Credit Guide

Alpine Oasis

Card Consolidation Credit Debt As traffic crawls along Interstate 10 inbound from Santa Monica, I battle for position with coffee-crazed commuters, swerving semis and aspiring producers who caress cell phones while ignoring traffic laws and common courtesy.

Relief comes as I pass downtown Los Angeles and begin running counter to morning traffic, moving east through a thick brown fog that chamber-of-commerce types refer to as a "marine layer." Most folks just call it "smog."

Road signs announce haze-shrouded cities: Alhambra, West Covina, Pomona, Riverside. At San Bernardino, I grab 215 North, then jog right onto Route 18.

The highway climbs through dry foothills. Billboards disappear as the road narrows and enters a series of sweeping, hill-hugging curves. Highway signs document the steady climb. At the 2,000-foot elevation sign, the brown fog fades to a golden glow. At 3,000 feet, it disappears altogether.

My rental car claws its way past 4,000 feet, then 5,000. Suddenly, the world drops out from under the road. I am on the Rim of the World Highway, and only a narrow guardrail separates pavement from the valley a mile below. It's easy to see how this national scenic byway got its name.

Scrub oaks give way to tall evergreens and air temperatures that drop into the 70s. After several miles of hairpin turns and breathtaking views, I exit left onto a secondary highway and drop into a hidden valley. The narrow road winds past clusters of chateau-style dwellings, then rounds a final curve to reveal a body of sparkling, turquoise-blue water - only two hours from the grime and noise of Los Angeles to a mile-high oasis of pure air and tall evergreens. I have discovered Lake Arrowhead.

THE LOCAL FAVORITE
Over the years, a lot of folks have discovered the special charms of the Lake Arrowhead region. Native American tribes climbed up from the desert heat to hunt in this lush green valley long before Europeans arrived. Early settlers came seeking gold, but instead found a source of pure spring water.
One enterprising pioneer built a health spa at the spring's source, while others sought to tap into the water supply to irrigate the dry valley below. A massive tunneling project undertaken in the late 1800s was never finished.
At the turn of the century, the Arrowhead valley was in the grips of real estate development plan, which included the construction of a dam, the creation of the present-day lake and the parceling off of lakefront and lake-view building lots. By the 1920s, Arrowhead was a favorite vacation getaway for well-to-do Angelenos.
Today, the community of Lake Arrowhead is a 9,000-acre cluster of private homes and businesses surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest. The centerpiece of the community is the 780-acre lake.
More than 6,000 vacation homes are tucked into groves of pines and cedars around the lake, but the area is also home to about 14,000 permanent residents, many of whom have traded the heat and hustle of the valley for alpine tranquility and a lake view.

DROP-IN SERVICE
Scott Seifert moved up the mountain from Riverside two years ago to manage Lake Arrowhead Marine. It was through Scott that I first heard of the lake, and I am here at his invitation.
Arrowhead Marine is the center of boating activity on Lake Arrowhead, as well as the only fuel dock and waterfront storage facility. I drive east past the dam and look for a large metal building on the shore.
Arrowhead Marine includes a series of floating docks, a snack bar, repair shop and indoor storage racks. While its layout resembles hundreds of marinas across the country, something is different. The boat storage building extends over the water. How, I wonder, could a forklift reach the boats stored inside?
I meet Scott and the marina staff and learn that Arrowhead Marine has the world's only built-in loading crane designed specifically for handling boats. The system, which can be run manually or programmed for automatic operation, was adapted from the railroad industry, and built as a one-off by Vector Engineering of Los Angeles.
Running on a roof-mounted track in the building's center, the crane finds a specified storage space, forks the boat from the rack, then pivots, drops and moves to the over-water end of the shed. The boat is then dropped into the water and moved to a nearby slip. Total loading time: five minutes from rack to dock.
Most owners take advantage of the marina's "valet service," Scott tells me. By calling ahead, customers can schedule to have their boat launched, gassed and checked for trouble-free operation when they arrive.
Scott sends the crane after one of the dealership's demo boats. While it is made ready for our cruise, I meet Barry Lieberman, the owner of Arrowhead Marine. He tells me that there are about 2,800 boats on the lake, but the majority are used only on weekends and holidays. This Friday afternoon, we should have the lake to ourselves, he says.
Our boat is ready. It is a sky-blue 20-foot Mariah, a brand that is popular among the upscale lake residents, Scott tells me, because the builder offers a number of luxury features not normally found on small powerboats. Barry's wife and daughter, Cyndee and Kristen, join us, and we are off for a tour of the lake.

