When we highpoint across private property we don't mean any harm. We're passing through and we leave nothing but footprints. Some private property owners have made it clear that they don't mind. Others… well let's just use the phrase "status unknown."
The third county highpoint we looked at last spring, the one we did not summit, was our first and primary goal this year. We drove to Kettleman City Saturday to spend the night as close to it as we could. Then, we were up at 5:00 a.m. so as to do the drive and then start the hike at very first light.
An excellent fog helped us get a stealth start (and the heavy, heavy dew on the grass made sure that our feet got instantly wet - they stayed that way for the whole 7 hour 45 minute hike):
Once we hiked through the flats we started a gentle climb through grassy hills. Oh, and flowers too. Lots of flowers:
Higher elevation equaled better views:
Soon the highpoint (more of a plateau than a peak) was visible half a mile away:
Once we got there, the day's goal didn't take much searching. But it wasn't exactly spectacular either:
There were two summit registers (the second one, placed in 2016, describes another common way of doing private highpoints - by full moon):
Tricia signed us in:
The hike out was mostly uneventful (as described below though, I had a close call though about half a mile from the pick-up point):
More flowers (in places one couldn't avoid walking right on them):
Notice the still-wet feet:
And then, wading through deep grass, gently uphill, I caught myself in mid-stride about to step on this (and, naturally, I let out my customary little-girl scream and absolutely levitated to the side):
Careful planning/map reading allowed us to stay down in drainages and on reverse slopes until we reached a point 75 feet from the road. We then summoned Vicki who'd been waiting miles down the road (to avoid a suspicious car near our ingress/egress point; and note Hurricane Halifax helping navigate out the car window as usual):
We finished by 3:00 p.m., having taken only photos and left only footprints. We still had time enough to visit the nearby hamlet of Parkdale and then drive to King City for an excellent tri-tip, potatoes and salad dinner with the Waltons (thanks again for the hospitality). The day ended with a drive to Caleb and Nicolle's house (still barely in daylight) where we visited and then stayed the night (and thank you two too for the hospitality).
With our feet sore from too much wet-foot hiking, we took a rest day today exploring the gorgeous Arroyo Seco area. Tomorrow is a Pinnacles day followed by one more (private property) highpoint on Wednesday.
