Mount Saint Helena
Started at 6:45 AM. Reached the summit in approximately two hours. First mile was a little bit of a scramble but was well-shaded; after you…
Category: 2020 NorCal
Stinson Beach to Mt Tam
The first 4 miles of the hike are some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever seen. The trail is very well maintained. I started…
Mt Diablo Pre-4th Hike
This hike is tougher than the southern hike to the peak. The path through Eagle Peak is a challenge. It’s rocky in parts which makes…
Independence Day Eve
Mt. Umunhum was a great way to kick of the Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge! The trail was dry and a but dusty – more dirt…
Mt Diablo Solo
I had a quick something I wanted to do in Dublin but I didn’t want to make a special trip. Then I realized Dublin is…
From Beach to Peak…
Gorgeous climb through numerous ecosystems, as one AllTrails person put it. So fun to get back and soak our toes in the cool ocean waters.…
Mt Tamalpais
Phoenix Lake to Eldridge Grade to the parking lot at the top, then the short climb to the fire tower. Eldredge Grade is rocky with…
All Alone at Rose Peak
Great day, definitely a better hike when it’s cooler. Wind/breeze at the top of the mountain felt great! Definitely recommend going in the morning (early),…
Mt Tam in the Time of COVID
Hiked with my daughter, who I hadn’t seen since shelter in place began. This is the farthest I’ve been from home since I did Mt.…
Mount Umunhum
Started in the evening at approximately 5:00 PM. Reached the summit in about an hour and a half. A well-shaded hike. Not too crowded. Bugs…
Nice shortcut
The day started pretty foggy but it cleared up before too long. We did the clockwise loop and it was a challenging hike, but I…
Mt Diablo Summit
This was my first time to the Summit. It is technical but Overall was a great experience.
Rough Day at Sizer
Long hot day, 90 degrees. Trail was exposed for long stretches, and no water out on the trail. Ran out of water around mile 13,…
Easy Mt Umunhum hike
Part of my training for 29029 Everesting coming up. I had been working from home during Covid-19 and fell off the routine so Mt Umunhum…
Saint Helena
started at 8:20am. Took about 5 hours with a large break at the top. Beautiful shaded trail the first mile, little to no shade after…
Mt. U
Parking lot is filling up quickly! We got there at 7:30AM and only 3 overflow spots left. The parking lot was full. A lot of…
Mt Tamalpais
I signed up for the challenge with 3 of my Girl Scout backpacking leader friends. Two of us were lucky to have done our 3rd…
Juneteenth at Mt Umunhum
Parking was lot of kinda empty when I got there at 11am. I saw a lot of folks on the trail coming back, when I…
Mount Saint Helena
It was 90+ degrees when I did the hike even when I started early. The trail was moderate in terms of difficulty and there are…
Just a walk in the park
The hike started in a typical San Francisco fashion, fog was all around and we could see it rolling in the sky. That also helped…
Doing it backwards
There was zero parking at 9am at Bald Mt parking. So we drove to the top and hiked down to the start and then back…
Rose Peak 2020
Breezy day made for a nice summer hike to Rose Peak. First two miles congested with Little Yosemite visitors and then it clears out. Enjoyed…
Rose Peak rendezvous
Beautiful day in the low 70s, beautiful sky. Great trail except for some parts that were like a deer trail in the tall grass, and…
Diablo – finally open
The Mount Diablo parking lots were recently opened so I didn’t know if there would be a rush of people going or not. The park…
Mt Umunhum
Clear day. Tired after 28.5 miles and 8k ft of climb the day before. Hiked down the mountain past the car after to pass 40…
Mt Diablo Extended Loop
Took the long way! Hiked up and then around the back of the range of peaks, 28.5 mile loop with 8k ft climb. Couple washouts…
Mount Humun-hummingbird
My friend and I had a great day in this hike. We saw a rattlesnake and plenty of butterflies.
Mount Humun-hummingbird
My friend and I had a great day in this hike. We saw a rattlesnake and plenty of butterflies.
