W6/NC-279

This peak is at the south end of Lake Berryessa, and provides great views of the entire Berryessa area. The best trailhead seems to be on Steele Canyon Road, at a pullout at the south end of the lake. From the pullout, cross the road and climb down the embankment to the stream. Cross the stream, and find a way up the embankment on the other side. This was the hardest part of the hike, getting across the deep gully.

Halfway down the embankment, looking back at the road.

On the other side is an old ranch road which goes all the way to the top. It first climbs over a smill ridge and into Negro Canyon. Near the head of the canyon it turns right and crosses the stream. There is quite a bit of discarded junk in this area. This is where the climb starts. The road climbs steeply up to the summit. It seems like it was used as a fire break, or access to a fire break, in the recent Napa fires. There were a lot of fresh tracks.

Summit still in the clouds.

It was cloudy and overcast when I started, but the clouds lifted at about the same rate as I climbed, so I was never socked in. The recent rains also made the hike more pleasant, softening the ground and making the footing better on the steep sections. This was particularly nice during the descent. After about an hour of hiking, I made it to the summit. There is a wide road running over the high point, and the fires had burned the area.

Burned area at the summit.

I strapped my pole to a burned bush, and got on the air. There was good service at the top, so no problem spotting. I made contacts on the usual bands, and didn't make any notable contacts. Since I had two other summits planned for the day, I didn't linger.

Berryessa Peak across the lake.

The hike down was fine, except I missed a turn and didn't realized it until I had descended a few hundred feet. The mountain is covered in dense chapparal, so the easiest way to get back on track was to hike up to the junction, then down the correct path. This mountain would be very difficult to hike if the fire breaks and ranch roads weren't there.

Cedar Roughs on the left, with some abandoned equipment. 

Back at the car I drove over to the trailhead for Junior Benchmark, my next peak of the day.

Trailhead: Pullout on Steele Canyon Road, near south end of the lake.
Website: SOTA Site
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map
Route: Cross the stream, down then up the embankment, then follow the ranch road on the other side up to the summit.
Red Tape: None. Summit appears to be on BLM land.

Looking South. Mt Vaca on the left. Mt Diablo was visible in the distance.