and very easy to follow.

^ ^ ^ You know you are on the right path when you come this this mountain-bike jump.

After this, the trail is very easy to follow for the remainder of the descent. Lower down the route crosses a large cleared area where the trail fades away and is hard to see in places. Just keep going down sticking to the ridge line. It is pretty obvious where to go even without a clearly defined trail.

^ ^ ^ A lot of time and effort was devoted to building these ramps and jumps.

^ ^ ^ They are well engineered.

^ ^ ^ A lot of building materials were hauled in for the construction.

^ ^ ^ A see-saw plank in the middle.

^ ^ ^ A close-up of the see-saw plank.

^ ^ ^ The lower ramp here was at the point of collapse suggesting these ramps and jumps have not been used for many years.

^ ^ ^ The lower part of this ramp was pretty shaky as well.

^ ^ ^ This was the first major hike for our 4-month old, female puppy, "Everest" (Evie for short).

^ ^ ^ The trail becomes less steep lower down.

^ ^ ^ A view of the PMC Meadows.

^ ^ ^ As you approach Camp Condor (in the valley in the background) there is a large open area with many fallen trees.

^ ^ ^ It becomes a relatively easy stroll for the middle section of the hike.

However, the route becomes steep again for the last quarter mile or so going down what I assume was an old fire road (as indicated on the map). There is little sign of a road now (grown over) but the trail is well defined and easy to follow.

The descent is about 2,000 feet over the length of the trail which is about about 2 miles. It is a pleasant hike with some great views. Definitely take your time on the steeper sections as it is easy to slip and slide if not taking care of where you place your feet. Even a thin bed of pine needles on hard ground can be surprisingly slippery. Likewise for loose dirt and rocks or a carpet of decaying oak leaves.

Hiking time for a leisurely descent is about 2 hours (plus breaks). We took two and a half hours with a lunch break in the middle which is probably a typical time for this hike.

You can start or finish the hike from a turnout on Mil Potrero Highway. See the route marked in blue on the topo map above. Or you can do this "blue" route as a separate, shorter hike. The trailhead is diagonally across Mil Potrero Hwy (slightly uphill) from a distinctive "fire restrictions" sign on the west (uphill) side of a turnout for off-road parking. The coordinates for the trailhead are 34.86008, -119.20231

^ ^ ^ This distinctive sign is across the road opposite the trailhead. You can see the sign coming from PMC but not driving down the hill the other way towards PMC (although you can see the back of the sign).

You can park a car at the trailhead in a turnout on your left which is 0.4 miles below the road junction at Apache Saddle (ranger station), or coming from PMC it is 2.1 miles past the tennis courts on your right.

If you are fit it is possible to do this as a loop hike. Climb up the eastern spur and descend back down the western spur (which has some steeper sections). Going clockwise seems to be the better option.