Mount Sizer
Hiking Sizer is pretty awesome! It was raining and tough on the legs but all 5 of us got through it and felt accomplished. The…
Mt. Saint Helena
Great overcast day, occasional sun, and a little damp and foggy at the summit. Took 4 hours total (would be a different story on a…
Mount Sizer 2020
Hot with limited shade. Parking was not yet open so I hiked in. Very quiet hike with ample elevation challenges. Bugs were everywhere. “Shortcut” appeared…
Umunhum Mahna Mahna
Beautiful day. Great to be outdoors. Trail is very well maintained and easy to walk on. Nice grade all the way. Not too many people.
Diablo Rattlesnake Pass
Hike Crew: Brad Fogel, John Masdea, Anders Pers, Eben Strousse The Good News: The road to the top of Diablo was closed due to Covid-19,…
Grand Loop of Mount Diablo
This was the so-called “grand loop” of the Mount Diablo area. It’s also known as “four peaks” or “six peaks.” Starting from one of the…
Mt. Tamalpais 2020
Overall gorgeous hike! Due to lot closures and overcrowding (with suboptimal social distancing) I opted to break up this hike. Came back and had better…
Solitude
I didn’t see anyone on the trail on my way up until I reached the parking lot right below the peak. Weather was nice. Good…
Rainy day on Mt Umunhum
It was a dark & rainy day, which I quite enjoyed. Having not known much about Mt Umunhum previously, the Cube appeared through the mist…
Mount Diablo
Most of the entrances to Mount Diablo remain closed. Fortunately, you can still get to Mitchell Canyon Road. There are only two parking spots (for…
1st challenge in 2020
On 5/16/2020, 1st time challenge Mount Diablo and 1st hiking since COVID-19. The weather is great for hiking not too hot nor too cold. However,…
Mt Tamalpais from Stinson Beach
First time up Mt Tam from Stinson Beach. (At the time, the Mt Tam roads & parking lots were all closed, so a route from…
Mount Umunhum Trail
The dream came true! Mount Umunhum 26 km hike, the longest for now. 5 hours of mountain retreat.
Beautiful day at Mt.Umunhum
The dream came true! Mount Umunhum 26 km hike, the longest for now. 5 hours of mountain retreat.
Mt. Umunhum
Arrive early to to find parking and for better views (as fog dissipates with the sunlight). We arrived around 8AM and there were only 3…
Saved the Best for the Last – Rose Peak
A gorgeous day, high 70’s with a light wind and sunny. We were so excited to be able to complete our last, 6th summit, and…
Mount Umunhum
Trail conditions were good. It gets really hot so glad there was shade throughout the hike.
Mount Saint Helena
The approach is prettier than the hike, but the views at the peak make up for the exposed fire road that makes up much of…
Four down, two to go!
Pretty easy hike, not too many steep parts and mostly wide open service road as a trail. I hiked with three friends who do not…
Mount Saint Helena
Everyone was super friendly along the trail. Go early if you want to avoid the afternoon heat and best to wear proper hiking shoes.
Mount Saint Helena
Amazing hike with our family of 5! Mom and Dad and 3 Boys ages 10, 11 and 13 are going to have a great time…
Since I couldn’t do Rose Peak…
I was mentally prepared to do Rose Peak, but was unable to get a permit and it doesn’t look like I will be able to…
That’s no short cut!
The road in was closed, so had to park on a turnout and hike into the park. Took me a while to find my way…
The Barely Legal COVID Hike
Mt. Umunhum is in an open space preserve and with all the CA state parks virtually shut down, this was the only legal Norcal Peak…
Mt. Saint Helena: Hikers; Rock Climbers, and Remains of the Santa Rosa Fire
A long drive to the trail head, over 2 hours…. but at least the parking lot was open (COVID -19 didn’t affect the parking). Weather…
Mt. Tamalpais via Stinson Beach: Shelter in Place makes hiking more difficult
After having done both Mt. Diablo and Mt. Sizer Summits this was a relatively easy hike; 15 miles with only 2,850 vertical. Plenty of parking…
A Good Friday to conquer Mt Diablo
My first visit to Mt Diablo was a success. The park is closed, so i had to park a mile down the road in a…
Mt. Sizer – Fog, Creek Crossings and Snakes… what an adventure
The weather was in the mid 50’s, perfect for hiking, but quite foggy. We saw a lot of wild boar destruction and footprints. We encountered…
Rainy snowy hike
Second time up here in a week, took the shorter tail this time. Raining all weekend but not during the hike, though visibility was next…
Making Mount Umunhum hike harder than it really is :)
Another perfect day of hiking. However my group started at the wrong parking lot, so instead of a 7.4 mile, 1150 vertical hike to the…
Mt Um why did I do that?
