Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument

Day 1 October 2, 2023

There are a few National Monuments that are not run by the National Park Service. This is one of those, which is even more confusing as it is shared between Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and US Forest Service (USFS). Depending on which section you go to the lands may be BLM, BLM Wilderness, USFS or USFS Wilderness. These all have different rules. Generally, the northern portion is USFS and southern is BLM. I started off in the Cache Creek Wilderness (BLM) and hiked part of Lynch Canyon and Red Bud. A lot of this area has evidence from a forest fire in 2009. Large oak trees are standing dead but some that look severely burnt have newer growth. I crossed a dry creek although this one did not fool me despite the lack of good trail signs that is typical of BLM lands. A post that says “trail” and arrows pointing in three directions is not very helpful.