W6/NS-143 Bloods Ridge

 It was time for one last trip to the Sierra before winter. I was invited on a backpacking trip to Heart Lake from Onion Valley, but due to the fire danger the permit was cancelled. Instead we decided to go to the Highland Lakes area off of Highway 4. I went up a day early to get some peaks, starting with Bloods Ridge.

View from the parking area.

The best place to start this hike seems to be at the height of land on Mt Reba Road, on the way to the Bear Valley ski area. There is a large area here, probably used in the winter when the resort is open. I parked on the side, out of the way. The path to the summit is on fire roads, or ski trails if there's snow.

Mokelumne Peak dominated the view north.

Head up the road past the maintenance garage area. There is a switchback, then the road just follows the ridge up to the summit. The views get generally better as you go up, but there are no open clear areas.  

About halfway up.

On the summit there were some people working on one of the ski lifts, so I set up out of the way in some trees. There was good cell service on top, and I had no trouble getting my contacts. After packing up, I continued down the far side of the mountain to go tag the Calaveras County high point. I took one of the ski trails down, then some OHV trails over to the high point.

Calaveras High point.

The high summit, Corral Hollow Hill, is very broad and flat. I walked around in the woods a bit to see if there was any obvious high point, but all I found was a small marker. I walked over the spot marked on the Peakbagger app, then decided it was as good as I was able to do. 

Looking east from a viewpoint.

I then retraced my steps back to the car, where I drove down the hill to the base of Bailey Hill, me next summit.

Trailhead: Height of land, Mt Reba Road.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Go up the dirt road past the maintenance garage and up to the summit.
Red Tape: None. Might need a ski pass in the winter.