LIMITED ACCESS
At an elevation of 5,100 feet, Lake Arrowhead is fed by a mountain spring and snowmelt from the surrounding mountains. Scott tells me that the lake water is pure enough to drink. As we idle from the dock, I can easily see the bottom some 40 feet below.
Over the years, a number of films have been shot on Lake Arrowhead, such as The American President and The Parent Trap, and it remains a favorite getaway of the entertainment industry. Scott tells of famous property owners who rarely have time to visit more than once or twice a season. "We service a number of boats that get less than 10 hours of use a year," he says. "A lot of the owners are so busy, they don't have much free time to drive up and enjoy the lake."
An increasing number of people are finding time to enjoy the area's alpine climate and forest lifestyle, however, and the permanent population of Lake Arrowhead is on the rise. Tourism is the main source of employment, but there are a growing number of telecommuters discovering the valley, along with some traditional commuters who brave the one-hour drive down the mountain each morning.

PUBLIC LAKES
I spend the night at the Lake Arrowhead Resort, the valley's premier lodge, and the only hotel on the lake. Saturday morning, I set out to explore the surrounding area, with hopes of finding other alpine lakes open to the general boating public.
Route 18 takes me on a twisting, turning tour of the San Bernardino Mountains that ends at one of Southern California's favorite high-country playgrounds. The town of Big Bear is best known as L.A.'s "backyard" ski resort, but it also boasts the largest alpine lake in Southern California.
Seven miles in length, with more than 22 miles of shoreline and 2,200 acres of surface area, Big Bear Lake can handle weekend boating crowds with room to spare.
In contrast to the secluded, somewhat exclusive feel of Lake Arrowhead, Big Bear is everyone's lake. Familiar franchises line the town's main drag, and accommodations range from mid-price hotels to budget-friendly cabins and campgrounds.
Shore-side development hasn't spoiled the beauty of this mountain lake, however. At an elevation of 6,700 feet, Big Bear stays refreshingly cool even when temperatures soar into the triple digits in the desert below.
After driving through the town and circling the lake, I retrace my serpentine route to Lake Arrowhead, then take a side trip to Lake Gregory, which is small and limited to rowboats and swimming. Route 138 then takes me down the mountain by way of some impossibly tight turns, then straightens out above a large body of green-blue water. We have come to Silverwood Lake through the back door.
Situated a couple thousand feet below Lake Arrowhead, Silverwood is a man-made reservoir in a valley of scrub oaks and meadows. The lake and surrounding hillsides are part of a state recreation area, and the only signs of civilization are a ranger station and a beach store near the boat ramp.
With 13 miles of shoreline and 980 surface acres, Silverwood is a bit larger than Arrowhead, and about half the size of Big Bear. It lacks the alpine splendor of the former, and the facilities of the latter. However, it is a good place to get away from the crowds, and it is the easiest of the three lakes to reach by road - provided you don't come in the "back way," and instead take Interstate 15 to 138.
Later, back at the Lake Arrowhead Resort, I watch the sunset fade to twilight. Stars appear in the clear air, and the temperature drops into the low 50s.
Tomorrow, I must retrace my route down Highway 18 to the world of traffic jams and "marine layers." But that's OK, because I have discovered the alpine lakes of the San Bernardino Mountains, and I know I will be back, with boat in tow.

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