I had one more summit to conclude a short roadtrip in the coastal region of
southern Mendocino County. Gube Mtn is a CC-listed summit at the end of a
serpentine ridgeline extending southeast from Fish Rock Road. I had spent the
night 
parked
near the summit where the road goes over a saddle separating two
creek drainages. The ridgeline I followed crosses through several different ranch
properties, but most of the route was along old roads no longer traveled. This
made for a fairly relaxing and enjoyable hike. Heavy fog had moved in during the
night leaving the ground and most everything else 
fairly wet when I
awoke sometime after 6a. It made for an interesting morning that transitioned to
partially clearing skies as the day wore on and the fog began to break.
I had some trouble locating the start in the dark when I arrived the evening
before and had
almost had given it up. But right at the saddle is a 
narrow opening on
the south side of the road that leads 
steeply up about 40ft before
leveling off. The road passes by a plastic water tank used by a nearby residence
before moving away from Fish Rock Rd towards the south. As the road breaks out
onto a easterly vista it was necessary (or so I thought) to leave the road and
drop steeply down a 
grassy hillside to begin following the ridgeline
to the southeast. On the return I found
that a fork in the road about 1/4mi further would have taken me to the same
ridgeline without the unnecessary cross-country. I needed a headlamp to see the
rough footing while I was descending the slope in the weak, early morning light,
but upon reaching 
a gate at a property boundary found that the headlamp
was no longer needed, nor was the fleece I had put on to ward off the chill.
From this gate my route was along old, forgotten ranch roads that followed
tenaciously up and and down the undulating
ridgeline for about two and half miles.
There were huge 
madrones and even larger 
oaks found along the
way, though most of the forest canopy was douglas fir and redwood. There was a
good deal of 
downfall
blocking the road at various locations though none of it was hard to get around.
Banana slugs and 
newts could be found crossing the roads over
damp forest duff. Feral pigs rooting in the grassy areas would snort and
run off when I came upon them unexpectedly. Over all of
this 
the fog permeated, blowing across the ridgeline while keeping colors
subdued and a chill in the air. After the 2.5mi I reached 
a crossroads
with more
traveled roads. All three of the other branches showed signs of regular use. My
route continued east at this juncture and for the next two miles I was that much
more cautious, listening for signs of vehicles. There was scant evidence of
cattle grazing along the way and no recent droppings, but there were obvious signs
of horse travel. Oddly, I didn't notice hoof prints along the road but I did
find many instances of horse poop, some of it less than a week old. This could
pose a bigger risk, as it would be virtually impossible to hear a horseman
approaching unless he had a partner and was engaged in conversation. Luckily none
of this proved an issue as I continued to find nary a soul the whole morning.
The last half mile to the summit required cross-country travel as there was no
road going there - the road I traveled veered right around the west side of the
mountain and continued south to nearby Snook Mtn. Though there was some heavy
brush along this last stretch of ridgeline, one could travel on the north side
through 
forest understory or even better, on the south side traversing
grass slopes. I reached 
the top around 8:45a under
a mix of fog and blue sky. Another
500ft would have seen me above the fog layer, I think, and perhaps another hour
or two would have had much of the fog dissipate. As it was I got partial views
from a summit that was devoid of trees for vistas in all directions. On a clear
day one could easily see 13mi across the hills 
to the Pacific. To
the east the views would
be dominated by the Mayacama Mtns, but today it was mostly fog. It had taken just
under two hours to reach the summit and would take an equal time on the return,
getting me back to Fish Rock Rd by 10:40a. I would have almost 4hrs of driving to
get home to San Jose, but I especially enjoyed the first hour of this on
SR128 south to US101 at Cloverdale. This rural highway meanders a great deal and
by no means is a quick way to get from A to B, but it has delightful scenery
along the way, made ever more picturesque by the green springtime hills.