Mt. St. Helena (2008.01.13)

Well worth the hour or so drive to get up there is Mt St Helena. Thacher and I nailed it out in a brisk hike on saturday. On the way we saw a pilleated woodpecker, the largest woodpecker in the states since the ivory-bill is supposively gone. The woodpecker is huge and hits holes in trees the size of a softball. Up the trail we hit the site of a cabin that Robert Louis Stevenson and his wife Fany squatted in for a while...next to the old silver mines. Adam and I hit the silver mines up on the way back and low and behold no one has closed them off, so with a flashlight and a little gaul and guile there is plenty of exploring to be done. Most of the mines we went into had cart rails still in them and some of them had been collapsed in a little ways along the shaft. Some of the mines also had bats in there and they were not happy about being disturbed. From atop Mt St Helena we could view a sea of fog beneath us that stretched out far and wide. Island popped out of the fogg in the distance; Mt. Tam, Mt. Diablo, the East Bay Hills and to the North the Coastal Range. In the distance we could see the entire stretch of the snow capped Sierras - we could spot the entrance into Yosemite and the Western side of the range where Mt. Whitney is. To the north we could see Lassen, Shasta, the Trinity Alps and to the west we could see all of Sonoma and Mendocino Counties. The view is really amazing for how easy the hike is. Its definitely worth it to bring biniculars and a good wind-resistant coat since the air at the summit is moving fairly fast and there is a bit of snow on the ground.

Mt Diablo in the distance:


Sonoma County Below:


Some of the mines:



If you look in the upper right, those buildings just above the fog -- Oakland.


We also made a quick pit stop at Sugar Loaf State Park on the way back: