Trip Report
I needed to be in San Francisco for a Oracle conference. That area was experiencing good weather, so I went 2 days early for some California county highpoints. My plane arrived in San Francisco at 10am.
I grabbed my rental and headed for Mount Tamalpais (Mount Tam as it is referred to by locals). Mount Tamalpais is has over 2000' of prominence and is the highpoint of Marin County. In addition to that it is a bay area landmark and popular playground for Sunday drivers, mountain bikers, road bikers, hikers, and even rock climbers.
I drove the road up through the state park. Some of the views along the Pacific Ocean were incredible, with green hills contrasting with the blue waters of the ocean. I then drove to the saddle between the 2 peaks and hiked to the east summit first. The trail to the summit had some people on it, but not too crazy. The lookout on top was neat and the views were incredible. You could see the entirety of the bay and even downtown San Francisco. The weather was clear and it was warm. I would have stayed to enjoy, but I had more plans for this beautiful day.
The west summit is off limits, but you can get fairly close along the fenceline.
My next peak was Mount Saint Helena. Mount Saint Helena contains the county highpoint of Napa county on a spur ridge near the top. The actual peak itself has nearly 2000 feet of prominence and is famous for its good views.
After a nearly 2 hour drive from Mount Tamalpais, I arrived to the trailhead. The trailhead parking was over-filled and I had to park further up the road like hundreds of other cars. It was 2:30pm and I had 10 miles of hiking to do and 3 and a half hours of light... better get moving!
The route to Mount Saint Helena starts as a trail. About .7 miles up this trail meets a memorial for Robert Louis Stevenson, who lived in a cabin nearby at some point. After the memorial, the trail got a bit steep and rugged before meeting up with the road, which leads to the summit.
Normally following a road is kind of boring, but with a need for speed to beat darkness, it was a good thing today. Plus the scenery was great.
I followed the road up in gorgeous weather... blue skies and around 55 with a slight breeze. The road wound around the mountain and eventually led to a saddle where I could see "East Peak", the highpoint of Napa county. I initially bypassed the lower peak and headed for the highest summit. The views were great. I could see the bay, Mount Tamalpais, and Napa Valley. I had heard that on clear days you could see Mount Shasta hundreds of miles to the north. At first I didn't see it, but then there it was.
The highest summit was climbed first by Russians in the early 1800's and named Mount Mayacamas. There was a plaque on the top discussing that. After some photos, it was off to the east peak to claim Napa County.
By the time I finished with the smaller peak, the shadows were getting long and the sun was about to set into the Pacific. I rushed down the peak. I was a bit nervous about the trail hike through thick forest in the dark. By the time I reached an area where a bunch of rock climbers were climbing I realized they were still there. I felt some relief, safety in numbers I guess. Then I started passing people going UP the mountain.
The last mile was indeed dark, but there was just enough light left to do it safely.
I finally got to my hotel at 8pm, after a lot of miles of flying, driving, and hiking. What a great day!
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