A month before this hike, I had all but given up on the idea of completing the 2020 NorCal Six Pack of Peaks. As the area around Mount Sizer had been closed due to fire damage and with Rose Peak and the Ohlone Trail being off-limits to hikers for the better portion of the year, I thought my opportunity to complete this challenge had passed. Fortunately, I found out about this alternative peak just in time.

We started from the Rhus Ridge Trailhead. Parking is incredibly limited (less than 10 spots), but somehow I managed to score a spot when I arrived just before 9:00am. The trail towards the peak was nearly constantly uphill and sometimes steep, but it rarely got very difficult. It was a prefect hike for fall.

There was plenty of room on top of the summit for all the hikers who had ventured to the mountain that day. While the views aren’t as sweeping as other peaks in the Bay Area, they were amazing in their own right. We hung out on some cool rocks, enjoyed a snack, explored some of the other trails radiating from the top of the mountain, and then headed back to our vehicles.

In total, we hiked 13.5 miles and gained 3,623 feet of elevation over about five hours. Overall, I couldn’t have asked for a better finale to this year’s challenge.