Coppertone and I revisited the park at what we hoped would be the near peak of wildflowers in the park.  We recall a blanketed slope at Bald Mountain that we wanted to see again.

When we started our hike at the Observatory hiked the Meadow Trail we were a little concerned.  There just didn't appear to be that many flowers around.  Recent fires had certainly taken its toll, but one would expect wildflowers to be some of the first to come back in force.  One interesting thing we also noticed in the area was the apparent physical removal of the enormous brambles of blackberry bushes that used to line the trail.  Looks like we'll have to pick another park later in the year to pick and eat.

The steep climb up the Gray Pine Trail was pretty much as we remembered it from past visits.  Steep.  And on top of that some false summits thrown in to make you think the hard work was just about over.  Still, as you top off on the rolling ridge that leads to Bald Mountain you are rewarded with views of Mount Tam, Mount Diablo and peaks into two of the best valleys for wine in the world.

Thankfully, when within sight of Bald Mountain we could see the south facing slope was indeed covered in wildflowers.  From a distance white flowers, probably Milkmaids, were the only color to be seen.  Even up close they dominated.  But as we got closer to the summit we could see plenty of blue from Lupines as well as some orange Poppies and a few other pallette selections thrown in as well.  We may not have arrived at the peak, but we got to see what we came for.

Our route back to the car took us down the relatively busy Bald Mountain Trail.  A turn onto Lower Bald Mountain Trail lead to the Observary and our car parked not too far away.

We were a little disturbed by a couple of groups on the trail hiking with no masks.  These weren't folks who were a little slow in applying masks on hand when passing by others, but rather people with no masks at all.  We had to dart off trail, always a bit no-no, twice to provide the requisite 6 feet of separation from them.  It's a disturbing sign with the pandemic still in force.  We may need to select parks and routes with wider trails, such as those suitable for jeeps to ensure we can maintain distance while still staying on the trails.

Coppertone and I made our first real outdoor foray after COVID-19 and chose to map some trails we had not yet visited at Sugarloaf Ridge.  Despite the pandemic the parking areas were almost full.  Seems like others were anxious to get outdoors as well.  Most on the trail had masks and observed proper social distancing.

The track file for this outing looks a little weird, but our goal was to map segments we'd missed before, so we jumped around from here to there.

The trail surface of the first half of the Creekside Nature Trail is some of the nicest we've seen anywhere.  This should be ADA compliant and was really well done.  On the downside, several of the nature trail tour guide markers seem to be missing.  The second half of the trail has a rougher surface and more elevation variation.  Definitely not ADA compliant on that end.

The Stern Trail is a wide jeep path, which normally does not make for the most ideal hiking experience.  The top is even paved.  However, there are some very nice views to be had by hiking it without having to expend too much energy to get to the higher spots in the park.  Not only views within Adobe Canyon, but also spilling out into Sonoma Valley.

We decided to revisit Sugarloaf Ridge State Park to map out the Brushy Peaks Trail in the park's northeast corner.  We parked at the Observatory and when we first drove up we wondered what might be going on as the lot was full of cars.  A large group of familes were camping.  We're not sure what group they might have been with and they had all completely cleared out by the time we finished our hike.

Starting off from the Observatory, the Meadow Trail was nice and easy with gently rolling hills.  We've passed through here many times in the past.  We stopped a few times along the way to check out the thick blackberry brambles.  Though most berries were still red we were able to find a few ripe specimens which we sampled.

The climbing started in earnest at the junction with the Brushy Peaks Trail.  Unlike the more open Meadow Trail, there is ample tree cover at the start of the trail here, which was a relief given that the morning's cloud cover was already beginning to burn off.  The creek that the trail follows here was already dry.

We stopped at several spots along the trail leading up to Brushy Peaks.  Wonderful canyon views were augmented by a vineyard across the chasm.  We're in Sonoma, so what else would you expect?  The view marked Picnic on the track file has a great picnic bench where one can stop for lunch.  The vineyards are closer here though the solar panels in the distance look a little out of place.

Once topping out at Brushy Peaks one might think that the climbing is over and it's all downhill from there, but that's not the case.  The trail turns to the west and heads towards Gray Pine Trail.  While doing so the trail undulates up and down several prominences.  So be prepared for continual elevation changes throughout the trail.

One thing we did enjoy on the upper reachs of Brushy Peaks Trail was the peeling bark of the many Manzanita trees here.

We turn south when coming to thein  Gray Pine Trail.  At this point it is almost completely downhill back to the trailhead.  That presents some of its own problems as some pitches are quite steep and the small pebbles on the surface don't do much to provide extra traction.  We had a couple of close calls on the way down but managed to avoid any falls.

With the elevation gain and mileage we might have taken this on a bit too soon as we have worked to get our hiking legs back.  But the views were great and it felt really great to get out in the hills again.  It's comforting to see continued recovery from the 2017 fires, though it remains a work in progress.

Coppertone and I returned the the scene of our last failed hike here.  In February we went on a Bill and Dave's hike here but had to turn back due to Coppertone's blisters.  With a new set of trail shoes she decided now was the time to recreate the scene of the crime.  Thankfully her new shoes worked out great and we were able to complete what we think was the original hike's route.

The 1,500 feet of elevation gain and our reaction to it indicates that we are still not into true trail form.  We took our time ascending up the mountain via Gray Pine Trail and rested frequently to observe the wildflowers that are in bloom and the regenerative processes at work as the park and the surrounding area recovers from the devastating 2017 wine country wildfires.

There are parts of the park that look like the aftermath of a war zone.  But even in those charcoal back colored areas the monotony of the color is starting to break as more and more green pops up from the inky black.  Trees and brush that were burned to a crisp are resprouting from whatever place possible, even if that is only from the base of their ruined trunk.  Bald Mountain and Lower Bald Mountain seem to have larger swaths of decimated terrain that is just starting to come back.  Gray Pine also has pockets of destroyed foliage, but they tend to be a bit more spotty and miraculously untouched stands of trees punctuate the area more frequently.  As we have learned, fire is a capricious beast.

One of the upsides of recent fire activity is the expectation that this year's wildflower season should be above average.  Right below Bald Mountain this is borne out by large fields of wildflowers that blanket the steep hillsides.  Blue lupine are abundant as are a white flower I couldn't identify.  A couple of guys set a bad example for all by trampling right over some of the flowers so they could get a selfie against the backdrop of flowers they didn't happen to ruin.  There are plenty of angles for getting a shot of these flowers.  Stay on the trails and do everyone else a favor by ensuring the flowers will be healthy for them as well.

As is typical, the top of Bald Mountain was windy.  This felt fairly good after the tiring clime to the top.  There's a new beanch and set of signs that have been put in place since the fire.  From this high point one can clearly see into both Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley.  With the aid of the handy signs we were also able to pick out distant peaks such as Mount Tamalpais in Marin County and Mount Diablo on Contra Costa County.

We took the easy way down via Bald Mountain Trail.  A good portion of this trail is paved and presented the shortest route back to the car.

Coppertone and I did our first hike with Bill and Dave Hikes.  The solitude rating here does not take into account the 29 people who were part of our hiking group.  Other than us, we saw few people on the trail.

We started off in the adjacent Hood Mountain Regional Park since its Los Alamos parking area is the only way to get to the McCormick Addition section of Sugarloaf Ridge.  A quick descent to Santa Rosa Creek, which was easily forded, and it was lots of climbing after that in Sugarloaf Ridge SP itself.

Our main goal of the hike was to get to the Granmother Tree, the largest Coastal Live Oak in Sonoma County.  Resting for a few moments under the grand old dame, a couple of our fellow hikers recited a couple of poems, one specifically written for the tree.

Official maps show the trail dead ending at the Grandmother Tree, but we contnued on to a lunch spot atop a peak surrounded by higher ridges.  This gorgeous spot provided over 180 degrees of vistas of forest, shrub and grassland.  We could have lingered for hours and been content.

We took a shortcut down to the Maple Glen Trail and eventually doubled back to the trailhead.  The hiking pace was brisk and the terrain tough, so much so that by the end of the hike we were exhausted.  Obviously we need to work on our endurance!