It was a cool day with clear skies — a great way to kick off peak #6. Having done the loop several times, I opted for a modified out and back, knowing that it would take me not only up “shortcut” but also down again. More on that later.

I took Fish Trail, which was a nice wide single track that dropped down from the Corral Trail and then a steady climb up to Middle Ridge Trail. I turned left and followed the ridge up past two high points of 2700 and 2900 feet before reaching Hobbs Road. Followed Hobbs down to the base of The Shortcut, where the Middle Fork Coyote Creek crossed at 1640 feet. The water was just deep enough to require about a 100’ detour to find a spot for crossing. I switched out for my poles to go for a timed ascent (26:01)  up to the bench at Blue Ridge. That was the hardest effort for me of any segment of the Six Pack—admittedly, more difficult due to the attempt at running to the top. I met a few fellow Six Pack hikers today who echoed the difficulty of the stretch. I joined a couple of them from the bench to Mt Sizer. They made a couple stops to geocache, which was cool. Evidently there are hundreds of geocaches in Henry Coe. We could see the snow covered peaks of the Sierra in the distance to the east.

After getting the requisite summit picks, I headed back to Hobbs Road for the trek back. I would submit that going down the Shortcut is also challenging. Plus, heading back up Hobbs Road meant reclaiming 1300 feet of elevation. I took a side detour to Frog Pond, which looked a bit silty. The foot traffic picked up as I neared the entrance. I got a nice picture of the park looking south near the Vista Point on Monument Trail.

It was definitely a great day for a hike with perfect weather.