Surprisingly good and tough trail just east of Vallejo
By Austin Explorer on 3/5/2022
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Distance: 5.74 Miles Duration: 3 hours, 36 minutes
Coppertone and I had looked at Google Maps when we were planning our hike along Blue Rock Springs Trail. We could see the trails on this side of the ridge that overlooks Vallejo, but we were not sure what to expect when we showed up to hike those trails today.
We parked along the street on Highgate Road. We were met with one of the toughest trail starts we remember encountering anywhere. A short, extremely steep segment just screams out for a switchback. Thankfully the segment is relatively short and more subdued, but still vigorous, climbing followed soon after that.
The terrain around Hiddenbrooke consists of hilly grassland, which provides ample opportunities for sweeping vistas as you gain altitude. The hills seem to be in that gray area between rolling and steep. The lowest and highest point in our hike may have only been about 500 feet. However, we gained, and gave up, those 500 feet multiple times throughout the course of the trip. It felt more hilly than that number implies.
The land here is under active use for cattle grazing, so we encountered a small herd here and there throughout our trip. The cattle have discovered that trail markers make for excellent scratching posts to reach those itchy areas they cannot, which is a lot. Some had been knocked over and some are remaining upright by the slimmest of margins.
Some of the gates which allows hikers through while keeping the cattle enclosed were the narrowest we'd seen. I had to take my backpack off in order to fit through.
We hiked to the peak at the end of Summit Trail and enjoyed sweeping views that included everything from Mount Diablo to Mount Tam and the Napa-Sonoma Marshes. An derelict structure at the summit used to house the transmitter of a community radio station.
The main Hiddenbrooke Trail roughly parallels Hiddenbrooke Parkway and its neighborhood. But it is often out of sight and out of mind while hiking. Eventually the trail does descend from the hills and dumps out onto the main road closer to Interstate 80 than where we started.
We doubled back on our path to our car and logged a strenuous 5.74 miles.