1/3/21 - Calistoga, CA: Oat Hill Mine Trail
Length: 14.1 miles
Elevation Gain: 2,417 ft.
Most people go to the Napa area for wineries that look like castles, bougie hotels, and overpriced eateries. For the one that isn't so in to wine, or looking for something to do with the family, this was a great outing. A long hike followed by a visit to the Jack London gravesite and Wolf house ruins.
My first hike of 2021 and BOY DID IT FEEL AMAZING TO BE OUT ON THE TRAIL! Starting out at 8:45 AM, there was a misty haze that obscured the views until noontime. Once the clouds cleared, the expansive Napa valley was revealed. Much of the landscape had been charred to a crisp due to the fires earlier in the year, but new life sprang from the ashes all around. Dogs on leash allowed, beware of mountain bikers!
Jack London is a well-known author amongst the literary minded. He was born in San Francisco in 1876 and is most notable for writing Call of the Wild and White Fang. While I have never read either of these novels, I definitely will now! I am on a quest to read the novels of other famous Californians: John Steinbeck (Cannery Row, East of Eden, Of Mice and Men), and Robert Louis Stevenson (The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde).
