Traveling between Santa Clarita and San Diego for the holidays, Jackie and I stopped off for some gratuitous peakbagging in the western part of Riverside County around Lake Matthews. The area has a long history of rural development, recently beginning to see the more upscale suburban development SoCal is well noted for. There is a surprising amount of undeveloped land laced with dirt roads that appear to be quite popular with local motorcycle and ATV enthusiasts. There are few No Trespassing signs and fewer gates, and it seems the place is peppered with informal camping, shooting and drinking spots. There are no signs to indicate who owns the various parcels which have been abused with old couches dumped here and there, broken glass, and other trash that seem to come with being close to urban centers (Corona and Riverside, in this case). The early rains had brought green grass to much of the area and it looked quite nice for our late December visit. Jackie was feeling particularly lazy today, not accompanying me for any of the summits, even when I was able to drive within a few dozen yards on several of them. None of the peaks was more than a half mile walk to the summit and most were much shorter.
Peak 1,740ft
Dirt Eagle Valley Rd winds its way through Eagle Valley and some hills west of Lake Matthews. Lesser roads, some in good condition, fork west towards
Peak 1,740ft
and Peak 1,622ft. Both are located on quarry
property. A rough road, 
fun in the jeep,
leads one to within about 20yds
of the summit of Peak 1,740ft. A 
formidable fence
runs across the summit
between 
the highpoint and where we parked. Jackie
played in the grass
while I went up and over the fence. The quarry has literally cut the
mountain in two, leaving the highpoint unscathed but the whole
western half
has been cut away and hauled off to make gravel and sand, eventually
becoming part of the surrounding concrete & ashphalt jungle.
Peak 1,622ft
This is all that remains of what was once a bigger and higher mountain. Most of it has been carved up and it is still undergoing a slow, methodical disassembly. There are trucks and mining equipment all over the mountain.
A fence
keeps out unwanted traffic about a quarter mile from
the summit on 
the east side.
This fence is a little easier to breach than
the first one. 
The summit has been bulldozed and rearranged,
leaving some loose rocks dumped over the east side of the summit that one
must use care in ascending. After 
returning to the jeep and
collecting Jackie who was roaming a nearby hill, we started driving out
when we were confronted by an irate man in a white pickup. He was none too
happy with having seen me on the other side of the fence and wanted to
know what malfeasance I was up to. He didn't buy that I was just hiking,
but eventually came around and lightened up. It turns out he wasn't
employed by the quarry at all, but lived adjacent to it and was looking
out for their interests. He told us of vandalism that had happened
recently on the property but then veered off about some conspiracy
involving a competing quarry and God knows what else. He was smiling and
joking when we left, so I figured I'd done well to disarm him. Five years
ago this would have mortified Jackie with shame and embarassment, but
now she just takes it in stride as something that goes with the following
her dad around.
Arlington Mtn
Perhaps the lamest of the bunch, this one is the highpoint of an upscale suburban development. A municipal water tank lies at the highest point,
signed
for No Trespassing at the access road. Jackie stayed in the jeep
parked in 
the neighborhood
while I went up to check out 
the views. Nothing
much to report on this one.
Monument Peak
This was the most interesting summit, located a few miles south of Lake Matthews. A series of rough dirt roads allowed us to drive
within 40yds
of the summit. I might have been able to drive to the top, but the jeep
may have taken some strong hits to the undercarriage. There are a pair
of 
crude benches
built at the summit overlooking the lake to the north, a
few empty Bud Light cans scattered about. A fire pit completed the scene.
Just down the hill in a ravine were
the remains of a pickup that appears
to have slipped off the roadway and was never extracted, probably back in
the 1990s. The hills may have been slick from rain or perhaps alcohol was
involved, maybe both.
Gavilan Peak
This minor summit lies in the middle of the Gavilan Plateau, southeast of the lake. The left half of the plateau is occupied by a large agriculture concern with acres upon acres of plastic-covered
greenhouses. Dirt roads
criss-cross the eastern half where motorcyclists seem to have the run of
the place. We drove in on a utility road and parked at the edge of the
mountain on 
the southeast side. I was 
up and
down in short order, then we
drove to a nearby 
rock outcrop
that had caught Jackie's attention.
Partially covered in graffiti, the rock has a number of fun little
scrambling problems that we 
explored
for 15-20min before getting our fill.
Peak 2,729ft
This summit is
gated
about half a mile from the summit, making it the
longest hike of the day. There are several empty parcels for sale
along the road
leading to the top, but no signs forbidding trespassing. The top has a
small 
telecom installation and nice views overlooking the
Gavilan Plateau to 
the north,
Estelle Mountain to the west and a host of minor hills to the
east and south.
Ida Benchmark
Our last summit of the day is found east of Gavilan Plateau amongst some older, rural homesteads. A dirt road, more commonly used by ATVs, can be used to get within 0.2mi of the summit on the north side. I parked off the busier road on a spur at the base of the hill, near the
burned-out hulk
of a car. A short but steep hike leads to 
the open summit.
It might be possible to drive to the top, but portions of the
route are composed of steep, loose dirt and it would have taken some
effort - much easier on foot. I stayed only long enough to snap a few
pictures before heading down. There were ATVs active on the road below and
I knew Jackie wouldn't be too comfortable hanging out in the jeep.
I had a few other peaks in mind to do as well, but Jackie was asking if
we could be done for the day. It was after 2p and I figured the
others could wait for another time. We plottted a course for Rancho
Bernardo about 60mi to the south and headed off to Grandma's house -
Over the River and Through the Woods...