Mount Saint Helena - an interesting trip to the Napa Valley


Publiziert von 360 Pro , 10. Januar 2014 um 04:26.

Region: Welt » United States » California
Tour Datum: 8 Januar 2014
Wandern Schwierigkeit: T2 - Bergwandern
Wegpunkte:
Geo-Tags: USA   US-CA 
Aufstieg: 700 m
Abstieg: 700 m
Zufahrt zum Ausgangspunkt:From Calistoga, CA take Highway 29 north to the pass east of Mount Saint Helena. Free parking at the trail-head directly after the pass on both sides of the street

A good hikr-buddy of mine gave me a hiking book as a farewell present before I left Switzerland. The book was written by no one less then Daniel Anker himself and is called "Wanderungen in Kaliforniern". It covers 54 hikes (ranging from very easy to serious expeditions) all over the state of California. It has been out of print for a while so my buddy used his personal connections and got me a copy of Daniel Anker's personal stash to give to me. (Thanks again Zaza!)

For several reasons I was in need of a relatively easy hike which would not include too much of a climb, but still gives a "high demanding alpinist" like me some excitement. Mount Saint Helena in the Napa Valley as describes by Anker came in very handy and combined with a short visit of the cute town St. Helena was definitely worth the trip.


Even though the hike itself doesn't really need much of a detailed description, besides "follow the marked path to the top", Anker describes it relatively detailed and even mentions shortcuts, which - due to the bushy nature of the terrain - are not always obvious or easy to find. (What else would you expect from Anker?)

The first mile to the Robert Luis Stevenson monument is in the forest and actually a regular hiking path (T2). Shortly after I get out of the forest and onto the gravel road and follow it's winding way up the mountain (T1). Some of the serpentines can be cut off, if that's what you're looking for. The first peak which comes in sight is the lowest South peak. Later the East Peak appears (this peak is actually the Napa County Highpoint) and only shortly before the top, one actually also gets to view the main summit, the North-peak.

The top of all these 3 peaks are rather cluttered with telecommunication and radar equipment, but offer nice views into the Napa Valley. On a clear day one sees all the way to the San Francisco Bay area and the view North might reach to Mount Shasta. I personally like the view from the South peak best, since there I also see down to Calitoga and nothing blocks the view South. A few concrete picnic tables can be found at the south side of the south peak as well.

On my way down I visit the minor peaks. I reach them via the access roads from the main path in approximately 5 minutes.

Tourengänger: 360


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