I had a day to kill and needed to get out of the house, so I decided to make a tour of Alameda and Contra Costa counties tagging a collection on LoJ summits that all have little prominence and had been neglected on previous visits. It was a lovely day with partial sunshine, clear air, and cool temps. I didn't get started with the driving until 9a to allow rush hour traffic to subside.

Pill Hill

This small hill is located in Oakland, near the I-980/I-580 interchange. A Sutter Health hospital occupies the highground on the east side of Summit St, making for a drive-by.

Albany Hill

This is the northernmost summit in Alameda County. Albany Hill Park occupies the highground. Easy parking at the end of Taft St and a short one minute hike through a eucalyptus forest gets you to the highpoint.

William Rust Summit

This one is on private property at the end of Thors Bay Rd. I drove up the driveway a short distance past a watertank to a small rise where the home comes into view. This is atop an equal contour to the one PB and LoJ depict as the highpoint. I called it good and backed down.

San Pablo Ridge

Ok, an actual hike here. This point is not the highest nor most prominent one along the length of San Pablo Ridge, but it got marked as such on LoJ and then David Sanger added it to PB. The obscure Rifle Range Rd TH is conveniently located near the previous summit. My route to the top was fairly direct, but it might be shorter from one of several other trailheads on the northeast side of the ridge. My route followed old ranch roads down to, and across Wildcat Creek, then up grassy slopes to the crest of San Pablo Ridge, finally reaching the summit from the southeast. It took nearly an hour to reach the summit at a casual pace, collecting the PB-only Peak 1030 along the way. The grass slopes are a healthy green with poppies and other flowers in the mix. Most of the San Francisco Bay can be seen from the summit, including the City, Angel Island, and the major bridges.

Nob Hill

This is another drive-up on the southeast side of San Pablo Bay in the Gateley neighborhood. The highpoint appears to be at the junction of Sunnyview Dr and Bay View Farm Rd, north of Interstate 80.

Suribachi Hill

This is an interesting summit on private ranchland, the northernmost summit in Contra Costa County. The name was officially adopted by the BGN in 2017, for the replica statue of the USMC Iwo Jima Memorial found at the summit. David Sanger approached this from the northeast at the end of Bayview St where he found a hole in the fencing. I chose a shorter route from the southwest at the Cummings Skyway exit off Interstate 80. There is a wide-open, no-signage gate found under some trees along the southbound exit ramp, then a steep climb up the hill to the summit. This route has the additional advantage of being out of view from the ranch buildings on the north side. Up close, the human figures are crudely represented, but the effect from below is quite good.

Bush Hill

This is a pleasant half mile stroll in Crocker Hills Regional Park. The shortest access is from the north at the end of Duperu Dr. There were lots of cattle grazing about today, and even the young ones showed little fear. The summit is found just above and east of a water tank with a fence around it. I spent just over 20min on the roundtrip.

Martinez Ridge

This is a minor ridge on the hills south of Martinez and the SR4 freeway. A home sits at the highpoint along Venner Rd, so a drive-by is the best you can do without things getting creepy.

Shell Ridge

This point is found in the Shell Ridge Open Space Preserve west of Mt. Diablo State Park. The shortest approach is from the Patrick Hannah Grove Picnic Area. A trail goes northwest from the parking area to the Ridge Top Trail, which can be followed south and southwest to the summit, with a bit of cross-country at the end. I chose a more direct route up from the east which wasn't all that great with two barb-wire fence crossings. There's not much to the summit, but the slightly lower northwest summit has a nice view bench. I took the trail system on the way down, much nicer. A little over half an hour for the roundtrip.

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