White Hill

 After a quiet Christmas, I was ready to get out. I decided to do a combined SOTA/Nifty Ninety trip, and went up to Marin to get Pine Mountain and White Hill, both on the ninety list. Only Pine Mtn, however, has the prominence for SOTA.

White Hill

It was overcast when I left the Azalea Hill trailhead. I got there early enough there was plenty of parking available. All the mountain bike tracks in the mud were nice, they let me know how deep it was before I stepped.

Playing radio on the summit of Pine Mountain.

It is an easy hike up to the top of Pine Mountain. I set up in the same spot I had on previous visits and got on the air. My new QCX-mini did wonderfully, and the 5watter held its own on 40 as well. Its always fun to make contacts with homebrew rigs.

Muddy ridge.

It was cold and windy, and the clouds were pretty threatening, so I didn't stay too long on the summit. I retraced my steps back to the main fire road on the ridge and followed it to my turnoff. Here it drops down into the woods for a ways before coming up to White Hill.

Almost at the summit.

There are some steep parts on the way up to the summit, but the ridge itself is quite nice. The views are excellent up there. I had been in the area before during orienteering events, but I'm not sure I had been to the summit ever. Now there's no question, I've stood on the high point.

Cascade Creek.

The descent to the trail junction was quite steep. There is then some side hill trails to get around a corner of private property, then more descending down to the Cascade Creek. There were a number of bikes on this section, and plenty of people in the valley. I crossed the brook, then started a long climb back up the ridge to my car. 

The Marin hills after a storm.

In retrospect, putting a big 1000 foot climb at the end of a long run might not have been the best planning, but I made it to the ridge. Starting at Cascade Creek may have been a better option. As I climbed, the sun started coming out and it began to turn into a pretty nice day. Back at the car I stretched then headed down for the drive home, happy with the day's outing.