Stressful Strawberry Peak
Where do I start? I’m from the Bay Area and did the Bay Area Six Peak Challenge last year. I’m doing it again this year, but I also wanted to do one of the other California ones and I chose SoCal. I planned to fly down early, rent a car, do Strawberry Peak, then visit a friend before heading to a hotel in Pasadena just a 10 minute drive from the Mt Wilson Trail, so I could start that one early and finish with plenty of time to make my late flight home.
I didn’t find out about the crazy winds until the afternoon before my early morning flight when it was too late to cancel everything. Initially, it looked like it was less windy Tuesday morning, getting windier in the afternoon and super windy at night into Wednesday, so I figured I could still do Strawberry Peak and I’d play it by ear with Mt Wilson.
Strawberry Peak was a great, but stressful hike because about 2 miles in I got my first of many loud warnings about the Palisades fire evacuations. (While these did scare me whenever they went off, I really appreciated that I was receiving them even with no cell service!) I’m less familiar with the cities in the area, so I was wracking my brain trying to remember where Palisades and Topanga Canyon were located relative to me, but I could see the fire off in the distance and remembered that Palisades is close to the ocean, so I knew I wasn’t in the evac zone. In any case, I decided to pick up the pace and finish as quickly as possible – and I was constantly stopping to do 360 scans to make sure there were no fires near me.
I only spent like 5 minutes at the top to get a few photos with the cool signs and grab a bite to eat before heading back down. I was actually kinda jogging through many of the flatter sections of the hike and even got my time per mile down to 15 minutes at one point. The joke is that the best view on the hike is the parking lot at the end, which I usually don’t agree with, but on this hike, I was very happy to see my rental car!
As I’m sure you guessed, I did not do the Mount Wilson Trail the next day because it was literally on fire the night before. I could see it as I drove to my hotel in Pasadena, which was a seriously scary drive with lots of stuff – and trees – in the road on the way.
I’m home now, but my thoughts are with everyone in SoCal, especially those affected by the fires!
Wow, Robyn, I’m so sorry you didn’t get the chance to do Mt Wilson! I’m from Pasadena and Mt. Wilson was my favorite of the SoCal peaks that I did. I’m now in the Bay Area doing the Bay Area challenge but as I watch the devastation of the fires, I just wanted to come here and see if anyone in the SoCal challenge had the chance to hike this one yet in 2025. Strawberry Peaks is also beautiful, but wow, how stressful to have done this hike yesterday, especially with all the false peaks.
Thanks, I was disappointed I couldn’t do Mt Wilson as I was really excited to check out the observatory at the top. I’m hoping to come back and do it later this year if it’s even possible after the fire. Obviously there was no way I could hike it today and I feel awful for everyone who is being evacuated and anyone who has lost their home! I really hope tomorrow is a better, less windy day in SoCal. Hope you’re having fun in the Bay Area! There are some fun peaks here. Which ones are you doing?
Ya, I was supposed to be driving down to SoCal today, but obviously cancelled. I’m hearing of friends who have lost homes, family who may get evacuated, scary stuff! Anyway, in terms or Bay Area, I’m guessing I’ll start with Diablo as I’m in Lafayette. I’m also thinking of doing Rose and Mission, ( the Sunol Peaks) as an overnight with my BF and our dog, fingers crossed. And then I’m probably most excited to do Mt Tam!, That may come first actually, we’ll see.
I’m so sorry to hear about your friends and family! I hope they’re all doing as well as possible with everything.
I love Lafayette and Mt Diablo. I grew up in Walnut Creek, but now live in the Peninsula. Hopefully you’ll get a nice clear day for Diablo, Tam, and Mission. The views can be really good! I think Tam should also have some good waterfalls this time of year!