W6/NC-232 Bally Peak

I had been up in the Cache Creek area earlier this month, and it was quite nice, so I decided to come back to get some SOTA in. For today I had picked out two peak, Bally Peak and Gibson Hill. First up was Bally Peak.

Looking down at the parking area and main road.

I started at the Redbud Trailhead. It was easy to find along CA 20, though the road had some big potholes. There are some pit toilets, but they were pretty disgusting. The ones at Cowboy Camp were in better shape a few weeks before, if you need them. I parked, then started down the road a hundred feet or so.

Open oak forest at the lower elevations. 

There was a trail leaving to the left where I turned right and headed up the hill. There were a lot of animal paths, so I just followed them if they were heading in the right direction. After a short climb it leveled out as I walked below the ridge. It looked like there was some dense brush on the top, so I decided to stay below it as long as I could.

First view of the peak, behind the tree and still in the clouds.

Near the end of the ridge I found an animal trail through the brush to the top of the ridge where I discovered more animal tracks. It was easy going, though steep in places. The recent rain had really softened the soil, so footing was very good on this part. At around the 1600 foot contour I came across a fire break that I hadn't seen in the satellite view.

Final climb up to the summit. It is a lot steeper than it looks.

This was a mixed blessing. It was super easy to follow and took me right to the top, but I was walking in the stickiest mud you've ever seen. My boots quickly picked up a few extra pounds of mud each, so they could give me a better workout. This area had all burned in 2015, and it showed. The views were excellent from the firebreak on the ridge all the way to the summit.

Mt Konocti is in the center, still totally socked in.

On top I took in the views, including my first of Clear Lake. I then walked back to the north-east edge of the summit to set up. I had good cell service on the summit, and had no problem getting contacts on all the HF bands I tried. I called on VHF for a few minutes, but didn't get anyone.

I believe the highest one is Brushy Sky High.

Getting down was much more of an adventure. The climb down the summit cone was very steep, and made more difficult by the bowls of mud that stuck to the bottom of my shoes. Every time I put my foot down I didn't know if or which way my ankle would roll. I was quite glad to get off the fire break and back into the woods with both my ankles in good shape.

Beautiful day, once the sun came out for good.

 I more or less retraced my path back to the parking area. There is enough relief and open forest to make off trail hiking pleasant and easy in this area. Back at the lot I watched some other people jump start a car, then headed over to the bottom of Gibson Hill.

Trailhead: Redbud Trailhead, BLM Cache Creek Natural Area
Website: SOTA Site. BLM Site
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Follow the ridge up to the summit.
Red Tape: None.

Looking North from just below the summit.