#13 Limerock Peak

Approaching Limerock Peak.

Southern California Map

Driving Map

*Parking in Lopez Canyon Park is 3 miles from I-210 via Lopez Canyon Rd.  Take the Paxton Street exit.

Google Maps Parking Link

Trailhead parking coordinates: 34.31584°N, -118.38104°W.

Peakery Link: Peak 2806, 2,806 ft.

Hiking Stats:

Trailside view of Peak 2806 & Limerock Peak.

Summary

The trail begins in the upper parking area of  Lopez Canyon Park.  Adjacent to the parking lot is the trailhead which eventually leads toward Limerock Peak via Kagel Truck Trail.  After starting out as a road, it becomes a single track for about three quarters of a mile before connecting with Porter Motorway.  At that point, Kagel Truck Trail becomes a road again.  From there, the road passes through landscape that had been burned fairly recently, leaving behind a lack of shade. 

Peak 2806 view while on the way up Limerock Peak.

The road winds its way into a pass where there is what seems to be a helicopter landing platform (which looks like a giant thread spool).  Once reaching the "thread spool", take a right and leave the road behind.  A use trail heads toward Peak 2806 from there.  The summit is not very hard fought for, but clearly beyond is a clear view of Limerock Peak.  From there going forward, the rest of the hike is via use trails.

Taking a use trail up the ridge to Limerock Peak.

Peakery Link: Limerock Peak, 2,969 ft.

On the summit.

A well-defined use trail follows the ridge the rest of the way to Limerock Peak.  There were a few short lived steep sections before topping out at a pile of rocks marking the summit.  An active shooting range is below, making the visit a bit uneasy with all the bullets popping. For the adventuresome, the trail continues past the peak to the east and drops into the next canyon.  When ready, simply return the same way.

The trail keeps going beyond the peak.

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Simulated Hike:

#12 Sugarloaf

Approaching Sugarloaf.

Southern California Map

Driving Map

*Parking at the entrance to Lopez Canyon Rd is 2.8 miles from I-210.

Google Maps Parking Link

Trailhead parking coordinates: 34.31431°N, -118.38240°W.

Summit Link: Sugarloaf, 2,087 ft.

Hiking Map

Hiking Stats:

Summary

As far as peak climbing hikes go, this is probably one of the easiest ones that I completed.  To get to the starting point,  park off of Lopez Canyon Rd right at the entrance to Lopez Canyon Park.  There are two vehicle gates on two dirt roads.  Either one will get you to Sugarloaf, it's just that one is a better option than the other.  The one to the east is the better option.   A road goes straight to Sugarloaf from there. 

On the summit.

The road passes below the small peak.  The only real question is when to begin climbing.  There is a notch on the west side that allows for a quick scramble.  However, the best way to go is the walk the dirt road to the east side of the peak where a clear trail goes right up the side and onto the wide summit.   The true high point wasn't obvious, so I walked the plateau from end to end and felt satisfied that I had climbed the mountain.  Afterwards. I dropped down the east slope.  There are good views of nearby Limerock Peak, which would make a great addition to the hiking outing on the day if willing to put in a little more effort.  I paired this hike with the hike to Limerock Peak to round out the day.

Summit view looking south.

Summit view looking north.

Video:

Simulated Hike:

#11 Mount Davis

Approaching Mount Davis.

Southern California Map

Driving Map

*Parking on David Mountain Road is 1.4 miles west of the I-10/79 intersection.

Google Maps Parking Link

Trailhead parking coordinates: 33.91839°N, -116.99254°W.

Peakery Link: Mount Davis, 2,838 ft.

Hiking Stats:

Hiking Map

Summary

From the intersection of Highway 79 and the 60 Freeway in Beaumont, go south on Highway 79 for a half mile to 1st Street.  Make a right and continue to David Mountain Road.  Parking right at the junction of  Westward & David Mountain Road is a good call.  The dirt road that is David Mountain Road led to a series of hills that had radio towers on each. It is easy to visit each before heading to the end of the road along the ridge where Mt Davis stands.

Arriving at the first hill.

The peak is crowned with radio-like towers. Before reaching it, the road degrades greatly, making it an actual hiking destination.  Although it is a low summit, views of the surrounding hills and open spaces fill the eyes from the top.   This is an area that has more open spaces to wander if the desire is there.  When returning, come back on the same route.

The ridge leading to Mount Davis.

On the summit of Mount Davis.

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Simulated Hike:

Hike #10: Mount Rudolph

Approaching Mount Rudolph.

Southern California Map

Driving Map

Trailhead parking coordinates: 33.81781°N, -117.09343°W.

Google Maps Trailhead Link

Summit Link: Mount Rudolph, 2,595 ft.

Hiking Stats:

Hiking Map

Approaching the summit.

