https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/ A first-hand trip-report log of hikes and peaks across California and Nevada. en-us Mon, 19 Oct 2026 19:44:28 GMT https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/mount-saint-helena/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/mount-saint-helena/ Sun, 18 Oct 2026 07:00:00 GMT The highest point in Napa County, and somehow the one hike out here that doesn't end with a wine tasting. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/peaked-hill/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/peaked-hill/ Sat, 17 Oct 2026 07:00:00 GMT A tiny detour off the Kortum Trail on the Sonoma Coast — parked in a small pullout on Highway 1, a short steep walk to a USC&GS survey disk set in concrete, and coastal views opening up as the morning fog broke. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/siligo-peak/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/siligo-peak/ Sat, 10 Oct 2026 07:00:00 GMT A first-time visit to one of the Trinity Alps' best-kept secrets — a hike that feels like four different hikes stacked into one, climbing through forest to Bee Tree Gap, over spectacular Deer Creek Pass, and along a colorful ridge to an easy final scramble at the top of the Four Lakes Loop. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/chamise-peak/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/chamise-peak/ Sat, 03 Oct 2026 07:00:00 GMT A modest little foothill summit above Redding with an outsized view — Shasta Dam, Shasta Lake, and Mount Shasta itself all lined up at once, with fall color lighting up the oak woodland along the way. There's also a longer approach from the north via the Upper Sacramento Ditch Trail, noted below among the repeat visits. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/thompson-peak/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/thompson-peak/ Fri, 18 Sep 2026 07:00:00 GMT The highest mountain in the Trinity Alps — climbed car-to-car in a single 14-hour push from the longer Canyon Creek approach, ending on a summit complex of exposed granite high points scattered with century-old survey markers. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/brokeoff-mountain/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/brokeoff-mountain/ Sat, 05 Sep 2026 07:00:00 GMT The second-highest peak in Lassen Volcanic National Park, done as a full winter climb — snow the entire way, firm underfoot in the 24-degree cold, with a direct crampon-and-axe finish straight up instead of following the summer switchbacks. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/black-butte/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/black-butte/ Sat, 15 Aug 2026 07:00:00 GMT A steep pile of volcanic rubble standing right beside Interstate 5 — a satellite dome of Mount Shasta with a surprisingly graded trail and a 360-degree summit view timed for sunset. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/lassen-peak/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/lassen-peak/ Sat, 08 Aug 2026 07:00:00 GMT Nice hike this morning to Mount Lassen Peak — 10,457 feet, the highest point in the park and one of the largest lava dome volcanoes on Earth, with a steep and completely exposed trail the whole way up. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/mount-langley/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/mount-langley/ Sat, 01 Aug 2026 07:00:00 GMT A backpacking trip to Long Lake, a night under a stacked Sierra sky, and a cairn-guided sunrise push to the southernmost fourteener in the country. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/crater-peak-magee-peak/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/crater-peak-magee-peak/ Sat, 25 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT Two summits above the Thousand Lakes Wilderness in one morning — Crater Peak (8,683 ft) and Magee Peak (8,549 ft), an old volcanic cone with a ridge walk between them and Mount Shasta looming on the horizon the whole way. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/half-dome/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/half-dome/ Tue, 14 Jul 2026 07:00:00 GMT The iconic Yosemite summit — Vernal and Nevada Falls, the Sub Dome steps, and the infamous cables to the top. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/granite-peak/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/granite-peak/ Sat, 27 Jun 2026 07:00:00 GMT The most-climbed summit in the Trinity Alps and the only one with a maintained trail to the top — a steep day-hike option in a range where overnight backpacking is the norm, with a former fire lookout site at the summit. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/mount-eddy/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/mount-eddy/ Sun, 21 Jun 2026 07:00:00 GMT A beautiful morning hike through Deadfall Lakes up to the summit of Mount Eddy — the highest point west of Interstate 5 in the country, with a front-row view of Mount Shasta from the top. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/castle-dome/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/castle-dome/ Sat, 06 Jun 2026 07:00:00 GMT A chilly, early winter start on the Castle Dome Trail, climbing through quiet forest into the granite heart of the Castle Crags — a genuinely beautiful hike from the first step to the last. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/top-of-the-world/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/top-of-the-world/ Sat, 25 Apr 2026 07:00:00 GMT A quick, steady climb above the Westside neighborhoods to one of Redding's best viewpoints — a memorial bench, a wall of storm clouds, and Mt. Shasta and Lassen trading the spotlight in the distance. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/angels-landing/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/angels-landing/ Mon, 13 Apr 2026 07:00:00 GMT The chains at Angels Landing — Walter's Wiggles, a permit-timed afternoon start, and one of the most exposed, unforgettable summit pushes anywhere in the national park system. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/castle-peak-siskiyou-county/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/castle-peak-siskiyou-county/ Sat, 28 Mar 2026 07:00:00 GMT An unofficially-named summit above Castle Lake near Mount Shasta — an off-trail push past Heart Lake to a small, spectacular high point with Mount Shasta rising straight ahead. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/shasta-bally/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/shasta-bally/ Fri, 06 Feb 2026 08:00:00 GMT The tallest peak in the Whiskeytown unit, a steep, unrelenting climb up the old summit road to 6,199 feet — Mount Shasta, the Trinity Alps, and Whiskeytown Lake all visible from the antenna-topped summit. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/mule-mountain/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/mule-mountain/ Sun, 01 Feb 2026 08:00:00 GMT A local Redding classic — up the Escalator from the Wintu Trailhead to Mule Mountain Pass, with views of Mount Shasta and Lassen Peak from the summit ridge. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/mount-tamalpais/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/mount-tamalpais/ Sun, 28 Dec 2025 08:00:00 GMT A 16.7-mile round trip from Stinson Beach to the top of Mount Tamalpais — sea level to 2,571 feet and back, through redwood ravines, grassy ridgelines, and one of the best summit views in the Bay Area. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/south-fork-mountain/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/south-fork-mountain/ Sat, 06 Dec 2025 08:00:00 GMT A long, steady training climb up the old lookout road above Whiskeytown Lake — snow on the upper switchbacks and a decommissioned fire lookout site at the top. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/prospect-peak-cinder-cone/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/prospect-peak-cinder-cone/ Sun, 12 Oct 2025 07:00:00 GMT Two volcanoes in one long day from the Cinder Cone Trailhead — Prospect Peak's shield-volcano summit first, then the short, brutally steep climb up Cinder Cone itself, with the Painted Dunes glowing red and orange below. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/mount-diller-pilot-pinnacle-ski-heil-peak-eagle-peak/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/mount-diller-pilot-pinnacle-ski-heil-peak-eagle-peak/ Sat, 09 Aug 2025 07:00:00 GMT Four remnant summits of the ancient Mount Tehama volcano in one off-trail day — Mount Diller, Pilot Pinnacle, Ski Heil Peak, and Eagle Peak, bagged in a row above Sulphur Works, with a highway walk back to close out the loop. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/briones-peak/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/briones-peak/ Sun, 06 Jul 2025 07:00:00 GMT A low East Bay ridge that punches above its 1,483 feet — golden hills, oak canyons, and Mount Diablo dominating the skyline the whole way up. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/clouds-rest/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/clouds-rest/ Fri, 04 Jul 2025 07:00:00 GMT A brutal, gorgeous day from the Valley floor — the Mist Trail, Little Yosemite Valley, and a ridge with the best view of Half Dome in the park. Done this way seven times now; there's also a much shorter approach from Tioga Road, noted below among the repeat visits. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/cerro-de-la-silla-antenas/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/cerro-de-la-silla-antenas/ Sun, 29 Jun 2025 07:00:00 GMT A hot, humid grind up Pico Antena, the most iconic summit on Monterrey's saddle-shaped symbol, rewarded with a sea of clouds, a curious coati, and a rooftop view of the whole mountain that evening. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/three-sisters-falls-eagle-peak/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/three-sisters-falls-eagle-peak/ Sun, 15 Jun 2025 07:00:00 GMT Two San Diego backcountry classics from one trailhead — Eagle Peak's 360-degree summit views, then a steep drop into the canyon for a swim below Three Sisters Falls. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/hot-springs-mountain/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/hot-springs-mountain/ Sun, 25 May 2025 07:00:00 GMT The highest point in San Diego County — a long climb through Los Coyotes tribal land to a historic 1912 fire lookout, with Lupita by my side the whole way. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/mount-vesuvius/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/mount-vesuvius/ Fri, 25 Apr 2025 07:00:00 GMT Hiking to the rim of an active volcano with 2,000 years of history behind it — the Gran Cono trail above Naples, a steaming crater, and a day that also included the ruins of Pompeii. https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/black-mountain/ https://summit-log.mattsummits.workers.dev/black-mountain/ Tue, 18 Mar 2025 07:00:00 GMT A quick North County classic in Rancho Peñasquitos — a steady climb through chaparral to a 1,554-foot summit sign, with benches along the way for taking in the sweep of the valley below.