Sun, Nov 10, 2013
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Etymology |
Story | Photos / Slideshow | Maps: 1 2 | GPXs: 1 2 | Profiles: 1 2 |
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I was back in Wine Country for another foray tagging CC-listed summits and P1Ks. I had driven the night before to near the end of Stagecoach Canyon Rd, where Butts Creek empties into Lake Berryessa. I had no trouble sleeping comfortably and uninterrupted just off the pavement there.
The road follows along the north side of Butts Creek (now dry) with half a dozen homes
on the opposite side. A dog barked without much enthusiasm and I didn't seem to attract
any attention. I soon reached a campground that up until this point I knew nothing
about. It was here that I realized the area was part of a homeowner's association
from reading a large sign here with much writing, obviously designed by a committee.
There was no one else at the primitive site, really just some pit toilets,
picnic benches
and some flat areas to park and camp. Located at the confluence of Putah and Butts Creeks
where they empty to Lake Berryessa, it seems a nice enough spot for a springtime
picnic. I followed the road
leading west, up and out of the campground and
onto a mesa in that direction. The mesa was about 200ft above Putah Creek, the road
turning north and eventually ending in a
rough trail dropping back down to
Putah Creek a mile from the campground.
I crossed Putah Creek, easy at this time of year, and wandered trailless
upstream for about a mile. It might have been easier to continue upstream as there was
only a bit more than another mile to go, but I found the going somewhat tedious with
lots of
boulder hopping that takes much concentration. Instead, I followed my
pre-mapped plan
which was to climb back out of the creek channel and avail myself of some remote ranch
roads I knew to be up on a second mesa to the west.
Getting out
of the canyon was a steep, somewhat tricky affair, climbing up a loose
debris field that had served as a
garbage dump by the ranchers for
decades. The ground was littered with old
tin and aluminum cans, back when
pull tabs had first replaced the can opener for beer. Once onto
the mesa, the
going becomes suddenly delightful with open,
oak-studded grazing country.
I passed across one property boundary, hiking maybe a mile and half before dropping down
a second time to Putah Creek when Devils Head came
into view. It looks like a
volcanic plug sticking out from the hillside and is indeed, just that.
I had to remove my boots to cross the creek here, wide but so shallow I
barely got my
ankles wet. I spent another 30 minutes on the east side of the creek hiking a combination of cow trails,
jeep track,
grassy slopes
and a bit of bushwhacking to find my way to
the summit. The west side
looks like it might be a fun scramble, but the rock proved terribly loose and I
gave up that effort and took the easy route around from the high saddle on the east side
of the rocky feature. David had left
a register 11 months earlier and
unsurprisingly, no one had signed it since. The rocky perch provides good views looking
west over the Putah Creek drainage, with Cobb Mtn just visible about 20 miles
on the horizon. In the foreground rises the cone-shaped Snell Peak, which David had
described as "interesting" when he had passed by it on his route. I had checked it out
on Google maps beforehand, but it looked to be covered in nearly impenetrable brush on
all sides - no thanks. After signing the register and taking a break under fine skies
and cool temperatures, I
reversed the route almost in its entirety, without any significant deviations.
When I got back to the pavement I found a local resident in an SUV talking to a young male transient equipped with a backpack and the looks of being on the road a long time. She had seen me exit the camp access road but wasn't concerned with my going in there on foot. She asked me what the condition of the campground was and was happy to hear me report it as spotless. She was most concerned with unknown motorcyclists that have circumvented the gate and gone back there to tear up the road leading to the mesa and other unspecified damages. She seemed a very concerned and conscientious homeowner, the kind I'd like to have looking after my own neighborhood. I left her with the distinct impression that as far as the association goes: hiker good, motorcylist bad.
The route was entirely on dirt roads, decently maintained ones except for near the very
end. There was a Forest Service sign at a junction, suggesting the road was
open to the public at one time. There are a number of No Trespassing signs found on
either side of the road, some
more emphatic that others. The final quarter
mile up to Windy Point was along an
older road no longer maintained, leading
to the flat, but
open summit. A corner of Clear Lake could be seen to
the south, but in most other directions were views of forested ridgelines.
Just to
the northwest was the slightly higher Windy Ridge to which
I next paid a visit, an excursion that takes less than ten minutes. The views are
unsurprisingly
similar. To
the northwest could just be seen
a lookout tower atop High Glade BM, about 2 miles distance. Because it has
nearly 2,000ft of prominence, it would get my attention for a future visit.
On my way back to Clear Lake, the sun made a colorful departure, prompting me
to stop a few times along the road to take
pictures. Back at SR20,
I headed east along the north
shore of Clear Lake, eventually reaching the BLM's Redbud TH, some six miles east of the
junction with SR53. This would be the starting point for my second attempt at Brushy Sky
High, the same route I used on my first effort three weeks earlier. It's a very nice
spot to spend the night away from the road noise and without hassles.
Continued...
For more information see these SummitPost pages: Windy Point - Pinnacle Rock
This page last updated: Tue Nov 26 19:41:31 2013
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