Zanja Peak P500
Pisgah Peak P500 ex-HPS
Cherry Valley Peak P500

Mar 14, 2018
Etymology
Story Photos / Slideshow Maps: 1 2 3 GPXs: 1 2 3 Profiles: 1 2 3

Starting another long desert roadtrip, I left San Jose around 7:30a and made my way to Yucaipa on the south side of the San Bernardino Mtns by around 1:30pm. I did a trio of easy hikes in the area to occupy me until nearly sunset. None were particularly exciting, but they made for nice leg stretchers and I got to explore the foothills below Yucaipa Ridge for the first time. It's an interesting area with lots of flags flying on a mix of rural/equestrian lots, upscale homes, and older, rundown areas. Loved the woman walking across the street with "I Bleed Red White & Blue" Tshirt. Sort of sums up the area. The weather was overcast across most of the state and quite heavy around Yucaipa, so views were rather limited today. The air was quite fresh from the recent rains and the smells of chaparral nicely filled the air.

Zanja Peak

This is the highpoint of the Crafton Hills, a small collection of brush/grass hills between Redlands and Yucaipa. The summit and most of the hills are part of the Yucaipa Regional Park of San Bernardino County. There is a trailhead off Oak Glen Rd that had a few cars when I arrived. There are a number of trails one can hike around the hills, most going over Zanja Peak. I went up one route (old firebreaks) and down another (mostly a single track), for a nice 4mi loop. The summit has a few benches to relax on and take in the views.

Pisgah Peak

Located on private property about 7mi east of Zanja Peak, Pisgah Peak was an HPS summit unceremoniously delisted in 1988 when the private property became an issue. I started from the saddle on the northeast side at the junction of Raspberry Ln and Pisgah Peak Rd. The latter is gated not far from the pavement end, so I simply started from there. The gate is signed for No Trespassing but the road appears to be infrequently used, perhaps not at all anymore. The road winds its way up the summit in a little over 2mi, an easy grade considering the summit is only half a mile from the starting point as the crow flies. There is a second gate just below the summit also signed for No Trespassing. I suppose these signs are why there are no TRs on PB since 1984 despite more than a dozen ascents in recent years. The summit is a bit sad and forlorn-looking. There is the foundation of a home near the top that looks to have been razed by a fire. There are stacks of building materials - concrete blocks, pavers, roof tiles and bricks - scattered about the place as though someone was going to rebuild at the summit but never got beyond staging the heavier materials. It's pretty overgrown and the picnic bench looks rather lonely. I was partially in the clouds so I had only a weak view looking to the south. I imagine the views are probably quite nice most of the time. On the way back I took a few shortcuts to bypass two long sections of the road. Much faster on the descent.

Cherry Valley Peak

This unofficially named summit lies above the rural community of Cherry Valley about 4mi southwest of Pisgah Peak. I tried several places on the northeast side of the summit to reach one of several trails or firebreaks running up the ridgelines, but had no succcess there. I eventually ended up on the southeast side at the end of Mountain View Ave. There is some parking here mostly used by the owners of a couple of homes at the end here. Plenty of room for a few visitors. Informal trails head up steeply from here, eventually leading to the summit ridge in about half a mile. There is a tall flagpole with flag waving at the south summit. The LoJ highpoint is a quarter mile to the northwest, but I couldn't tell which was higher and didn't take any GPSr readings. Decent views all around on this one. It appears one can take the trail continuing on the ridge to the north, but I'll leave that to someone else to determine where it starts and whether there are access issues. No idea who owns the lands here or, if public, what agency manages it (or in this case, ignores it).

Continued...


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