W6/NC-212 Red Hill

Red Hill was the second peak of the day, and was much nicer than Peak 1331, a few miles south. The trailhead for this peak is the parking area for the Upper Cottonwood Creek Wildlife Area. The lot is not marked on Google Maps but putting in directions to Upper Cottonwood Creek Wildlife Area will get you close, and there are signs along 152 in both directions. The dirt lot is easy to see in the aerial imagery. At the kiosk, fill out a permit, then head down the road to the creek.

The first descent/final climb.

The road drops a few hundred feet, crosses the creek, then follows the creek away from the reservoir. The nice road ends, but there are some paths along the creek that can be followed. If there is a lot of water, your feet will get wet on this section. After about half a mile, there is a dirt road on the east side of the creek that climbs very steeply up a ridge. The road is marked on the USGS quad, and easy to see in the satellite image.

Part way up, looking over towards the reservoir.

At the high point of the road there is a fence to keep the cattle in the correct section. Cross the fence, and a short distance away on the other side is another ranch road. This road climbs and a much better grade, with a few descents, to the top of the main ridge. There were a lot of cows in this area, but they all ran away from me.

First view of the summit. The peak to the right of the tower is slightly higher.

Hiking along this section I also climbed above the inversion layer that was holding all the haze in the valley. With views of the nearby peaks and the Sierra I enjoyed my climb up to the summit. On the summit ridge, the ranch road joins a different road, probably the one that gives access to the tower. I walked past some deer, then the tower to the summit. There were a few scraggly trees at the top, but not enough to block the view. I could easily see the high peaks of Merced County standing out above the haze below.

Merced High Peaks. Pacheco Peak on the right. Fremont Peak just visible to its right.

 I set up my pole again, and got on 20 meters. My first contact was a summit to summit with KR7RK in Texas. I was surprised that 30 and 40 meters didn't get as many contacts as 20 did. After working everyone on HF I took out my HT and got on the VHF/UHF bands. I made two contacts on 144 and 440 each, all people in the central valley or Sierra foothills.

Looking into Henry Coe SP. Burra Burra Peak was visible.

It was getting late at this point, and I wanted to get back to the car before sunset, so I packed up and left. There was a great sunset starting, so I took some pictures before leaving. The trip back was uneventful, and I made it to the car a few minutes after the official sunset. I had thought that it was later, so I was glad to get back before it was too dark.

Mt Hamilton and Mt Isabel were just visible.

Trailhead: Upper Cottonwood Creek Wildlife Area parking lot.
Website: SOTA Site. Cottonwood Creek Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Take the road down to the creek, then walk upstream until you reach the road that goes up the ridge on the right. Climb up steeply to the fence, cross the fence to the other ranch road, and follow it to the summit.

Red Tape: None. Free, self-issued permit required, available at the TH.

Neat cloud formation and colors.