Bedford Peak

[Girl Hiker]

Last Friday, I drove to the Cleveland National Forest to summit Bedford Peak. It's been on my list for some time. It stands at 3800' but it's a decent workout with 2000' of elevation gain. I invited my friend and we started on the Silverado trail. The gate was open so we didn't have to walk the extra 10 minutes to the trailhead but the main parking lot was taped off. Most of the trail was exposed but loaded with wildflowers especially Mariposa Lillies. It was a perfect day for hiking, not very hot and we enjoyed cool breezes along the way. Once again we were pretty lucky to be the only ones on the trail. When I reached the summit, I wasn't too thrilled. No register and I was disappointed that I missed the nearby benchmark according to the posted sign. We tried to spend some time on the summit and enjoy our snacks but I was attacked by biting flies. I didn't have repellent so I must have been bitten 50 times. We tried to soak in the views of the Channel Islands and Lake Matthews but it wasn't a pleasant experience for me. However, there was some excitement that morning. We saw a helicopter land on the helipad. Not sure what they were doing but it took off within 10 minutes.

[tekewin]

The benchmark used to be there in a loose piece of cement, but has been gone a long time. Same with the register.

The sign was placed by Mark Allen and has only been there a couple of years. He hand makes signs for a lot of the lower peaks list.

Bedford's not very exciting but as you mentioned, a good workout. I like it as a trainer.