Sonoma County Highpoint Trip Report

Date: June 10, 2007
Author: Dan Harris

This is to add to Edward Earl’s report from January 2002 as things have changed a bit in the 5 and a half years. First, the road to the right at the junction between the east and middle summit does indeed go down and away from the summit area and is access for vehicles to the antennas. I took this by mistake but luckily, about a half mile down as I realized my mistake, there was another road that headed back up to the middle summit which I took. For the west ridge, follow the road/trail to the right of the gate at the antennas on the middle summit. Suttle says it’s a quarter mile to the saddle, I think it is longer. Anyway, the road seems to end but you can see where there used to be a road, now getting overgrown. Continue to follow this south and it curves to the west and down to the swale/saddle. There is a large "open" area with a great deal of young manzanita. At the very bottom and once through the manzanita, you will see a large brush/slash pile to the right (north) mentioned also by Edward Earl. It is quite old and sun bleached. Probably from the road whose remnants I followed.

At this point I headed up hill and slightly left to the top of the ridge, fighting and picking my way through thick manzanita. I found the trees mentioned in Suttle's book. There is a jar with papers with summit logs among a pile of rocks and a stump about five yards north of the trees. There was nothing to write with though and unfortunately I brought nothing to leave. I found a more open area to head down slightly south of the route I took up but it was a bit steeper and had loose dirt. I do not know what would have been worse, the thick manzanita or the steeper, loose dirt. It was more difficult to find the old road headed back. I went through the young manzanita and followed the road remnant for a bit and then lost it but continued up and to my left and finally found the trail again and followed it back to the antennas. The gate at the end of Pinewood Drive was open and on the way back to my car I met a group of about 8 from the area head for the summit of Mount Cobb.