Distance: 6.3 miles round trip on dirt road
Summit Elevation: 5790'
Elevation Gain: 1470'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.1
Round trip time: 2 hours 45 minutes
Recommended water: 48 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at Indian Vista overlook
Difficulty: Easy
Indian Mountain (HPS #204) is in the San Bernardino National Forest south of highway 243. I looked for something easy since I was still nursing a minor heel injury that won't go away. I arrived at the Indian Vista overlook around 8 AM and was the only car in the lot. Past the overlook is a use trail that connects to Indian Mountain road about 100' below. The road goes very near the top of Indian Mountain. At first, the road drops about 500' to a saddle. As soon as I started down, I was in the middle of a gnat swarm and had to put on the bug net. I swiped at them now and then, and ended up squashing at least a dozen before the day was over. The road had very deep ruts and would have taken a skilled driver. Near the top, I found a use trail through the brush to the summit. The class 3 summit boulders were about 15'. The top boulder had a nice flake that proved useful as a foot hold to reach the top. The register was under the boulder pile in a black plastic jar. I found a US Army reference mark named Ann about 25' away from the summit under a bush. I never found the benchmark. On the way back, I followed the road to the lower summit and found a fire pit. The gnats continued to be a problem on the way back.
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