"Always nice to come back to places I had been to decades ago. Caspers Wilderness Park still looks the same, which is a good thing. I parked at the end of the road and started out on the Bell Canyon Trail. The plan was to go to Peak Benchmark and back. However, I took a wrong turn and climbed a small peak in the 960 foot range (East Ridge Trail). When I saw the trail ended at the peak, it was then that I realized I had gone off track. I could see my targeted peak across a steep drop off. Instead of complaining, I just shrugged my shoulders and retraced my steps to the proper trail junction and continued on the Oso Trail. Before long, I was approaching Peak Benchmark. The trail bypasses the high point, which leaves bushwhacking to the true summit. My long sleeves and long pants came in handy as I had to swim my way through the thick brush. Once reaching the high point, it is clearly marked with a benchmark. I thought about making a loop hike of the park, but I wanted to avoid the possibility of too much mud in the canyons due to the recent rain, so I returned the way I came." — MikeTeeples • Dec 28, 2019

"High point at the north end of R.Caspers Wilderness Park; the Park has a $3 day-use entry fee. My round-trip route was 8.75 miles w/1,470' elevation gain. From the end of Caspers Park Road at the Old Corral Picnic Area (425' elev), I took Bell Cyn Trail to it's intersection with Oso Trail (~2.1 miles), then took Oso Trail past the 1460' kiosk/viewpoint all the way to the base of the peak. I continued around the far side of the peak and made a bushwhack ascent to the benchmark. On the return I descended south easterly to the Oso Road; the descent route is still a bushwhack but not as steep. I made my way back to the Old Corral Picnic Area parking by taking Oso Trail to Cougar Pass (south), then SW on Sunrise Trail to Bell Cyn Trail, then south to the parking area. The return route is about 1/2-mile shorter than the ascent route. Scenic views from Oso Trail over the Park all the way to the ocean! " — BradStemm • Nov 28, 2018