My rental car at Mt Konocti County Park

I hiked up Mt Konocti alone, and I’ll admit there were a few moments when I wondered if I’d made a big mistake. It wasn’t that the trail was rough — but the climb was unrelenting, and I had to stop several times just to get my breath back. And then there was the pain in my left knee; it had been nagging at me for the last couple of days, but it wasn’t that bad. I had almost forgotten about it… until I was on the mountain and the ache kept getting worse and worse.

But I’m stubborn, and the views were fantastic, and I was hiking up a mountain I had wanted to explore for years. So I kept climbing through the pain until I couldn’t climb any farther.

I hiked along the dotted line to Point #10

Konocti is made up of three main high spots: Wright Peak, Buckingham Peak, and Howard Peak (4286 feet). Wright Peak is the highest point at 4299 feet above sea level. Buckingham tops out at 3952. When I decided to give up on my climb, I was only about one mile — and 511 feet of elevation — from the summit of Howard Peak. Still, I have no regrets! I managed to reach the Downen Cabin, which had been my primary goal for the day.

Communication towers on Buckingham Peak