Saint Helena my favorite hike so far

Saint Helena was my third hike of the Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge and so far my favorite.  Perhaps it’s because we took the opportunity to make it into a family camping trip. Unfortunately my son got sick the day of the trip  but it was still a great trip with my wife and daughter.  We stayed at the Bothe Napa State Park as I think someone mentioned on a post about hiking Mount Saint Helena.  It was a great recommendation and we will be back and maybe visit a couple wineries. 

Now about the hike.  I drove to the trailhead and arrived at the Robert Louis Stevenson State parking lot a little bit after 7:20 am.  There were already 2 other cars parked.  I started the hike up right at 7:30 am and reached the summit at about 9:20 am.  I took an early lunch at the summit since I had the entire peak to myself and enjoyed the views sitting on the rocky ledge.   

After I finished lunch I got ready for the hike back as more people started to arrive at the peak.  I hit the trail back at about 10 am.  The heat was not too bad but I wanted to fish the hike before it got too hot.  I made it back to the parking lot at 11:46 am.  The parking lot was overflowing by now and cars were parked on both sides of the road.

This was a 10.2 mile hike and I enjoyed it so much that I’m looking forward to coming back and hiking it again maybe in early spring next year, but for now I have my sights on Mount Tamalpais as my next hike.