Fiske - A Wet Christmas Day

I was spending the holiday weekend in Vallejo, and this nearby peak was perfect for a good Christmas morning workout. From Vallejo, it takes about an hour to reach the Cache Creek casino, then set your odometer to zero at the casino stoplight on Hwy 16, and the parking area for the trailhead will be on your left at 16.8 miles. The Rayhouse Road gate was closed, so I parked near the highway and walked down the road and crossed the low-water bridge over Cache Creek. The trailhead is a few hundred feet downstream from the bridge, and is well-marked. The trail climbs steadily up a good trail to the top of Blue Ridge, then follows the ridge top on out to the summit. When you get to the top of the ridge, I'd highly recommend you walk over and check out the view from the rocky outcropping to your right before continuing southward down the main trail to Fiske Peak. I believe this outcropping is Point 2631 on the Topozone map, and there is an impressive drop down the steep west face of Blue Ridge. The weather was overcast and foggy, but I did get some occasional glimpses of what I'd guess are fantastic views on a clear day. Then it started to rain when I reached the summit, and didn't stop for the rest of the day. No matter, I was already soaked from pushing past the wet brush adjacent to the trail on the way up. Not at all what I'd classify as bushwhacking, but the trail could use a little trimming. The only other party on the trail were Phil and Alex from Davis, who later thanked me for staying about a quarter-mile ahead of them and shaking all the water off the vegetation so they could stay somewhat dry. Besides us, I noticed only one other summit log entry for the month of December. I'd planned to go on out to Lowery, but the conditions were getting more miserable by the minute, so I headed back down. The mud up here is extremely slippery when wet, and I landed hard on my butt a couple of times on the way down the hill. It had also occurred to me that a serious rain in the country upstream could raise the water level in Cache Creek until it over-topped the massive concrete low-water bridge, leaving me stranded on the wrong side. But my fears were unfounded, as the concrete deck was high and dry upon my return. My total time was four hours car-to-car, including about 20 minutes of lunch and summit time. Total round trip distance was about 8.5 miles, with an elevation gain of about 2,200 feet. Anyway, I want to go back soon on a cold, clear, DRY winter day and check out the views, and also continue on down Blue Ridge to Lowery Peak.