Started from the Woods Road trail head in the Almaden Quicksilver Park side because I didn’t realize the Sierra Azul entrance to the trail was…
Beautiful Day at Mt. Diablo
Weather was perfect, sunny and around 60 degrees. Since the parking lots are closed due to the virus we parked in a nearby neighborhood and…
Diablo on a clear day
Decided to practice social distancing along with exercise. Beautiful day on the way up and down. Hazy to the East, so the Sierra was not…
Napa hiking, it’s real
Beautiful weather for a little walk in the park. I was impressed at how many people were on the trail considering the “shelter in place”.…
Mount Saint Hell Yeah!
Peak 2 in the bag! It was a perfect day to summit Mt. Saint Helena. The trail begins with about a mile of incline over…
Hike 1: Mt. Umunhum
Had a great time today hiking with my cousin, Roxy! It was a bit cold and sprinkling during the first half of our hike, once…
Mt. Diablo Quadruple Peak
The trail was in great condition. There seemed to be many more people on the Northeast side than on the Southwest side.
Six Pack #4 – Mt. Diablo
Given that hiking is now deemed an “essential activity,” it seemed quite appropriate to conquer Mt. Diablo this weekend. The weather was cooperative, the views…
Incredible views of San Francisco!
I could not have asked for better views! It was a great day for hiking and photography! Highs around 60F, plus very clear air and…
Mt. Umunhum is Snow-Tacular!!!
It all started with a conversation with my ex-girlfriend that centered around trying to come up with an activity on St. Patrick’s Day that did…
Run up Mt. Umunhum in under 110 minutes.
Upper 40s at the start. At the top, it was windy, foggy, and wet. I could not see the views from the top but luckily…
Mount Um I Can’t Feel My Face!
The day started off clear at the trailhead, but it wasn’t long before we were in the fog. As we got within a mile of…
Mount Tam
17 miles, 28k steps and only 3 other hikers. Some trail runners and a few mountain bikers.
Mt. Sizer Loop Counterclockwise
Almost forgot to log this one. Hiked with Christine just before the shelter in place order took effect. We spent the night night before our…
Coronavirus panic? Take a hike!
On a normal weekday, getting from San Jose to Mt St Helena would involve some serious rush hour traffic, during the 120 mile journey. Everybody…
Mt Sizer One More Time
Last November Laura and I did Mt Sizer to support our friend Jenny who was working on her first Six Pack Challenge. We packed in…
The one where I met 30+ cows
Gorgeous, exposed trail. Rolling hills remind me of hiking in the Bavarian Alps.
A Foggy Day on Diablo
Today I hiked to the summit of Mt. Diablo. This isn’t my first time on the summit of this mountain. I’ve driven up a few…
Run up Mount Saint Helena in under 75 minutes.
Left at 8:30AM and had the trail to myself. It had rain the day before so the trail was not dusty. The first and last…
Mt. Diablo
We started the hike at 10am, later than expected. We did not carry enough layers and forgot the first aid kit. It rained and was…
Mt. Sizer
Even with rain in the forecast, we decided to go for Mt. Sizer and finish our six pack of peaks. We had some rain, but…
Mount Umunhum
Due to intermittent rain throughout the day, the trail was a bit muddy throughout. The ascent was gradual and very pleasant. Due to fogginess, the…
Mt. Umunhum!!
Hoooray!! Mount Um! ⛰ Was raining on and off for my hike 🌧🌧 & the song ironically floating in my head was “I can see…
Mount Saint Helena
It is a beautiful Hike. We got lucky to meet with no rain but snow fall. What an amazing experience. Gradual and wide Trail.
The one where I almost missed the summit
I went counterclockwise. Nice day. Saw one backpacker the whole 16 miles
The Camping Trip that turned into a Summit Hike
I somehow failed twice on this trip to actually camp despite the fact that my original plan called for two nights camping. Mt. Diablo closes…
Rose Peak – Challenge complete!
