Great scenery, in the distance

The downside of this hike was primarily what a long drive in commute traffic it took to get to, and even more so to get back.  But, it was exciting to see that we were starting at a point along the Bay Area Ridge Trail in a nice and shady parking area.

We took the hiking trail directly up from there – a very steep and rugged, rocky trail for about a mile.  Fun hiking, but slower going, until we came out onto the fire road that would be our trail the rest of the way.  The local scenery along the side of the trail did include some nice wildflowers in bloom, including thistles, giant dandelions, and other natives.  But, also quite rocky and many burned out trees, leaving it rather sparse.  But that meant more view-windows out to the distance where we could spy Table Rock (I want to go there next time I am up here) and Lake Berryessa (from near the top) and the Calistoga valley.  The rounded nature of the summit meant that it wasn't the spot with the BEST views, but still made for a very nice lunch spot.

Return was down the same trail, mostly, but we stayed on the fire road until it hit Hwy 29, then crossed and found what seemed like a trail paralleling the road that took us back to parking.

If you are driving up to do this from south, I recommend you stop in at the Oxbow Market in Napa – a collection of shops and cafes.  We rewarded ourselves with great smoothies and broke up the drive a bit.

Sorry only one extra picture – this tool is buggy and thinks I reached max number, but shows the same file multiple times.  Also, complain that I can't edit my post.  Really primitive.  Since this is my last log, I am griping.