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 the trail has some really fun terrain, enabling some mild climbing while being passable to all. After the first mile, you enter out of the woods and onto a service road, which is a little disappointing. Keep walking the road around the first bend, though, and the view you’re rewarded with makes the rest of the barren road trek worth it and so much more as you wind your way up to the peak. We encountered some rock climbers at one of the cutbacks and got a few pictures. The sights keep changing as you make your way back and forth on the mostly shadeless pathway and you can see the entire Napa Valley. You come to a fork in the road where you can turn left and head to the south peak or continue straight to the north peak, which is what we did. The view when you finally make it to the top of the north peak are nothing short of amazing. The overall trip was extremely fun, but I would suggest doing it before or after the dead of summer as it’s pretty easy to imagine the sun being brutal on the open roadway. I can’t wait to get back out there and check out the south peak next time!