Heading toward the top of Bear Mountain, County Line Road passes through oaks and chamise chapparal.

Heading toward the top of Bear Mountain, County Line Road passes through oaks and chamise chapparal. A steep drop-off into the valley 1000 feet below awaits anyone who veers off the right side of the road. I passed an oncoming maintenance vehicle along this stretch of the road and this was the only close contact I had with another human being during my three nights out in the Henry Coe backcountry. (While at Mississippi Lake, I once also saw two people in the distance further down alongside the lake.)