627. Bills Hill and Willson Peak (07/19/08)

Hikers (13): Arlene, David, Diane, George, Harvey, Helen, Jeff, Nani, Paul, Ross, Sabine, Sarah, Steve
Distance: 15 miles
Rating: 4 difficulty, 8 beauty
Park info: Henry Coe State Park near Gilroy

Write-up by Steve -- Pictures by George and Steve

A writeup in bullet form:

• Lots of great input from Coe volunteers about the hike.
  • . . .including the suggestion not to take a group!
• The route we took half-way to the ridge (before picking up the fireroad) was slightly off the official route, but it was also the longest stretch without poison oak.
• Ross and Sabine cut down quite a bit of poison oak en-route to Osos Ridge. The poison oak would have its revenge.
• Views from the peak were great. . .and so was the watermelon that Jeff lugged up the whole way!
• The route we took along the fence (with no trail) was correct. The route we took back along the ridge (on the road) was "wrong", but faster.
• Continuing down the fireroad all the way does work, as George demonstrated.
  • A helpful cairn marks the "trailhead" here. One of the volunteers mentioned this, too. Whoops.
• At the start of the hike, Cameron the Ranger had mentioned to George and I that Redfern Trail was tough.
  • We wondered if they say this about most trails in the park.
  • Cameron was right. Goes up about 1200ft in 1.4 miles.
• Serpentine Trail was a nice, shaded route to Willson Peak--seemed much gentler going up than I remembered it coming down from past hikes.
• At Willson Peak, there was an unexpected consensus to make the hike a four rather than a five.
• Four different "groups" came out at three different spots along Hunting Hollow while trying to take Jim Donnelly Trail. None was successful, but some were more successful than others.
• Much partying was had at the end.
  • Except by me, 'cause I skipped filling up on water at Willson Camp, which led to drinking too little water on the rest of the hike. Was dehydrated as heck at the end, with the only liquids on hand being beer and diet cola.
• Most of the hikers got poison oak to some degree. Results of scientific poison oak study at bottom of page.

The first three INCH cars are Priuses

INCH takes Bill's Hill. . .

. . .and celebrates with watermelon.

Name	Poison Oak Mitigation Strategy	Results
Arlene	Long pants, Tecnu	Little PO patches "everywhere"
David	Tecnu Extreme post hike	PO where branches scratched legs, right arm
Diane	Cortaid wipes	PO where branches scratched skin, knees
George	Long pants, hyper awareness, Cortaid wipes x 2, Tecnu Extreme post hike	Negligible PO, sunburn
Harvey	Cortaid wipes x 2, Tecnu, Tecnu Extreme post hike	PO where branches scratched legs
Helen	Long pants/sleeves, genetics	PO free!
Jeff	Long pants	PO on arms, hands, and along zipper on detachable pant legs
Nani	Long pants/sleeves	PO just above ankles
Paul	Long pants/sleeves, Calamine post hike	PO free!
Ross	Cortaid wipes, clippers	PO on upper arms and thighs, where wipes didn't reach
Sabine	Long sleeves, clippers, genetics	PO everywhere
Sarah	Long pants, sock change, Cortaid wipes, Witch Hazel post hike	PO on wrists and ankles
Steve	Genetics	PO on lower legs (minor)

Pages maintained by Steve Walstra, Peter Saviz, and Russell Gee.
©2025 Intrepid Northern California Hikers