Peak 35B - Inaja Hill - A short hike with great views
Inaja Hill
Elevation: 3,418’
Mileage: .6
Trailhead: Inaja Memorial Picnic Site
Agency: Cleveland National Forest
Date Hiked: 9/21/2022
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Update 2022: This peak replaced Oak Benchmark, which is often plagued by poison oak and is also a fairly short hike.
09/21/2022
I was looking for an easy peak to replace Oak Benchmark, I’ve heard reports that it has been overgrown with poison oak since my summit in May of 2010.
I scanned the map and saw a peak that I had driven by many times over the past decade or so. It was called Inaja Hill. The trail starts at the Inaja Memorial Picnic Site at the top of the grade just east of Santa Ysabel. I imagined it would have a nice view down into the Santa Ysabel grasslands.
It is a picnic area that I am very familiar with, having visited there as a rest stop with my younger daughter on the way to places farther east. I’ve also used it for bio breaks after a lengthy morning drive from home, since there is a restroom there near the picnic tables.
This morning, there was some road work on the 78, so I had to wait in a queue just a couple of hundred feet away from the entrance to the picnic site. After a few minutes, I was able to drive up the rest of the hill and turn into the picnic area.
It was an early morning on what was promising to be a warm day. My last real hike was exactly a month ago, so it was refreshing to be back up in the mountains. The cool morning breeze smelled wonderful as I got on my pack and headed up the trail.
A nice trail through the manzanita
There were numbered markers on the trail, but there were no brochures, but I imagine that they described the various plants that grew along the trail. There are some junctions along the way, but it’s really a choose-your-own adventure. As long as you’re going up, you’re on the right path.
The view down into the Santa Ysabel Grasslands from Inaja Hill (Click to enlarge)
The view of the San Diego River Gorge from Inaja Hill (Click to enlarge)
In a matter of minutes, I was up on the top, but not without some great views south into the San Diego River Gorge and west down to the Santa Ysabel grasslands.
I scoped out some familiar peaks in the distance while I ate my breakfast in the cool morning air.
I explored all the trails and headed back down to the car. View to miles, it was a pretty good bang for the buck.
Inaja Hill Trail Map (Click to enlarge)
