I've never completed a single list, but my son, Matt, completed the BSA 'Rim of the Bay' list. A feat that no one in his troop has ever accomplished. Hopefully, genetics played at least a small roll in this feat.

That's cool. Onward and Upward from the Rim of the Bay!

jesu, joy of man's desiring wrote:Congratulations, Matt, on your great accomplishment!

If you wanted to become an Eagle Scout, around here the Scouts have to complete the Silver Moccasin Trail, like a 60-mile long backpack ending at the Baden-Powell Memorial atop Mt. Baden-Powell...as you know, B-P founded the Boy Scouts!

That's a cool trail and a fine peak, but not a requirement to be an Eagle Scout.

My congrats to Matt on a fine accomplishment. Scouting and outdoorsy parents like yourself are what got me started and kept me off some otherwise dark pathways.

jesu, joy of man's desiring wrote:If you wanted to become an Eagle Scout, around here the Scouts have to complete the Silver Moccasin Trail, like a 60-mile long backpack ending at the Baden-Powell Memorial atop Mt. Baden-Powell...as you know, B-P founded the Boy Scouts!

I attempted Silver Moc, but retired a few miles before Chilao due to backpack frame failure. Contributing factors were poor boot fit, falling off the trail at night when fetching water at Lamel Spring, and crushing my gonads in a failed attempt to climb a tree at Little Jimmy camp. My fellow scouts wanted to torture another member of the party, and made him carry my boots the rest of the way after I had forgotten them in the melee.

EDIT: We did the Moc backwards, so I got to summit Baden-Powell. One of my prize possessions is a photo of me leaning on the summit monument wearing my first down vest.

I don't know what Mount Wittenberg is, but now because of boyblue and his son I have to climb it!

Congrats on the feat and many more fine outings to come!

Some odd 'peaks' on that list:

* Mt Wittenburg(1) isn't really in the drainage of the Bay area if you consider where the Point Reyes rainfall runs off to (for the record, Mt. Diablo isn't either);
* Pinnacles NM - What 'peak'? Chalone or the one at the top on the main 'lava plugs' area? That would be epic to get to the actual top of that smooth sided old lava plug.
* I wonder why Fremont Peak isn't on the list? That's got to be one of the most important peaks in California history. Its trail from the parking lot isn't that much longer than the one on Mt. Tamalpais, and its closer to the Bay area than anything in the Pinnacles NM.

Anyway, good accomplishment, and maybe he'll carry on and start making you look bad while kicking your butt up the Sierra Nevada Mtn's major peaks in a few more years.

(1) = Mt Wittenburg is only about 1200 ft high. No summit view, as the top is a small meadow in the middle of a forest of trees, and usually socked in by the Point Reyes fog.

Thanks so much for all your comments! Scouting accomplished what my wife and I never could. It got Matt into hiking by giving him confidence and the opportunity to hike with kids his own age instead of his boring old parents. It's still a little bit of a challenge for us to tear him from Minecraft for a Saturday hike, but when we do, he easily leaves us in the dust.

phydeux wrote:Some odd 'peaks' on that list:

* Mt Wittenburg(1) isn't really in the drainage of the Bay area if you consider where the Point Reyes rainfall runs off to (for the record, Mt. Diablo isn't either);
* Pinnacles NM - What 'peak'? Chalone or the one at the top on the main 'lava plugs' area? That would be epic to get to the actual top of that smooth sided old lava plug.
* I wonder why Fremont Peak isn't on the list? That's got to be one of the most important peaks in California history. Its trail from the parking lot isn't that much longer than the one on Mt. Tamalpais, and its closer to the Bay area than anything in the Pinnacles NM.

Anyway, good accomplishment, and maybe he'll carry on and start making you look bad while kicking your butt up the Sierra Nevada Mtn's major peaks in a few more years.

