It was a cool January day but with amazingly clear skies except for patches of smoke from isolated homes burning wood in their fireplaces.  The smoke from those hung in the air with very little breeze.  The bottom of the hike we took the steep and rugged hiking trail up the first mile rather than the longer road since getting to the fireroad entails walking along the side of the highway.  At the summit we had amazing views, seeing over 50 miles away to Mt. Lassen and to Mt Diablo to the south as well as Mt. Tam – future hikes we could anticipate.  Already the winter had taken some toll on the summit with remnants of one antenna building strewn about below the trail.