Wright Peak Summit Trail (4,300 ft), Clearlake, 7.0 Miles, Elevation 1650 ft, 1800 Kcal, Time 3.30 hr

Even though it was Memorial wekend, we didn't give up on our weekly hike. We stayed at a vacation home on the shores of Clear Lake, thirty miles north of Napa, with a large group of friends . Right across the lake was Mt. Konocti with Wright Peak at 4300 ft.  A few of us decided to go summit the peak. The drive to starting point of the trail took us through vineyards and beautiful green hills. But the last part of the drive to the starting point involved driving along a dirt and gravel road for over 2.5 miles to a height of 2000 ft.
There was absolutely no traffic or a single person on our way to the start of the trail. The start of the trail took us through a private walnut orchard. The initial 2 miles of the hike involved a steep climb. There was dense fog below us and we could not see the lake on our way to the summit. But fortunately, by the time we reached the summit, the fog had burnt off and left us with stunning views of the lake and vineyards surrounding it.. It made the strenuous hike up worth it. Along the way we took a small diversion to visit the cabin of Mrs. Downen who in the early 1903 lived alone in an apple orchard close to the summit. We also came wreckage of a plane that had crashed close to summit in 1970 killing a couple. The trail was well maintained with signboards having interesting factoids.

With this hike we crossed 100 miles so far. YAY!!!

Time: 3.30 hours
Difficulty: 6/10

The woman's house built in 1900

A small plane crashed in 1970

Observatory deck at the summit

Round Valley Regional Preserve - Miwok Trail and Hardy Canyon Trail loop, Brentwood, 5 Miles, 800 Kcal

Round Valley Regional Preserve - Miwok Trail and Hardy Canyon Trail loop, Brentwood

The plan was to combine a hike with cherry picking. So we decided to go on a relatively mild hike  and then attack the fruit tress for a post hike snack.. The park was more beautiful than we expected and the return section of the loop a little more steeper than expected. It was cold and windy when we started but gradually warmed up by the time we returned.

The cherry picking part of the trip was disappointing. It was crowded and additionally the fruit yield was pretty poor. So we ate what we could there and brought some plums home.


Time: 2 hours
Difficulty: 4/10

Yosemite Nevada & Vernal Falls Hike, 8.74 miles, 2700 kcal, 6hrs

Kudos to the team especially the first time hikers to Yosemite.. The team that never rests and keeps going.. Well Done!!!

We had originally planned to hike the Panorama Trail from Glacier Point. But unfortunately, Glacier Point road was closed due to heavy snowfall on Thurs/Fri. We therefore quickly changed plans and decided to repeat a hike we had done a couple of years back. The one major difference this time was we had a much larger group. The road to Yosemite Village from the park entrance was like a winter wonderland with both sides of the forest covered with snow. The initial part of the hike till the Vernal footbridge was pretty crowded but quickly decreased as we ascended up the steps of the wet,slippery steps of Mist Trail. Beautiful rainbows accompanied us as we ascended up through the mist generated by the falls. Even though the flow was much lesser than in 2013, it was still an impressive sight. Once we reached Emerald pool at the top of the pools, we had our first snack break of the day.

We then continued the uphill trek to the the top of Nevada falls. This part of the trail had some steep stretches and required clambering over rocks. But in contrast to 2013, the cool weather this time allowed us to ascend pretty quickly. Once at the top of the falls, we rested by Merced river and dug into the rest of our snacks. After the obligatory photo session, we started the descent via Muir trail. It was perfect afternoon weather and we took advantage of it to increase our pace and reached the valley floor in one and half hours.  It was a perfect end to an incident free hike in gorgeous late spring weather. The caption of the hike was 'Living on the edge'. Guess what, everyone signed up for next year's hike. We enjoyed the rest of the evening with drinks and plenty of food to recover the lost calories :)


Route: Yosemite Nevada & Vernal Falls Hike
Time: 6.00 hr  
Difficulty: 7/10
Total Elevation:6,000 Ft