Continued...

Our last day in the San Bernardino Mtns was mostly a driving tour along SR18, Rim of the World Hwy. Lots of very short hikes, all designed to get us done by noon so folks could head home from the long weekend.

Peak 5,037ft

This summit lies in the community of Cedarpines Park, south of Silverwood Lake. With a high-clearance vehicle it is a drive-up to the empty lot at the summit. The only TR available was on LoJ from John Kirk, who had driven a series of rough Forest roads up Sawpit Canyon from SR18. We did this as well, but it is not the easiest way to get there. Better is to come via Valley of Enchantment from the southeast, a mostly paved route until the final steep climb on a graded dirt road. There is a large wooden cross at the summit that has rotted at the base and fallen over. Views are partially blocked by trees, but still decent.

Peak 5,460ft

Found to the south above Lake Gregory, Peak 5,460ft is the highpoint between Crestline and Arrowhead Highlands. We drove to the end of Rockview Dr where there are two gates. We parked in front of the lefthand one which goes to the water tanks and telecom installations at the summit (the righthand one goes to a home - don't park there!). We hiked steeply uphill to the south from the gate, a 1-2 minute effort. A moderately-sized boulder serves as the highpoint.

Red Rock Wall Point

This point lies above SR18 and the Red Rock Scenic Overlook at a U-bend in the highway. The distance is very short from the overlook, but there are difficult, loose cliffs to overcome there. There is a trail system from the north that gets one to the highpoint with relative ease. There are some benches set up like pews in various places along the trail, looking like some sort of outdoor church, left in disrepair. We didn't know it at the time, but they're part of the Better Place Forests, a chain of forest memorials where you can purchase a memorial tree in remembrance of a loved one that has passed, costing upwards of $10,000 (Landmark Trees go for over $30K). My bullshit meter pegged after seeing the pricing and slick website, contrasting that with the poor state of upkeep. Anyway, our point was located in a small clearing in the center of the U-bend, surrounded by brush. Views are much better at the overlook. We spent 25min on this one, roundtrip.

Strawberry Peak

Another drive-up, found between the communities of Rimforest and Twin Peaks. There is a water tank, lookout, and telecom sites found at this ex-HPS summit. Some boulders outside the fencing serve as the highpoint. The benchmark has been paved over, but at least one of the reference marks survives.

Crest Summit

This near drive-up is found inside Rim of the World High School. The highpoint is found among some trees just north of the nearby observatory (how many high schools can boast an observatory?). This would be awkward, if not illegal, to visit on a school day. We were happy it was Sunday.

Peak 6,042ft

This one is found in the community of Sky Forest. Homes along Greenbriar Dr block much of the access options available. We found a small turnout for one vehicle on the southwest side of the summit and went up a shallow gully under forest cover to the summit in a few minutes. No signs, no fences, no views, lots of trees.

Mt. Sorenson

This summit is found north of the Heaps Peak Helibase. A paved road to the helibase is gated at the highway. It's a 12 minute hike up the road past the helibase, and then a wide, dirt trail to the summit. There is a memorial to a Scouting executive of the Los Angeles area council who served 1947-1964. TomG paid tribute to his soaring spirit.

Heaps Peak

The helibase is NOT located on Heaps Peak, inexplicably. Heaps Peak is well to the east and is crowned with a communications facility. One can drive to the summit where the high ground is found inside the fencing among a collection of propane tanks.

Peak 6,445ft

This last summit is found above the community of Running Springs. There are water tanks and neighbors suspicious of strangers. They watched us canvas the place and finally asked what we were doing. We explained we wanted to visit the highpoint, to which the neighbor responded with directions to some nearby park that we cared not a whit about. We walked to the edge of the fencing around the tanks and called it good.

We spent some time trying to visit another minor summit called Mount R, driving into the David Oved Retreat Center, blocked twice before giving up. This would be better done on foot or bike into the community where foot traffic seems preferred to vehicles. And with that, another road trip was concluded...

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