W6/NC-220 Cedar Roughs

Cedar Roughs is the peak the dominates the west side of Lake Berryessa. It is the high point of the Cedar Roughs Wilderness. There are no trails to the summit, so bushwhacking is necessary. I've been trying to do more joint activations, and I found a weekend that Tom, AI6CU, and I were both free. We met up in Berkeley and carpooled up to the Smittle Creek Day Use Area, our trailhead for the day. We parked in the lot, then walked back up the road to the start of the trail.

A meadow on the way up.

The first three miles are on ranch roads, that appear to get some use. There were tire tracks in the mud, and lots of deer prints. The trail climbs over a low ridge, then up a second ridge. Once we had gained a little elevation we started to get great views of the lake. Berryessa Peak and Mt Vaca were very easy to see from all the viewpoints.

View to the north. Berryessa Peak on the right edge. We could see up to Mt Konocti in Lake County.

At the top of the second ridge we turned and followed a new road along the crest of the ridge. This continues down to two rock pinnacles, where the trail ends and the bushwhacking starts.

Looking back at the pinnacles from the other side.

The best route according to previous hikers seems to be to go through the pinnacles, then follow herd paths down to the stream. On the other side, the embankments seemed lower and less steep farther upstream. We followed the route described by others from Peakbagger, with some minor variations. We found a clearing on the north side of the seasonal stream, but at the top was a wall of impenetrable brush. Others had described crossing the stream around this point, so we followed suite.

Open forest on the south side of the seasonal stream.

The going on the south side was much better. We headed uphill through the open forest, not sticking close to the stream. We found a grassy area that was steep but easy to climb. At the top we pushed through a few dense areas and got back to the stream bed which we then followed to where it ends on the map. There were a number of tracks that ran along the stream. My guess is that they are from the deer and other animals, since I don't think there are enough hikers to make herd paths in the area. From the top of the stream it was an easy walk in the woods, with no difficult dense areas.

Summit with cairn.

We eventually made it to the top, and found the cairn and register. We were the first climbers this year, and the first since last June. After signing the log, we found some clear areas to set up in. I worked the 30, 40, and 20 meter bands. Twenty meters seemed dead, as I got no RBN spots even after 10 minutes of calling. After both working everyone, we packed up.

AI6CU working the pileup.

The descent to the stream was quick, more or less retracing our steps. The climb up past the pinnacles was easier than I feared. Back on the trail, we had a pleasant walk back to the car, and not much traffic on the drive home. Overall it was a great hike, one that I wouldn't mind doing again.

No view at the summit, but good views from the trail.

Trailhead: Smittle Creek Day Use Area, Lake Berryessa.
Website: SOTA Site
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map
Route: Take ranch roads up to the top of the ridge, then down to the two rock pinnacles. Go down the slope between them, cross the stream and climb up the other side. Follow the seasonal stream, then go uphill to the summit.

Me stepping off the trail. Photo by AI6CU.