Diamond Valley Lake Feb 15

I had been trying to think of a fun and different ebike ride my dad and I could do. I was initially thinking Lake Perris but after realizing they do not allow access to the dam that would enable a full loop, I looked further. Diamond Valley Lake does allow biking all the way around it forming a 22 mile loop on gravel and asphalt. Between the cool (actually cold) day, the chance of seasonal wildflowers, and the opportunity to see the interesting transect of rocks along the shore that I had not seen in nearly a decade, I thought it could be a good choice. We started counter-clockwise from the marina at about 9:30a, happy to see the place uncrowded and nearly everyone on boats leaving the trail (really just the lake circuiting access road) wide open for us. Less pleasant was the separate cost for parking and trail use and the aggressive rules to not deviate from the trail- water districts be weird.

After only a few turns in and out of bays we spotted some of the best patches of native flowers on our hike. There was also a loud acrobatic plane just beyond the lake that was making some of the boldest maneuvers I have ever seen a plane make including stalling climbs, barrel rolls, and nose dives. I had only been along the north side of the lake before leading mineralogy field trips highlighting the amazing succession of rocks exposed, one of the best places I know of anywhere to see how a sedimentary rock becomes a metamorphic one. In a 3 mile long succession you can see the rocks go from sedimentary layered sandstones and siltstones, begin to develop a metamorphic cleavage, and then gradually become nearly unrecognizable strongly foliated schists with andalusite, cordierite, sillimanite, hornblende, garnet, and tourmaline working up to granulite facies. Plus they look neat with great folds and mineral textures.

Andalusite

We decided to detour up to the lookout over the west dam, a third of the way into the bike ride before continuing one. It really is a weird reservoir with three different dams around the lake effectively exploiting isolated hills to create a lake higher than all of its surroundings kind of like Crater Lake; plus being only finished in 2003 it is one of the youngest in the West.

Going across the asphalt-topped dam was a welcome silky smooth break from the rocky gravel roads that wore down the sensitivity in our hands after a while. We saw almost no one except boaters on the back half of the ride. More wildflowers, textured clouds, and fascinating rocks continued as we meandered between coves and headlands around the lake. It took us a fairly leisurely 2hr15min to cover the 22.5 mile loop around the lake, my dad ending with about 80% battery left on his fancy bike and me with a still respectable 50%. The temperatures were borderline cold for me only being in shorts and a t-shirt but it was nice biking weather and excellent to basically have the whole place to ourselves.

Textbook quality example of an en echelon dike next to a simple one

We both were thoroughly hungry after our bike ride and so I found us a sit-down Mexican restaurant nearby in Hemet. This defied expectations with a wall of Best of IE awards, Tex-Mex decor, ceiling domes and chandeliers, and even a belt-drive ceiling fan system. The food satisfied too. After, I convinced my dad for a further 10 minute detour down Hemet backroads to the roadend for the Hemet Maze Stone. It was an interesting area with ranch estates, rocky peaks, and mature chapparal that reminded me more of inland San Diego than the IE. We were the sole car parked. Though it was a trivial 1400 ft jaunt up an old asphalt road, we had the bikes and figured we might as well use them. In minutes we were at the Hemet Maze Stone, a really well-planned high-contrast single-artist 500+ year petroglyph depicting a maze pattern set on a counter-clockwise swastika motif. Of course we can't have nice things, and so the petroglyph was vandalized with a clockwise swastika in the bottom left corner, the boulder unnecessarily defaced with a historic landmark plaque, and two layers of chain link fences with barbed wire surrounding the whole thing. It was neat to see the petroglyph at least. Thanks to my dad for a nice few hours out.