W6/NC-165 Hood Mountain

Hood Mountain is the highest point on the Napa-Sonoma border. Part of this area burned during the North Bay fires last year, but the park is partially open again. The only open trailhead was at the end of Los Alamos Road, at the north end of the park. This is a narrow, windy road, with some steep sections (15% grade!) I made it to the parking lot at the end and paid my $7 fee, and set off down the trail.

Looking back up at the parking lot at the start of the trail.

The trail initially drops a few hundred feet down to a crossing of the Santa Rosa Creek. There had been a fair amout of rain in the days and weeks before I came, so there was no easy way across the creek. I ended up just walking across and hiking with wet feet the rest of the day. On the other hand, the grass is green and the flowers were blooming, so it was a very pretty hike.

Santa Rosa Creek, full of water.

On the other side of the creek the trail climbs up a number of switchbacks. They were well graded and not difficult to hike up. I walked by an outhouse unexpectedly. It turns out there are some campsites in the area that can be reserved. Walking up the fire road was pleasant, so I decided to stay on it rather than take the summit trail. The one exception was at the junction below the summit. The road dropped down some, so I took the trail to avoid extra elevation gain.

Mt St Helena dominated the view to the north.

Climbing higher it was easy to tell when I entered the section that had been burned in the fires last fall. However, there was already a lot of green, so in a few years it will be hard to tell the area ever burned. After about 90 minutes of hiking I reached the summit. There is an open area, and thanks to the fire, views to the south. I could easily see Mt Tam and Mt Diablo, and could even see Loma Prieta down south of San Jose. When I checked the view after operating it was too hazy to see south of SF.

Mt Tam on the right. Diablo out of the frame on the left.

I used a burned manzanita to support my pole, and got on the air. I discovered that my antenna is falling apart, and needs some TLC before another expedition. There was good 4G service, and I was able to spot myself. Thirty meters brought in the usual suspects. Twenty was dead, though I did manage one contact. Fourty was about as good as 30. On VHF I made a contact with KD6SOK on 220 down near the Apple campus, and a few more on 2 meters.

St Helena is the closest. The peaks to the left are in Lake County.

There was no shade on top, so I was getting quite warm. I packed up and headed down. There were a bunch of groups coming up that I passed. Seems like it is a popular area for a hike. Back at the car I drove down the hill again and over to Taylor Mountain, my second peak of the day.

Trailhead: End of Los Alamos Road.
Website: SOTA Site. Hood Mountain Park
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: I took the Hood Mountain Trail to the summit. There are a number of options, though.
Red Tape: None.

Steep climb just before the summit.