EISPIRATEN

I took a short hike down the Trabuco canyon trail to an unmarked trail maintained by the local mountain bikers that leads up to a unique little spot high on the bell ridge.

Yeager Mesa was a privately owned mining claim now its just a beautiful meadow lined with oak and pine trees. The mesa has great views of the surrounding santa ana peaks like Santiago, Trabuco and Los Pinos. I have hiked most of the trails in the northern santa anas and this is one of the more serene spots I have been to.

I estimate the trail was about 5-6 miles and 1200ft to the mesa and back, it only took me an hour or so to get to the mesa. I only saw one mountain biker on the trail surprising because the super popular holy jim trail is less than a mile away.

Pictures - http://www.flickr.com/photos/98779591@N ... 103614653/

http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=33.68118,-11 ... 0Peak%20CA

Great photos of the mesa!

By an odd twist of fate, I visited the mesa on Sunday, but I came down from upper Trabuco after going over Vicker BM, then back up West Horsethief trail, and over Horsethief Peak. I initially missed the Yaeger trail and wasted some time looking for it before I found it.


Yaeger Mesa from West Horsethief trail

Full report:
http://ironhiker.blogspot.com/2014/01/v ... -peak.html

I poked around for the plane wreck but could not find it, but I didn't look too hard though. Did you go up the ridge? or did you follow the trail that looks like a downhill mountain bike racetrack?

that's an odd way to do the trabuco/horsethief loop but after going down the bumpy trabuco canyon road for the 100x I think I may just come up the Main divide from bluejay like you did.

all of the trip reports I had read made it seem so distant and hard to reach, but its really close to the main trail. I'd be using this trail way more if it weren't such a hassle driving trabuco canyon.

scottawr wrote: ↑I poked around for the plane wreck but could not find it, but I didn't look too hard though. Did you go up the ridge? or did you follow the trail that looks like a downhill mountain bike racetrack?

that's an odd way to do the trabuco/horsethief loop but after going down the bumpy trabuco canyon road for the 100x I think I may just come up the Main divide from bluejay like you did.

all of the trip reports I had read made it seem so distant and hard to reach, but its really close to the main trail. I'd be using this trail way more if it weren't such a hassle driving trabuco canyon.

I didn't see the wreck going up, but found it coming down. It is just below the mesa about 10' off trail to the right coming down, on the left going up.

I reversed the conventional trabuco/horsethief loop because I hate driving that road and would rather do extra miles. Most of the trip reports I found on the mesa were biking reports without much detail, so it took me a while to find it. Cool place, though.

Man, you guys must be immune to poison oak.

the poison oak was nonexistent on my route, not sure about tekewin's his path was a little more adventurous.

Yeah, not much poison oak. There was a little on the upper Trabuco Canyon trail, but easily avoided.