April 2021 Big Bear Today Magazine

Page 16—April 2021
THE BACK PAGE
Eye of God still sacred to Serrano, PCT
o the Serrano Indians who first
called Big Bear Valley home it was
a sacred place to worship and con- Tnect with the Creator. To miners it was
something to dynamite in search of gold.
Today Eye of the God, a magnificent
quartz megalith in East Big Bear Valley,
remains a special spot, one accessible only
to hikers or those with really good SUVs.
It rises above its surroundings and can be
seen from a distance if you know where to
look. Eye of God would be an even more
commanding sight if miners hadn’t blasted
the beautiful white dome in search for gold.
No one knows how much stone was
blown away and when or exactly who did
it, but some estimate that God’s Eye might
have been dozens of feet higher than it is
today. Even so it remains impressive as it
Views stretch for miles along the PCT
dominates the landscape. All around the
megalith there’s tiny crystal-sized pieces
of white quartz that may or may not be evidence
of dynamiting.
Two thousand years ago Eye of God
or God’s Eye as it is sometimes called,
watched over the desert-dwelling Serrano
Indians who summered in Big Bear to escape
scorching heat. To them the huge
white dome with a great view of the valley
was literally the eye of their creator
Kruktat, watching over them to make sure
they lived by moral code.
Eye of God remains an inspiring destination
for a hike along Pacific Crest Trail,
considered America’s premier long distance
footpath with 39 of its 2,650 miles
slicing through Big Bear. A moderate fourmile
(roundtrip) section of PCT from Hwy.
18 at
Cushenberry
Summit leads
to the quartz
formation,
serving up
magnificent
vistas of creation
including
Big Horn Wilderness
and
distant desert.
F r o m
Cushenberry—
there’s ample
Eye of the God, a sacred Serrano destination along the PCT
parking at the trailhead and no Adventure
Pass necessary—head south on PCT, first
ascending about 130 vertical feet up the
ridge, then descending as many feet more,
past stately Shadow Mountain Ranch. The
trail transitions from forest with pinion
pines to exposed subalpine dotted by
Joshua trees and rocky outcroppings and
rising ridges all around.
The views can be so spectacular at
times it’s easy to not watch where you’re
going. Not a good idea on previous outings
when we saw rattlesnakes, including
an ancient five-footer plus what appeared
to be a deadly Mojave green.
About a mile in a quartz hilltop serves
as a nice detour with the reward panoramic
Big Bear Today
BBT photo by John Daskam
views. The next mile mostly winds
through, up and down canyons before approaching
an open saddle with fencing and
restoration area sign. Exit the trail and hike
down to the road and follow it a short distance
to the obvious connecting trail down
to Eye of God, a gentle quarter-mile descent.
A shorter-but-less-inspiring alternative
is to walk up Burns Canyon Rd. in
Baldwin Lake. The 1.8 mile up-and-back
is a dirt road that heavy-duty SUVs can
drive but everyone else needs to hike or
bike. In any case be respectful around Eye
of God, still a sacred and special spot.
—by Marcus Dietz
Call Discovery Center (909) 866-3437