Summary

To get there, I picked up Contour Drive heading east to where it intersected Warren Street.  Warren is a dirt road that heads closer to Mt Rudolph.  However, after about about a mile, the road got rougher and off road enthusiasts become more abundant.  Where Warren intersects Pulsar Road, I parked off the side of the road and began the hike.  I followed a dirt road all the way, although it wasn't clear as to which dirt road I needed to take along the way.  Some cris-crossing dirt roads made things a little confusing.  However, once Mt Rudolph was in sight, I stuck to whichever route got me closer to it.

A taggers welcome sign.

This area is popular with off-roaders, which completely outnumber hikers.  The road approaches Mount Rudolph from the west and passes the peak on its south side.  The road gains a ridge and gradually elevates to the summit.  Taggers found this summit long ago, but fortunately the expressions with spray paint did not alter the views too much.  Typical great Inland Empire views spill out below.  More wandering around in the area is always an option.  However, to wrap up the visit, it is a matter of returning the same way.

Summit views.

A tagger enhanced summit view.

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Simulated Hike:

Hike #9: Vulture Crags

At the Vulture Crags overlooking The Luge Trail.

 

Southern California Map

Driving Map

*Parking on Modjeska Grade Rd is 5 miles south of Silverado Rd, or 10 miles south of Highway 261, via Santiago Canyon Rd.

Google Maps Trailhead Link

Trailhead parking coordinates: 33.70498°N, -117.63733°W.

Peakery Link: Vulture Crags, 2,178 ft.

Hiking Stats:

Hiking Map

Summary

The hike to Vulture Crags is essentially a trail without a parking lot.  At least not one nearby.  Typically, visitors park on Santiago Canyon Road and take a steep hike up a paved road to get to the true starting point on Santiago Truck Trail.  However, instead of doing what everybody else was doing, I wanted to drive by the trailhead to see what it looked like.  I drove past several hikers and bike riders on the road leading to the trailhead.  Once I saw where It would begin, I kept driving past it.  About a quarter mile past the trailhead, I saw a pullout on the side of the road with two cars parked in it.  Most importantly, there was an open spot big enough for another car to park.  I helped myself to the spot and used that as the beginning point of the hike, which saved me a long climb up the paved road.

Approaching the crags.

One thing I noticed right away was that this is a very popular place for mountain bikers.  I was definitely in the minority as a hiker.  I did see a few other hikers, but there were several groups of mountain bikers.  The trail follows the wide dirt road back into the hills, where there were often mountain bikers slowly pedaling their way up hill.  At certain times, I was walking as fast as they were pedaling.  Along the way, there are parallel side trails which elevate to high points above the road.  I veered off the road a few times for a change of pace instead of sticking to the road, which got monotonous at times.  

Approaching Peak 2400.

At about 3 miles, the trail passes below Peak 2400, which is the highest point on the hike.  Climbing it first is optional.  I was determined to get to Vulture Crags first, since that was my primary destination.  The Vulture Crags location location was not obvious, but I knew if I saw that flags that were planted on the trail, that the Vulture Crags are found on the opposite slope.  So when I saw the flags across a chasm, I knew that if I saw the flags on The Luge flag pole (at the top of an intersecting trail to the east), then the crags are on the slope to the right.  Sure enough, there they were.  I veered off an embankment right off the trail and approached the crags while going up slope.  It was a short but tricky scramble to reach them, but when I did, I took photos and some video.  This was the turnaround point.  The plan from here was to visit Peak 2400 on the way back.

On the summit use trail.

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Peakery Link: Peak 2400, 2,400 ft.

When approaching Peak 2400, I found a good use trail below the peak.  I headed up to the top on the use trail, where there was a tall summit pole and a cement block that appeared to once have a benchmark on it.  This marks the highest point in the hike,  Just like that, this completed the two summits.  The rest of the hike involved retracing steps back to the trailhead.

On the summit of Peak 2400.

Video:

Simulated Hike:

Hike #8: Ranger Peak

Approaching Ranger Peak

Southern California Map

Driving Map

*Parking is 11.25 miles south of Interstate 10 on FR FS05.

Google Maps Parking Link

Trailhead coordinates: 33.83791°N, -116.81169°W

Peakery Link: Ranger Peak, 5,020 ft.

Hiking Map

Hiking Stats:

Setting off on foot.

Summary

After driving over 11 miles from Interstate 10 in Banning, continue south on Highway 243 to FS05, right before the Vista Grande Fire Station.  I turned right on this dirt road and parked after about 100 yards or so in a large parking area.  It is actually possible to drive the rest of the way to Ranger Peak with the proper vehicle, but that is better left to hiking. 

On the summit.

The mostly flat hike leads to the summit of Ranger Peak.  Radio towers stand tall near the high point, but on the true summit, portions of a foundation remains.  I'm not sure if this was a former fire lookout or not, but distant views are really good.  Returning the same way wraps up the hike with with low mileage.

Summit views.

Video:

Simulated Hike: