Mount Conness

DATE: Sunday, October 10. 2021
DISTANCE: 15.14km / 9.41 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 948m / 3111'
TIME TAKEN: 9:45
INYO NATIONAL FOREST
HOOVER WILDERNESS
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK
MONO COUNTY, CA
TUOLUMNE COUNTY, CA
NORTHERN PAIUTE, WESTERN MONO AND CENTRAL SIERRA MIWOK STOLEN LAND
SOUNDTRACK: Uzala: Ice Castle

SUMMITS:
• Mount Conness: 3837m / 12,590'
• Puppy Dome: 2670m / 8760'

PHOTO ALBUM
MAP




...continued.

Mount Conness is a striking mountain on Yosemite’s eastern border, the highest peak in the Sierra Nevada north of Tioga Pass. Though the mountain has massive cliffs on two sides, there are also class 2 and class 3 options for reaching the top. Conness had been in my crosshairs for some time now, as I quixotically pursued my quest to climb my first 12er only after I had climbed my first 11er, and so on. Conness was to be the first 12er, due to its relatively short approach, not too difficult climb, and epic scenic beauty. Due to my retreat from my intended overnight trip to Black Hawk Mountain and Granite Dome the previous day, it opened the gate for me to do a day hike today, and Mount Conness it was to be.

I awoke in my van at the parking lot for the seasonally closed Sawmill Campground, which was to be my trailhead for today's raid on Mount Conness. The peaks of the Conness Crest gleamed in the dawn light, heavenly granite frosted with October snow. It was 8:30AM, and I started off, through the ghostly silent campsites in the snow, there was a decent path to follow at first. It was cold, but Lee Vining Creek was flowing, and I used a casual log bridge to cross it. Just past 9AM, I came up to a curious dilapidated structure that looked like it had been saved from falling over only by the tree next to it. The trail kind of drifted off after this point, and it was cross country through (usually) light and (sometimes) deeper snow. I angled myself uphill to gain elevation to Alpine Lake, per the GPS track I was following, but I didn't angle up fast enough, and I ended up below some big cliffs with impressive boulder rockfall and even some icicles too. Light scrambling now, cross country uphill to Alpine Lake. I was there at 10:30AM. The going past that was slow. A thin covering of snow on the talus field, so I had to be careful not to step through an invisible hole in the rocks and snap my ankle. It wasn't enough snow to just walk over the top of everything, each step had to be considered.

I blame the elevation, somewhat (Alpine Lake is already over 11,000 feet), but more so my general out of shapeness, and possibly the residual effects of yesterday's illness, for my slow going that day. I was now frequently out of breath, and having dizzy spells. So, it took me like, two hours to make it from Alpine Lake, up the east ridge of Conness, and over the lip of the plateau. The snowy rocks added to my difficulty, because I had to find a route up, clearing snow, route finding, climbing, etc. so it was after 1pm, I finally got on the plateau and had some easy going, walking across the comparatively flat expanse in mostly shallow snow. Straight shot to the summit column now, it was right in front of me, like a twisted granite barrel, over 12,500' in elevation. It had been 1300' of elevation gain from Alpine Lake to the summit plateau, BTW. In merely 15 minutes, I had walked across the plateau, to Conness' shoulder, where there was some kind of stone monument / structure, or possibly the remains of a bench?

Now connecting onto the S-curve "staircase in the sky"  southeast approach to the Conness summit, I was privy to dizzying views of the big wall cliffs on the SW and north sides of the mountain, they fell away to either side of the narrow ridge I was upon. I'm sure the "staricase" is a class 2 walkup in normal weather, with maybe some low class 3, but covered in snow, the steps weren't obvious, and I had to pick my way slowly and carefully up, due to the exposure on both sides. I must have taken a long break somewhere in there, don't recall exactly, because I did not reach the summit until 2:30PM. Baby's first 12er! I savored the views all around, I was higher than anything else close by, dilligently dug the summit register ammo box out of the snow and signed it. I wasn't gonna let this one go.

I came down the staircase, just as I had come up, following my footprints in search of solid rock. I followed close to my same route getting down the east ridge, not that it mattered, one path was as good as another, as long as I avoided cliffs. I did not descend elegantly or efficiently, it was a combo of kicking steps, nasty postholing, sliding on my ass, and scrambling down the rocks that were exposed. I changed course when I saw another human being down there, so I decided to say "hullo." It was a man with a dog that would not stop barking at me. I guess the guy was heading up Conness, also, but on a pretty late schedule, seemed like he would be returning in the dark. He said something about drinking a lot of tequila last night in Sonora, and that the dog didn't like my orange hat. So I bid him "bon chance," and continued down, sticking higher (farther north) on the ridgeline than on the ascent, and ultimately meeting my old path down at Alpine Lake.

I don't know what took me so long to get back, analyzing the timeline of my photographs now, months later, it doesn't make sense. I guess I was pretty beat from my useless 17 miles hike the day before, and now my climb of Conness in the snow. Maybe I'm too hard on myself. Back to the van. Down to Tuolumne Meadows to see if anything was still open (fuck no). I decided to climb up Puppy Dome in the twilight for an easy bonus peak. Then, parked by the shores of inky black Tenaya Lake, I cooked myself an excellent dinner of ramen, salami and cheese sandwiches, and dark chocolate for desert. Then I went to sleep at a reasonable hour in the van, parked in a dark trailhead parking lot on Tioga Road.

To be continued...

FURTHER READING
• Mount Conness on SUMMITPOST and PEAKBAGGER
• Puppy Dome on SUMMITPOST and PEAKBAGGER
• Iron Hiker also does the east side approach

Point 7360+

DATE: Saturday, October 9, 2021
DISTANCE: 27.7km / 17.21 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 11992m / 3910'
TIME TAKEN: 9:30
SUMMIT: Point 7360+ (2243m+)
STANISLAUS NATIONAL FOREST
EMMIGRANT WILDERNESS
TUOLUMNE COUNTY, CA
CENTRAL SIERRA MIWOK, NORTHERN PAIUTE AND WASHOE STOLEN LAND
SOUNDTRACK: Cannibal Corpse: Force Fed Broken Glass

PHOTO ALBUM
MAP

*Note: The header photograph is NOT of Point 7360+ (I did not get any good pictures of that rock). The photo most likely is of a shoulder / false summit of Relief Peak that I admired along the way.


The stars had finally aligned, the fires were out, the smoke was gone, there was snow in the Sierras, and I had two and a half free days to get my ass up to the mountains! The only bad part was having to pick a place to go, with so many options available. The passes were actually closed at the moment, which presented some limitations, but I knew I could get to Kennedy Meadows, which was well below the closed Sonora Pass. I had just been to Kennedy Meadows, but under the constraints of a group / party trip, and so I was eager to go deeper, on my own time, now with my first solo overnight backpacking trip, and catch Blackhawk Mountain (SPS) and Granite Dome (my personal California Domes list). So, I left home the night of Friday, October 9, stopping in Manteca for cheap gas and snacks (snacks which may have been my downfall). I stopped to get my wilderness permit from the freezing cold, dark, closed ranger station at Pinecrest, then on to Kennedy Meadows, where I bundled up against the freezing temps, and passed out in the van at the backpacker's parking lot. I awoke to the beginnings of stomach pains that would shape and define the rest of the day. I had not gotten to sleep until very late, so I allowed myself to sleep in, and I didn't get an early start. Also, I just couldn't resist getting breakfast at the Kennedy Meadows restaurant, the novelty of getting a country breakfast, at a trailhead, on the edge of the fucking wilderness! After all this, according to my photographic timeline, I did not start hiking until about 10:30AM! WTF!