Perfect day to hike to Rose Peak to complete the six pack of peaks challenge. Took us 4 hours to the peak and 3 hours…
Rose to the Occasion
Conditions were a bit chilly and breezy but suited the terrain well as the long exposed stretches would be difficult in the heat. Trail was…
Summit Pizza is the Best Pizza
Decided to solo summit Mt. Diablo only two days chain-smoking free. 13.3 miles, 6 hours and 56 minutes (slow af). Met amazing people including a…
Mt. Ummmm 🤔
I began about 10am and the weather was perfect. I eventually took off my hoodie and was comfortable in my tank. The hike was perfect.…
The one with the parking lot at the summit
Well maintained trail. The elevation gain kicked my butt. Went clockwise as recommended by other hikers on AllTrails
Weekday is the right time!
Midday and midweek was the bet for having the trail and summit mostly to myself. There were maybe six cars in the parking lot when…
#3 Mount Tamalpais Again
I must be super lucky. No wind, no rain, perfect weather. View was a bit smoggy due to an inversion 🙁 Great company. Got to…
Mt. Ummmm Baby
Beautiful day for a hike! A bit chilly but moving made us warm! Didn’t see wildlife or flowers but most likely due to time of…
Talk about Diablo!
We hiked the mt. Diablo base to summit loop. The weather was perfect. We ended up off trail at some point and had to scale…
Mt. Saint Helena
Wow! LOVED this hike. Beautiful day with nice trails and few people. My favorite of the 6 so far (finished 5)! Be sure to come…
Came for the summit. Ended with a glass of Champagne!
Perfect weather for a nice hike. The old logging road to the summit was wide and easy to navigate and the summit with its sweeping…
Mt. St. Helena
My friend and I hiked Mt. St. Helena on a cloudless Sunday. The air was warm and the trail was dry. The first mile of…
Three to go! Get ’em done before it gets hot!
Sitting at home saturday evening, thinking about what to do on sunday. I pinged a few friends to see if they wanted to do Mt…
The mist, the racers and 2 happy hikers!
Aloha! The weather was fabulous today – a combo of blue sky and fast moving fog. There was a race today on Mt. Umunhum so…
#6 Rose Peak, Again
First hiked from Del Valle and this time from Sunol. Most of the this hike was on fire roads. Not technical. Park opened at 7:00…
Above the fog at Mt Tamalpais
Great hike – some rocky bits and some steep parts especially near the top. There are several stone staircases as part of Fern Creek Trail.
MtUmunhum
This was my second time to Mount Umunhum, this time a month earlier in the year and via the easy route; so I got to…
Six-Pack #3 – Mt. St. Helena
Beautiful day for a hike – nice temperatures and clear skies. And a great excuse to spend a little time exploring Napa Valley and sip…
Rose Peak
Back in December I did this hike to support my friend Jenny, who was registered for the 2019 Challenge, in foul weather. Because of Jenny’s…
Rose Peak: better weather makes it better
Last time we did this was in the rain! This time the it was cool, sunny, and beautiful. We hiked in Thursday afternoon and camped…
Rose Peak
We hiked in 3.2 miles to the Sunol backpackers camp on Thursday afternoon. Up at 5:30 and on the trial at 6:30. Watch the sun…
The one where I didn’t drink any wine
Great weather today. Don’t hike this in the summer, the trail is fairly exposed.
Rose Peak in 1 1/2 Days
Hiking with Christine, Laurelyn, and Jenny Penny. Spent the night before summiting at Eagle’s Eyrie backpacking camp at Sunol. In from Sunol to Eagle’s Eyrie…
Mount Saint Helena for #5
First mile of trail is wooded with a little bit of rock scrambling. The rest of the trail is wide open fire road with a…
The “Right” Way Up Helena
Not our favorite hike but has potential for great views on a clear day and the drive through Napa wine country was beautifully rustic. Best…
Umunhum
It was a bit warmer than I expected for the Bay Area. Definitely didn’t need my jacket. The trail was surprisingly busy for a Thursday…
#6 Rose Peak
This was a beautiful, long hike. We accidentally parked 1-1/2 miles away from the start so, added millage. Del Valle didn’t open until 7:00 AM.…
Beautiful hike along the ridge to the summit of Mt Diablo
We hiked a Clockwise loop from Mitchell Canyon visitor Center. We started hiking along the Eagle Peak Trail which goes along the ridge line of…
Mount Umunhum
Trail was great, not to difficult not to narrow. Weather was great but a little windy at top.