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.)