(1) = Mt Wittenburg is only about 1200 ft high. No summit view, as the top is a small meadow in the middle of a forest of trees, and usually socked in by the Point Reyes fog.

I don't know what criteria is used to choose the peaks on this list, but generally, I do agree with you regarding some of the choices you mention. Maybe Fremont Peak instead of Pinnacles, but one of the guidelines is that each hike has to be at least 5 miles in length rt. I wasn't with them on the Tamalpais trip, but I believe they started further down the mountain in order to meet this requirement. I don't think Fremont Peak has a trail system that would allow that kind of versatility.

I think the accepted list has a lot to do with keeping the hikes interesting for the boys by introducing a little variety. Pinnacles has rocky cliffs and interestingly constructed trails. Wittenburg is a far cry from the usual hot dry slog up the fire roads that most of the most prominent peaks around the bay have. Yes, there are almost no views on Wittenburg, but the trail winds through a very cool forest lush with ferns and other plant life that one would never see in the warmer dryer regions around the Bay proper.

And regarding Pinnacles... This was the only 'peak' that didn't involve an actual summit. The guideline is to include the Bear Gulch Trail (and/or cave) and the High Peaks Trail. The actual high point of High Peaks is Hawkins peak which, if I'm not mistaken, involves some technical rock climbing to attain so, not for us. I love the Chalone Peak Trail and I wish that this was the requirement, but, again I think that the High Peaks Trail was likely chosen to keep the trip more interesting for the boys.

I suppose that if I wanted to keep everything strictly 'Bay Area', I would have voted for Mine Hill instead of Pinnacles due to its significance in California history, and maybe San Bruno Mountain instead of Wittenburg just to have an easily accessible peak on the peninsula where there seems to be a huge gap on the current list.

Cheers!

The list was a pre-determined objective set by your local BSA district or council not by you or your son. Your son set out on the quest and completed it, Great Job! No second guessing on the merit of those peaks on this board can take that away from your son (or from a proud father for that matter).

boyblue wrote:Hopefully, genetics played at least a small roll in this feat.

Don't worry, it was from the mom's side.

Josh Lewis wrote:

boyblue wrote:Hopefully, genetics played at least a small roll in this feat.

Don't worry, it was from the mom's side.

That's exactly what I meant!
All kidding aside, I just realized that she is only one peak away from completing the Rim of the Bay LIst, whereas I still have two more to go. My self esteem has now hit a new low.
Thanks a lot, Josh!

At least you can get out there. It's going to be a while before I can do anything hard. The good news is that while I can't go outside much at all, I have a lot of SP work to do. Also if it makes you feel better I've never completed any important peak lists before even though I climb mountains more than your average alpinist.

Josh Lewis wrote:At least you can get out there. It's going to be a while before I can do anything hard. The good news is that while I can't go outside much at all, I have a lot of SP work to do. Also if it makes you feel better I've never completed any important peak lists before even though I climb mountains more than your average alpinist.

The only list that I'm personally interested is the list of peaks that I haven't climbed yet. Perhaps one of the longest lists ever!

You're young, strong and motivated. The mountains are calling and I'm sure you'll be answering them soon.

My wife, Nora, finally completed the BSA 'Rim of the Bay' list by hiking up Mount Saint Helena:

Now I just need to get off my lazy butt and hike up Mount Tamalpias to complete mine...

Mount Tamalpias was the first peak I climbed in California... I think it is a bigger accomplishment to be an outdoor person and live in the Bay Area your entire life and not hike up Tamalpias. Don't ruin it!

mrchad9 wrote:Mount Tamalpias was the first peak I climbed in California... I think it is a bigger accomplishment to be an outdoor person and live in the Bay Area your entire life and not hike up Tamalpias. Don't ruin it!

^^

Not as big an accomplishment as my being a High Sierra mountaineer for 25 years and never summiting Mount Whitney. Take THAT all you SPS List completers!

(BTW, Mount Umunhum was my first peak in California.)