[jmg]

Originally Posted by Click_ID

Love the car and shots... Have to ask, whats your camera set up here?

Thanks! Canon R6II body, RF 24-70mm f/2.8L. It’s a new kit and so far it’s fantastic. Improving photography skills still ongoing!

[jmg]

Originally Posted by SW19

Beautiful pics.Definitely the best looking Alpine White G87 on the forum.

Thanks! I don’t know about the best, but it’s mine and I love it!

[SexyRoger]

Originally Posted by jmg

10 miles up the twisty State Route 39 in Southern California, a road popular with night drifters and speed junkies, a graffiti covered steel barrier blocks the way. That's all you get, 10 miles. The End.

While the drive up consists of some of the best canyon roads in the area, 4 additional miles of car enthusiasts heaven has been inaccessible since 1978. Past The End, the 39 once connected to the legendary Angeles Crest Highway (CA2), a road perhaps even more legendary, iconic, and notorious to car enthusiasts.

The 39 was initially closed nearly 47 years ago due to an “emergency” which is quite honestly more ominously vague than it should be! Maybe an alien spacecraft crash landed there and created an unmistakable scar on the mountainside. Maybe a portal to an alternate dimension was opened up by an experiment gone awry, and the government has things tightly under guard? Surely the conspiracies are out there, but more likely it closed due to a series of landslides that deem the road impassable to anything but emergency vehicles. Over the decades, there were plans to re-open it, but the cost of fixing the 4 mile stretch, and the decay over the years has made it increasingly difficult.

It's a bit of a shame, as what lines beyond The End on the 39 was considered one of the most beautiful drives in Southern California. That's high praise considering the company it keeps. The CA2 itself and backroads of Malibu Canyon are quite beautiful, so the 39 must be utterly breathtaking!

One day, I would love to drive it, because lower down the mountain, on the way up to The End, the 39 currently intersects with Glendora Mountain Road (GMR). GMR is popular for extremely tight and technical cuts up and down the canyon. Connecting not just two, but three of the best drives in the area, starting with GMR, then up the 39, then cutting into ACH, would be nearly 80 miles of scenic, technically diverse twisty canyon road. One could drive almost all day provided they have enough fuel!

For now, this is as far as it goes. I stopped, took a bunch of photos of my M2 at the very last patch of road, met some fellow car enthusiasts who gather here at all times of the day and night, and could only imagine what could be. As I drove back down the 39 and the sun began to set, I comforted my self with the thought that maybe this tiny fraction of 4 miles road wasn't all that great and we're merely romanticizing the unobtainable. Maybe it's just the forbidden fruit of SoCal driving roads.

Or maybe I'll just never get to drive one of the best roads... in the world.

Nice car.

[IcewaterPete]

Best post on here in quite awhile.

For the sequel we need you to go past the gates with camera in hand to see what’s out there!

[NorCalAthlete]

<sideways look at a supermoto> hmmmm.....

[DarkNight707]

Originally Posted by jmg

Fur sure! I've been going just to get some shots through the new mirrorless I got a few weeks ago. Could use your 200mm L lens too!

Stuning photos! Let me know if you want a third car but… I have no photo skills lol

Have you tried CA18 aka Rim of the World Scenic Bywy? Pretty fun and really memorable

[gh0stE92M3]

Originally Posted by DarkNight707

Stuning photos! Let me know if you want a third car but… I have no photo skills lol

Have you tried CA18 aka Rim of the World Scenic Bywy? Pretty fun and really memorable

More than welcome, I stumbled on ca 18 by chance coming home from big bear once, it was during winter so lots of traffic from the slopes… but want to try it again when it warms up.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by DarkNight707

Stuning photos! Let me know if you want a third car but… I have no photo skills lol

Have you tried CA18 aka Rim of the World Scenic Bywy? Pretty fun and really memorable

Thanks! Anyone is welcome to join us.
I’ve tried shooting in front of the HS at ROTW, but it was difficult getting the right angle. Any other spots up there you recommend?

[E63M6_G42M240i]

Ahh my backyard. Used to hop that gate and ride my bike all the way to Angeles crest. FWIW there’s a little cafe/shop (crystal lake cafe), just down the road which is a nice meeting place after that long uninterrupted drive from Azusa.

[G30 B58]

Your dialogue makes me miss ED and Splugen Pass and Stelvio Pass.

[GOLFFRR]

awesome pics, looks like a great setting also

[jmg]

Originally Posted by G30 B58

Your dialogue makes me miss ED and Splugen Pass and Stelvio Pass.

Stelvio Pass looks fantastic. I hope to drive those one day! What is ED?

[curtdragon]

Pretty cool

[G30 B58]

Originally Posted by jmg

Stelvio Pass looks fantastic. I hope to drive those one day! What is ED?

European Delivery of course.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by G30 B58

European Delivery of course.

So sad they no longer do this. Probably couldn’t with the G87 anyway!

[tnt3k]

I’ve made the drive once on a lucky weekend from La Canada all the way to 138 and it took me a good 2+ hours in the M3. Super fun and engaging drive but also full of rocks from the mountainside. Just be careful around turns as it took out my front lip and ripped the plastic bottom radiator shield off. Luckily no punctures and I ended up getting a turner steel plate out of it.

Hopefully they fix the roads and some of the greenery returns for nice drives in the future.

[DarkNight707]

Originally Posted by jmg

Thanks! Anyone is welcome to join us.
I’ve tried shooting in front of the HS at ROTW, but it was difficult getting the right angle. Any other spots up there you recommend?

A bit away from the area but the Painted Cave Road off CA154 in Santa Barbara has some amazing edgeless views. If you are up for a longer trip, CA 395 and CA89 from LA to Lake Tahoe have so many great spots and twisty roads too. A must.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by ourlee

Great pics. My fav is the seat in the mirror.

Thanks! I’m surprised no one has yet noticed something very wrong with that particular photo. Pointing it out might possibly ruin it!

[Lexwood]

Love the story and hey sometimes we want what we can’t have.

The photos are awesome though 💪💪 and you’ve brought about a change in my screen saver from red M’s to your white M 😀

Your white car against the graffiti background elements kind of gives it a hooligan feel ….. which is exactly what that car is in my mind.

[Kamryn007]

G87 M2’s such an insane car

[Kevin_The_Clean1]

This is a damn shame to hear about. Maybe someday a wealthy Billionare here in sunny California will pony up & get it fixed. Wonder if Jay Leno could pull some strings & get the car enthusiast community involved in a movement that could create some impactful change on this as well. Sure would be a fun experience. I'm sure us true car guy & gals would even pay a toll to drive on this once it got repaved & strengthened.