We followed the information in blog posts and hike info on Social Hiker for Mount Saint Helena which led us to arrive at the trail parking lot on Rt 29 at 7:00 am. The directions were perfect and although we were warned to arrive early as the parking lot fills up quickly, we were the first car here on this Sunday morning. That said, by the time we started the hike 10 minutes later, there were 4 cars parked and more hikers were gearing up. When we returned to the parking lot at noon it was pretty full and little to no parking could be seen. In fact someone was waiting for us to pull out so they could park.
On to the hiking! We had a cool start at 42 degrees but the first mile ascent got our hearts pumping and we warmed up quickly. The sun was shining and we powered through the first mile of uphill, only stopping briefly to see the Stevenson memorial book.  We reached the fire road and continued a good pace until the trees opened up and the first expansive view stopped us in our tracks. That view was worth any uphill hike and the views only got better.  While sweeping the valley with my binoculars I was extremely lucky to catch Old Faithful spout a big blast of steam into the cold morning air.
The next stop was at the bubble to see the climbing routes but no climbers as we were some of the only hikers on the mountain at this point. As we continued to hike up the road there were many lupine, paint brush, and other wild flowers in bloom. The Manzanita trees farther up the trail were loaded with white flowers too. Amazing!
About half way to the top we noticed clouds starting to condense and form right before our eyes. Although it was fun to watch, it also meant clouds were building up in our previously clear skies. Just before the final climb to the summit we found a tiny patch of snow just off the trail and it was the only snow we saw.
At the summit the clouds had grown just enough to obscure the 360 degree view we had heard so much about. The wind was fairly light but as the clouds thickened and the suns rays were not getting their warmth through any longer, we were cold enough after 30 minutes, and an amazing vegan lunch from the Cozy Plum in Santa Rosa, that we packed up and headed down.
Less than a mile down the trail and we were again below the cloud, the sun peaked out here and there and the views became expansive again.  The hike down was fast and easy and we arrived at our car by noon. 4.5 hours hiking, plus 30 minutes for lunch and fun at the summit.
Great hike and happy hikers heading to Napa for treats before the drive home.