TWIN TEMBLORS: THE LANDERS AND BIG BEAR QUAKES : Big Bear Visitors Refuse to Retreat From Recreation Plans : Quake: Only road out of mountain resort is jammed with anxious tourists. But many stay put and go about their activities in popular vacation area.

In the forested villages of the San Bernardino Mountains, the earthquakes Sunday rattled nerves and damaged homes and businesses, but many mountain-goers tried their best not to surrender a picture-postcard weekend to the dark side of Mother Nature.

There was a rush on some gas stations, and the single open road out of Big Bear was jammed with anxious weekend visitors. At the 28-bed Bear Valley Community Hospital, officials complained of strained resources, with 10 vacationing doctors and nurses called in to help with 52 earthquake-related injuries.

But in many parts of the region’s most popular mountain playground, locals and visitors alike went about their weekend business--trying hard to keep focused on the fresh air, blue skies and evergreen forests that for years have attracted Southern Californians to the mile-high retreat.

A couple in Lake Arrowhead, the roof of their summer home damaged, took advantage of an unusual lull in lakeside activity to water-ski at one of the area’s most popular destinations.

“Our immediate response was to go out water-skiing,” said Jay Connor. “The lake was empty.”

A fisherman in a dinghy on Big Bear Lake, a rustic get-away named for grizzlies that have long since disappeared, watched in disbelief when the second jolt sent fish leaping from the water in what could only be described as a fisherman’s paradise.

“All these fish were jumping around me, good-sized looking carp and a few bluegill,” said Memphis native Ben Ragsdale, who had scurried from his lodge--partially clothed--when the first temblor struck. “People told me I should have taken a net rather than a rod out there.”

Girl Scouts camping about five miles away dropped to the ground when the second quake interrupted breakfast even though most slept through the first jolt. But the girls--ages 6 to 14--quickly resumed most camp activities with no tears or panic, leaders said.

“The girls did everything they were supposed to do,” said Danielle Graham, director at Camp Osito Rancho. “They dropped and covered.”

Just as a precaution, Graham said, counselors canceled horseback riding for fear that the horses might scare during an aftershock. They also canceled a rope course that involved some climbing.

About 100 people in 50 cars found themselves stranded in a hamlet along California 38, hemmed in by rockslides that authorities predicted will block roads for days. Several motorists abandoned their vehicles and were rescued by helicopter, but most stayed put in Angelus Oaks--a town of 250 that amounts to little more than a roadside turnout--where they were treated to an outdoor barbecue by a restaurant.

“We’re doing fine,” said San Bernardino Sheriff’s Deputy B.J. Meelker from a nearby substation.

The second day of the Big Bear Scottish Festival and Games--including the popular bagpipe band competition and the caber toss--were canceled when two of the three main buildings at Bear Mountain Ski Resort were condemned.

The quakes sent chairlift cables wobbling like spaghetti and forged a three-foot-wide fissure about 100 yards across a major ski run.

“It’s really disappointing, and we’ve lost $50,000 in revenue,” said Doug Gordon, president of the games. “It’s going to really hurt us financially.”

Things got so disheartening that the crowd--looking for any good news--cheered when two portable toilets arrived on a flatbed truck. But determined to make the best of the afternoon, several dozen participants refused to leave--staying on hand to roast a pig.

As nightfall approached, the issue of leaving the mountains loomed as a big decision for many. Some nervous motorists, listening to news and traffic reports, were afraid of being trapped on a windy, mountain road if another severe quake strikes. Others feared the crush of motorists on the one open highway out of Big Bear.

Rob Megill, a high school teacher from Huntington Beach, delayed his family’s departure after hearing of bumper-to-bumper traffic. Megill said he learned of the road conditions from a motorist who tried to get out of town but got stalled in traffic, panicked and came back to wait out the night in Big Bear City.

But Laurie Passarella, whose baby is due in three weeks, left her home in Big Bear City late Sunday afternoon to go to her sister’s home in Burbank, where she hopes it will be calmer.

“I would be alone all week and I don’t want to be here for the aftershocks,” Passarella said. “I don’t want to be alone for that.”

At the Big Bear Inn, executive manager Sheila Moore said she was staying put in hopes of repairing the badly damaged chateau-style hotel before the Fourth of July weekend, usually a big moneymaker. The hotel, which specializes in music festivals, had presented a dinner-theater version of “Cinderella” this weekend.

“It was “Cinderella” last night and then this morning the fairy godmother unleashed her fury,” Moore said.

This report was written by Times staff writer Dean E. Murphy.