As I started hiking, the pain in my stomach grew worse, and now I realized that this was like the thing that had happened to me in Arizona earlier in the year. It got worse and worse, I felt like I had eaten a bag of nails, and my body was trying to digest it. It had already begun before breakfast, so I don't blame the restaurant. I soldiered on towards Blackhawk, and it got worse and worse. My only possible guess as to what caused it was that I had developed a very bad reaction to jalapeño flavored potato chips (last night's snack), which would be a devastating loss from my pantry if it were to be removed. (SOMETHING LIKE THIS?) When I got to the point on Huckleberry Trail where I would cross Summit Creek, and start cross country to Blackhawk Mountain, I sat down to fill my cantine, and just crumpled in withering defeat as the knife twisted in my guts. I decided to turn back: this wasn't fun, and I had nothing to prove to anyone. Eight miles from the trailhead, and nothing to show for it. All the way back down I went, with my tail between my legs. I eventually stopped again for another break, closer to the south end of Relief Reservoir, and by this time, I realized I was actually starting to feel better. Now that I had hiked half way back. AWAY from the mountains. I still continued back, but I now focused on salvaging the day somehow, anyhow.

At the north end of Relief Reservoir is a significant crag / cliff, nameless as far as I knew. (We shall call it Point 7360+) I was feeling energized now, finally, at 6PM, 630? And I cut over on some use trails to make it to this rock, so I could climb it. this must have been the main trail at one point, because I came across an old bridge over summit creek that looked very sketchy, so instead of using it, I rocked hopped across just downstream. The old trail continued visibly towards the nameless rock; when I got close, I dropped my pack and did a light scramble up the south (easy) side of the rock. There were quality views of the surrounding mountains and the encroaching dust, and to my surprise, a plaque embedded in the top... dedicated to the racist, white supremacist, Indian killing, homophobic John Wayne! Ewwwww! This sure is cowboy country, isn't it? Now that I had climbed something resembling a summit, the day was no longer a total failure. I got back on the old trail, which went down, down, into the meadows by the river, and split into many branching trails, probably for / from the cows. At 7:30PM, I was at the middle fork Stanislaus River, on the wrong side of it to get back to main trail, and I burned a stupid amount of time looking for a good place to cross, until I finally just took my damn boots off and walked through. Now I was about to come back into the cowboy village of Kennedy Meadows, I had wasted a whole day and a wilderness permit, and the idea of going back up again the next day, repeating the same trail, was not too appetizing.

I decided to go for a different plan. I went to the Kennedy Meadows front desk, and asked the lady if she knew if Sonora Pass had opened. She said "Yes, but it's colder than a witches you-know-what up there!" That was the information I needed to take the next step, and I hightailed it back to the van. My failure that day had opened the door for an unplanned triumph tomorrow. I drove over Sonora Pass and down into Bridgeport, got on 395 South and saw the electronic sign that told me Tioga Pass was also open. So down I went to Lee Vining, and then up towards Yosemite. I crashed out in the van in the cold darkness, just off of Saddlebag Lake Road, at my trailhead for the next day. 

...to be continued. 

Chalone Peaks

DATE: Thursday, May 13, 2021
DISTANCE: 22km / 13.67 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 1047m / 3434'
TIME TAKEN: 9:30
PINNACLES NATIONAL PARK
SAN BENITO COUNTY, CA
CHALON, OHLONE, RUMSEN, AMAH MUTSEN STOLEN LAND
SOUNDTRACK: Church Of Misery: Cerebrate Pigs

SUMMITS:
• North Chalone Peak: 1007m / 3304'
• South Chalone Peak: 996m / 3269'


PHOTO ALBUM
MAP






I was embedded in a party camping trip to Pinnacles National Park, wherein most of the attendees were more interested in dropping acid and swimming in the campground pool. As this was my fourth visit to Pinnacles, I had something more profound in mind (not that dropping acid wouldn't have been profound in it's own way), visiting the high point of the park for the first time. Also, my friend Rob Coons was coming to meet up, and he suggested extending the hike to include the infamous "Pig Fence Trail." And so it was to be. I met up with Rob in the parking lot at about 7:00AM. I knew Rob as an avid photographer of many local punk and metal bands, but secondarily, I knew he was a big time hiker, so it was only a matter of time before we teamed up for an expedition, there being so few punks / metalheads around willing to hike more than a couple of miles or even get up early for that matter. And so, we were off. Going up Bear Gulch past the talus caves and through the patch of giant boulders to the reservoir. Past this point, to me, was new territory. The Chalone Peak Trail was well maintained, graded, and good time was made heading up. Now with elevation gain, views of the High Peaks, to the north, and Mount Defiance to the east. Views then opened up to the west of a thick fog belt settled down over the Salinas Valley. It was just after 9AM when we reached the lookout tower on Chalone Peak North. It was very civilized, for a mountaintop, with a bathroom even. But we were about to go beyond the civilized world to a realm of unspeakable cruelty. JK. Nice view now to South Chalone Peak, too, our next stop. The sign said 1.6 miles. The way that Rob wanted to go had us skipping Middle Chalone Peak, but I didn't lose too much sleep over that.  

We hiked down the fire road, and then cut up a steep brushy hillside to the true summit of South Chalone, where an assortment of unidentifiable garbage was strewn. Among it all, there was actually a small summit register. Nice view back to North Chalone now, and the fog was dissipating over Salinas valley. Just beyond South Chalone Peak was our entry point to the pig fence. It was now 10:30AM. We had discussed the pig fence, and were prepared. The leather gloves came on. There seemed to be a better trail on the other (south) side of the fence, so climbed over and followed it, almost straight due east. The fence is not the boundary of the park. We could see the fence plummeting east over the undulating hills, and we just followed along it. There was usually a trail alongside it, from people coming to work on the fence, presumably, but in some places that "trail" was so steep we had to cling to the fence for dear life. It was nearly 1:30PM by the time we got to the bottom of the thing, and it was hot, dry. We didn't have much water. We had been deposited in a dead zone at the eastern border of the national park, at dry Chalone Creek, there was supposedly a trail there, according to some maps, but it was hard to find or follow, and there was some blundering about. I had been hoping for the relief of a return to a real trail, but that did not come until almost 4PM, when we officially emerged onto to the South Wilderness Trail's dead end. 

It was now wide open to start trucking back ASAP, but it was hotter, we were out of water, and we still had several miles between us and the vehicles. Luckily, a water spigot was soon found when we got close to the road, and from there, refreshed, we continued west on the Bench Trail. Through the valley we went, then up through the Bear Gulch Trail, through a rocky ravine area that was dry now, but I imagined could be quite charming in the rainy season. Not long after that, we were back at the parking lot, it must have been 5 or 6PM, and we went back to snack and drink with the remaining stragglers back at the campground. Amber had already gone home, in disgust apparently: when I caught up with her later that night, I found myself in trouble, because I had basically been absent the whole camping trip by showing up late the night before, and then being gone on the hike all day that day. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FURTHER READING
• North Chalone Peak on SUMMITPOST and PEAKBAGGER
• South Chalone Peak on SUMMITPOST and PEAKBAGGER
• Stav is Lost takes on Chalone Peaks

Elephants Back

DATE: Sunday, May 9, 2021
DISTANCE: 4.83km / 3 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 331m / 1087'
TIME TAKEN: 3:00
SUMMIT: Elephant's Back 2921m / 9585'

ELDORADO NATIONAL FOREST
MOKELUMNE WILDERNESS
STOLEN WASHOE LAND
ALPINE COUNTY, CA
SOUNDTRACK: Bison: Stressed Elephant

PHOTO ALBUM
MAP









It was Mother's Day, and neither me nor my little brothers had a functional vehicle, but we though it would be prudent to go visit our mother for her titular holiday, so I rented a tank-like, new style Toyota 4-Runner, and off we went to Jackson, CA. We had a fine Mother's Day dinner that night, but we also used the afternoon to try out the snow shoes we had all gotten for Christmas. For some reason, we had never gotten the chance to use them until now, and the winter's snow was going fast. We went to old familiar territory, Carson Pass, with the moderate goal in mind of Elephant's Back. Short, easy. To use the most direct path, we had to take the snowshoes on and off a few times, but they were mostly useful, and we got a good feel for them. 

The shoes stayed off for the rocky slope of Elephants Back, where a faint use trail presented it's self and took us to the top, where we enjoyed panoramic views of Round Top, Red Lake Peak in the distance. An Anchor Porter bottle was passed around, a funeral rite for the classic old label design which was to soon become extinct (What's this about? Click HERE.). We then descended the way we had come up, mostly, Zuma the dog enjoying the snow as usual. Then, after returning to the 4-Runner, it was the familiar cruise down Highway 88, back to Jackson for a nice dinner with Mom.

FURTHER READING
• Elephants Back at SUMMITPOST and PEAKBAGGER
• "Visit Lake Tahoe" profiles Elephants Back

Mount Saint Helena

DATE: Saturday, May 1, 2021
DISTANCE: 15km / 9.32 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 742m / 2433'
TIME TAKEN: 6:10
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON STATE PARK
NAPA COUNTY, CA
STOLEN WAPPO LAND
SOUNDTRACK: Archon: Helena

SUMMITS:
• Mount Saint Helena: 1324m / 4343'
• Mount Saint Helena South Peak: 1280m / 4200'
• Hole In The Rock: ?

PHOTO ALBUM
MAP







Mount Saint Helena had been on the hit list for a very long time now, it being the crown peak of the North Bay, and the second highest peak of the Bay Area (not to mention the Napa County high point). It required a visit. It was also high time for a hike with my brother, Alex, and since he was a weekend warrior, we set off that Saturday morning, the first of May, I picked him up from his apartment in San Francisco's Western Addition, and we were off, cruising the highways major and minor, arriving at the Stevenson Memorial Trailhead at 9:25AM, We didn't waste any time getting onto the well constructed trail, which had been engineered with well crafted steps and switchbacks, rising through a forested belt of oaken woodland that had been spared from the recent fires. Within 25 minutes, we were getting up out of the trees, and now had views to the east of the table rocks, and Calistoga Valley from the south to the north. In less than a mile, the single track trail ended, and the journey continued on a dusty fire road. At the western point of sharp switchback, we came to a big rock, and decided to do some gratuitous scrambling. This was fun, but also very lucky, because it gave us a view of a feature called Hole In The Rock, which we probably wouldn't have seen otherwise. The landscape in this area had been burned over, and there were faint climber's trails through the brush, so we decided to visit the enticing rock feature in the distance. We plied the rocky tracks and added more class 3 along the way, maybe unnecessary, but there was a fixed rope at one point, which means we weren't the first to go that way by any means. By about 10:30AM, we were at Hole In The Rock, which certainly lived up to it's name. We climbed around, through, and even managed to get on top of the thing. We also climbed, or tried climbing some of the adjacent big rocks. Exhausting the possibilities of the area, for the most part, and feeling the need to move on, we decided to shortcut uphill to rejoin the road, rather than backtrack, and although there was a trail at first, we either lost it, or it just dissolved, and we were dumped into the day's only bushwhack, which wasn't actually too bad, because like I said, the area had burned last summer, or maybe the summer before.

We rejoined the trail / road at about 11:30AM, Hole In The Rock ended up being the coolest part of the day, and was now behind us. The road took us into the upper reaches of some unburned pines, which offered welcome shade in the warm, sunny day. We diligently followed the road now, and saw many other hikers out on the fine Saturday afternoon. One of them complimented us on our facial hair! As if we coordinated it or something? We reached the top of Mount Saint Helena at 12:15PM, and tried to enjoy the surroundings and the views. There were some people doing an annoying thing, sitting, hanging out RIGHT on the actual highpoint of the mountain. I wandered around for a few minutes, pretending not care, and right before I said to them "excuse, I'm going to have to touch the high point of this mountain," they finally moved. Not as bad a move as people sitting down in the middle of the trail, but come on! Confrontation avoided. This time. Now that we had reached the main summit, I informed Alex that Mount Saint Helena had three sub-peaks, and he said

"I'm not going to all of them," and I said

"OK, let's just go to the East Peak?" 

partly because that one is also on the California Coastal Peaks list, but more importantly, I wanted to get a good photograph of the main peak. East Peak was a class one walk up on gravelly rock, to more communications towers. We didn't hit any other peaks after that, but we did take a little jaunt north to a rocky, piney point. This proved very worthwhile, as it actually gave the perfect photograph angle of the main peak that I'd been wanting. By now, it was almost 1pm, and time to head down, so it was back upon the dusty road, amongst hikers of all stripes, many in large groups, perhaps school chums they were. There wasn't much to stand in our way on descent, and we were back at the van at 2:30PM. But the "bros day out" wasn't over yet. We went into Santa Rosa to get some Vietnamese food, then hit one of my all time favorite breweries, Moonlight, and then another brewery! Henhouse! Oh boy. It was hot outside, and the biergarten was crowded, and we were then a little tipsy as we pulled down 101, back into San Francisco, and finally to Owl band practice with our third, youngest brother. 

FURTHER READING
• Mount Saint Helena on SUMMITPOST and PEAKBAGGER
• Mount Saint Helena East Peak on PEAKBAGGER
• MODERN HIKER

Mount Isabel

DATE: Monday, April 26, 2021
DISTANCE: 12.23km / 7.6 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 634m / 2081'
TIME TAKEN: 3:20
GRANT RANCH COUNTY PARK
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA
SOUNDTRACK: Unrest: Isabel
TAMIEN NATION, OHLONE AND MUWEKMA STOLEN LAND

SUMMITS:
• Mount Isabel: 1289m / 4230'
• "Mount Isabelita" (Peak 3312): 1009m / 3312'

PHOTO ALBUM
MAP

*Note: The header photograph of Mount Isabel was taken from Mount Hamilton on March 20, 2020, and does not reflect the conditions of the Mount Isabel hike on April 26, 2021.


Still in San Jose, I took another opportunity to tackle one of the local hikes I had on the list. Today, Mount Isabel, the highest peak in Santa Clara County outside of the Mount Hamilton massif. I didn't get an early start, but it wouldn't be needed for this short hike. Luckily, I had access to Amber's nimble Subaru Forester while she was away, and I took it up the winding road through Grant Ranch to the Smith Creek Fire Station Trailhead. It was nearly 10AM when I set out, down a bucolic country road that soon became a trail, going alongside the well flowing Smith Creek, which was lush with greenery. In less than 20 minutes, I was at the end of the "trail," and a gate that said "area closed." So, not trespassing, just closed, right? So I continued, because this was my path forward of course. There were wildflowers all around. I continued past the gate on and old fire / ranch road, which basically led all the way to the top of the mountain, only sometimes disappearing beneath a thick carpet of grass, wet grass which also did the job of soaking my boots all the way through.

It was beautiful day, partly cloudy, and I kept steadily ascending on the green road. Views of Santa Clara Valley and the Mount Hamilton massif came into sight. Things began to get a little more ominous about an hour in, as I spotted a ripped off deer leg, and I entered the area that had been burned in the Lightning Complex Fire. The burn included the top of the mountain, which looked formerly brushy, so perhaps this was a benefit to my travels. I topped out at 11:30AM, and sat on a rock to enjoy a snack and the view, Mount Hamilton especially, but also the vast lonely hills to the east. I followed mostly the same path back down, which went quickly on the sloping road, the only aberration being to hit the bonus Peak  3312' ("Mount Isabelita"). The return was otherwise uneventful, no more animal parts, and I was back at the car by 1:15PM for a three hour and twenty minute out and back journey. I highly recommend this hike, if you want to do a mountain trail in San Jose, because there's no trail up Mount Hamilton, and this is the next best thing.

FURTHER READING
• Mount Isabel on SUMMITPOST and PEAKBAGGER
• Point 3312' ("Mount Isabelita") on PEAKBAGGER
• Bob Burd goes to Mount Isabel

Bald Peaks (Calero)

DATE: April 24, 2021
DISTANCE: 22.74km / 14.13 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 840m / 2757'
TIME TAKEN: 4:57
CALERO COUNTY PARK
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA
STOLEN TAMIEN, AMAH MUTSUN, OHLONE, MUWEKMA AND AWASWAS LAND
SOUNDTRACK: Deafest: Bald Hill

SUMMITS:
• Bald Peak: 560m / 1838'
• Bald Peak Middle Summit: 494m / 1621'
• Bald Peak East Summit: 467m / 1531'
• Fern Peak: 521m / 1710'

PHOTO ALBUM
MAP
 

Mastodon Peak

DATE: Sunday, April 11, 2021
DISTANCE: 4.8km / 2.98 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 146m /  478'
TIME TAKEN: 1:47
SUMMIT: Mastodon Peak: 1049m+ /  3440'+
JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA
COCOPAH AND CAHUILLA STOLEN LAND
SOUNDTRACK: Mastodon: Call Of the Mastodon

PHOTO ALBUM
MAP











FULL HIKE REPORT COMING SOON!

Capitol Butte (Thunder Mountain)

DATE: Saturday, April 10, 2021
DISTANCE: 7.13km / 4.43 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 570m / 1873'
TIME TAKEN: 4:44
SUMMIT: Capitol Butte (Thunder Mountain): 1937m+ / 6355'+
COCONINO NATIONAL FOREST
RED ROCK - SECRET MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS AREA
YAVAPAI COUNTY, AZ
WESTERN APACHE. HOPITUTSKWA, PUEBLOS, HOHOKAM STOLEN LAND
SOUNDTRACK: Droid: Thunder Mountain Wizard

PHOTO ALBUM
MAP







FULL HIKE REPORT COMING SOON!

Capulin Volcano / Goat Hill

DATE: Thursday, April 8, 2021

HIKE ONE
DISTANCE: 2.06km / 1.28 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 113m / 372'
TIME TAKEN: 0:55
SUMMIT: Capulin Mountain: 2494m / 8182'
CAPULIN VOLCANO NATIONAL MONUMENT
FOLSOM COUNTY, NM
SOUNDTRACK: Runemagick: Volcano Throne

HIKE TWO
DISTANCE: 10.71km / 6.32 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 443m /1455'
TIME TAKEN: 2:30
SUMMIT: Goat Hill: 2144m / 7037'
CLIMAX CANYON PARK
COLAFX COUNTY, NM
SOUNDTRACK: Spell Hammer: Goat's Hill

LIPAN APACHE, JICARILLA APACHE, PUEBLOS, COMANCHE AND UTE STOLEN LAND

PHOTO ALBUM
MAP 1 2

FULL HIKE REPORT COMING SOON!

Fishers Peak (Attempt)

DATE: Wednesday, April 7, 2021
DISTANCE: 20.76km / 12.9 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 1111m / 3646'
TIME TAKEN: 10:00
FISHERS PEAK STATE PARK
LAS ANIMAS COUNTY, CO
LIPAN APACHE, JICARILLA APACHE, PUEBLOS, COMANCHE AND UTE STOLEN LAND
SOUNDTRACK: Futur Skullz: Flat Effect

PHOTO ALBUM
MAP











FULL HIKE REPORT COMING SOON!

El Salto Falls

DATE: Monday, April 5, 2021
DISTANCE: 3.74km / 2.33 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 602m / 1976'
TIME TAKEN: 1:25
TAOS INDIAN RESERVATION
TAOS COUNTY, NM
SOUNDTRACK: Unwound: Below The Salt

PHOTO ALBUM
MAP

FULL HIKE REPORT COMING SOON!

Monument Peak

DATE: Friday, April 2, 2021
DISTANCE: 19,84km / 12.33 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 975m / 12.33 miles
TIME TAKEN: 5:13
SUMMIT: Monument Peak: 1612m / 3200'
SAN BERNARDINO NATIONAL FOREST
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CA
TONGVA AND YUHAVIATAM / MAARENGA'YAM STOLEN LAND
SOUNDTRACK: Assück: A Monument To Failure

PHOTO ALBUM
MAP










FULL HIKE REPORT COMING SOON!

Mount Jurupa

DATE: Thursday, April 1, 2021
DISTANCE: 9.22km / 5.73 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 590m / 1936'
TIME TAKEN: 3:00
MARTIN TUDOR JURUPA HILLS REGIONAL PARK
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CA
STOLEN TONGVA LAND
SOUNDTRACK: Benediction: Painted Skulls

SUMMITS:
• Mount Jurupa: 676m /  2217'
• Peak 1913'

PHOTO ALBUM
MAP








FULL HIKE REPORT COMING SOON!

Fairmont Ridge / Sugarloaf Hill

DATE: March 22, 2021
DISTANCE: 1.82km / 1.13 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 90m / 295'
TIME TAKEN: 0:43
SUMMIT: Sugarloaf Hill: 358m / 1175'
LEONA CANYON REGIONAL OPEN SPACE
ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA
STOLEN OHLONE LAND
SOUNDTRACK: Thin Lizzy: Sugar Blues

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Full hike report coming soon!

Berekeley Highpoint

DATE: Thursday, March 18, 2021
DISTANCE: 10.54km / 6.55 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 371m  1217'
TIME TAKEN: 2:35
SUMMIT: Berkeley City High Point: 404m / 1325'
TILDEN REGIONAL PARK
ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA
SOUNDTRACK: Blatz: Berkeley Is My Baby

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Loma Alta

DATE: Saturday, March 13, 2021
DISTANCE: 1.19km / .74 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 31m / 101'
TIME TAKEN: 20 mins.
SUMMIT: Loma Alta / Jack's Peak: 326m / 1068'
JACK'S PEAK PARK
MONTEREY COUNTY, CA
OHLONE AND RUMSEN STOLEN LAND
SOUNDTRACK: AC/DC: The Jack

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Loma Prieta

DATE: Friday, March 12, 2021
DISTANCE: 24.94km / 15.5 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 1,299m / 4262'
TIME TAKEN: 5:54
UVAS CANYON COUNTY PARK
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA
STOLEN TAMIEN, AMAH MUTSUN, OHLONE, MUWEKMA AND AWASWAS LAND
SOUNDTRACK: Possessor: Dark Mountain

SUMMITS:
• Loma Prieta: 1154m / 3786'
• Nibbs Knobb: 821m / 2694'

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Castle Rock State Park

DATE: Thursday, March 11, 2021
DISTANCE: 11.57km / 7.19 mile
ELEVATION GAIN: 507m / 1662'
TIME TAKEN: 4:01
CASTLE ROCK STATE PARK
SANBORN COUNTY PARK
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA
STOLEN TAMIEN, RAMAYTUSH, OHLONE AND MUWEKMA LAND
SOUNDTRACK: Ancient Gate: Castle Behind Mist

SUMMITS:
• Varian Peak: 873m / 2865'
• Goat Rock: 890m+ / 2920'+
• Castle Rock (Attempt): 980m /  3214'
• Indian Rock (Attempt): 893m / 2931'

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FULL HIKE REPORT COMING SOON

Lafayette Reservoir

DATE: Monday, March 8
DISTANCE: 8.2km / 5.1 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 284m / 933'
TIME TAKEN: 1:36
SUMMIT: Peak 1038' (316m)
PARK NAME: LAFAYETTE RESERVOIR RECREATION AREA
COUNTY: CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA
STOLEN BAY MIWOK LAND
SOUNDTRACK: Stone Titan: Sunny Side Up

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FULL HIKE DESCRIPTION COMING SOON!