Mt. St. Helena, Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, Calistoga

Crummy weather was in the forecast — rain, but not snow. Only a handful of people showed up, but since I hadn’t been hiking in CA in a few weeks with all my travel, I was determined to get out. Pretty easy at the beginning and then we hit a fire road that led to the top of the mountain. Was very windy and cold at the top. Spectacular views and a great place for lunch. Some mountain biker was at the top freestyling, or whatever it’s called – wheelies, flipping around, etc. Mildly entertaining. On the way down, it started to snow. Nothing that would accumulate but nice flurries. Glad I was wearing a black sweatshirt so I could see the snowflakes really well. Was about a 10-mile trail. Elevation of the mountain is listed at about 4,300 feet up. Beautiful place. Too bad there’s a bunch of power/cellphone towers at the top to get in the way. Civilization.