Coe is amazing, and this early trip to Sizer was no exception. Tough terrain, fantastic views of ridge after ridge in every direction, an incredible sense of openness, uncrowded trails, fantastic trees, … A tremendous hiking destination in every dimension. I ended up with 19.5 miles and 5,400′ of elevation gain on the Garmin on our hike/run/geocaching expedition to Mt. Sizer. Perfect winter weather, with coolish temperatures, plenty of sunshine, and light winds. A great day to be in Henry Coe. I teamed up with fellow geocacher/runner/hiker Scott for this adventure/challenge. I've been to Coe before (six trips in 2021) but never to Sizer or the Blue Ridge before. The Six Pack challenge provided great motivation for getting us out there. We started at park HQ just after sunrise. Outbound we took Corral and Flat Frog to Hobbs, then Hobbs up and over Middle Ridge, steeply down to cross the Middle Fork of the Coyote, then the steep ascent to Blue Ridge and on the cache. On the way back we diverted further along Blue Ridge Road in both directions to find geocaches, and headed out to Skeels Meadow and the park boundary. We finished back at park HQ just before sunset. We made steady progress throughout, stopping to search for (and usually find quickly) geocaches along the way.

It was great to see the Middle Fork flowing well. At the crossing, we met up with Don, a trail runner who was also doing the Six Pack Challenge (with an impressive 5 under his belt already). While we trudged up the Shortcut, he ran up, but then we saw him again up at The Bench where Hobbs meets Blue Ridge Road. Then a spectacular, viewful amble along Blue Ridge with the snow covered peaks of the Sierra to the East and great views of the Coe backcountry to the Southwest. At Sizer, we snapped a few photos, and then headed off for a few geocaches that were nearby. Then the long down, up and down journey back to HQ, with a few side trips to pick up more geocaches here and there.

For Scott and me, our first peak of our first Six-Pack Challenge. Look forward to doing more. Thanks to all of you doing the Six-Pack Challenge for the inspiration.