Moments in Dirt and Ink

Robert Louis Stevenson State Park Click for map. Mount Saint Helena was on my radar long before seeing it as the highest mountain on the San Francisco Area Nifty Ninety peak list. It was my real desire when I came out and hiked Table Rock and that was renewed when I saw it has over 1000 feet prominence. From the top, if you want to get any higher, you've got to come down a thousand feet first. It sticks out a bit from the rest of the landscape. The largest parking is in the same huge dirt turnout available for Table Rock. There is also a little on the other side of the road. The trail climbs to a utility road and there is a little more parking at the bottom of that as well. The big lot has plenty of room, so I go for that and then have to cross the highway to start. The start of the trail includes a large picnic area with a few old steps going nowhere. There was a bit more here once. No dogs are allowed past the picnic area. My camera battery is dead. It had a light...

Lake Sonoma Lake Sonoma is actually a reservoir and has a $5 day use fee that is covered by an America the Beautiful pass. The iron rangers have been under attack, so this needs to be paid at the Visitor Center below the dam rather than at the parking areas. They warned me that the trails were "muddy in places" and since the next visitor asked how full the lake was, I heard that the lake is well over capacity at the moment. They are more likely to have a copy of the rough trail maps, too. I picked out a loop of interconnecting trails around Rockpile Road and initially went to start at Lone Rock until finding that I could not pay my fee. On my return, I decided not to drive up quite so far and start at Little Flat instead. It is usually best not to start at the high point anyway. The parking is a thick gravel lot that takes the rain. The trail is well signed and heads off into the trees. I take in the view of the lake at the side of the lot then follow along in...