6-10-12 Diablo Foothills

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On a Sunday that promised to get hot, Darby and I tried to get an early start. It was the day before my dad's 96th birthday, and I wanted to visit him in Danville. Since we were already out that way, I decided to go hiking in the Shell Ridge area. I had been on several trails in the area, but I had never been to the Castle Rock Park entrance to Diablo Foothills Regional Park, so we went there. It was about 10:30 -- not as early as I had hoped, and it was already quite warm.

As we drove in, there was a sign saying that the parking lot was full and directing us to the equestrian staging area, where we parked and started off. As we walked along the trail above the entrance road, we could see that the parking lot was not at all full and we could have saved ourselves a quarter mile or so. Oh well.

Beyond a small dam (which was dry), we followed Pine Creek up the canyon. The creek was nearly dry also, but there were a few pools remaining. We passed some interesting sandstone formations by the trail, and looked across the creek at the larger formations known as Castle Rock. After about a mile, we came to the boundary of Mt. Diablo State Park. Dogs are not allowed on park trails, so we turned right, heading up a little side canyon.

We noticed a couple of guys with a dog who ignored the signs and went on through the gate into the park, but I didn't want to risk getting into trouble. Well, maybe a little bit. In the side canyon, we soon came to another gate leading into the State Park. I wanted to loop around to the south in Diablo Foothills, but the canyon was narrow and steep-sided, and it was not practical to avoid going through the gate, so we did, for a short distance until the canyon opened up and divided into several forks. We headed off the trail to the right, crossing a little creek and climbing up a ridge. The crossing was the hardest part, as the banks were very steep and crumbly. The ridge wasn't so easy either, and the steep climbing was hard. Near the top, we climbed a fence, and I figured we were back in a dog-friendly park.

We continued over the treeless grassy hills, now heading back towards our starting point. We came to a fairly large stock pond, and Darby ran over to it for a drink. Then he started swimming around. He usually won't go in the water unless we throw a stick, but today he was too hot and dry to resist. Cooled off now, he continued with renewed energy, and chased ground squirrels all over near the trail.

I had thought that we might stay along the ridge tops all the way back, but when I saw the hill ahead where the Shell Ridge Loop Trail goes, it looked like a steep climb that would take more energy than I had left. We went on down to Pine Creek, and retraced our path back to the start. The temperatures had probably been in the mid-nineties, but there was a breeze, and it didn't feel too bad. But as we finished up the last mile or so, I had to admit that it was hot.

 5.5 mi. -- 1200 ft. up and down

6-2-12 Tolman Peak

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On a warm Saturday afternoon, I only had a couple of hours free for a hike, so I didn't want to drive too far. Darby and I went to the south entrance of Garin Park at Mission Blvd. and Whipple Ave. (which is really Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Park, but it all runs together as a single park). This time, at the first fork, we went right, leading to the Tolman Peak Trail which goes up the South Fork of Dry Creek.

There were a bunch of cattle hanging out right on the trail, but they didn't pay much attention to us. The few that were right on the trail slowly moved aside for us. I was surprised to see that one of them was a bull. He didn't have horns, and he wasn't at all interested in us as we passed by just a few feet away. Darby was perfectly behaved, and just quietly walked along beside me. We often go out on Garin trails with the horses and Darby runs along behind. He has learned that he should leave the cattle alone and he is pretty good about it now.

The trail is pretty easy for a mile and a half or so, a wide grassy valley at first, then becoming a narrow canyon. Darby ran off the trail to the nearby creek, and I thought he wanted a drink, but he bounded up the far bank and stopped, staring through a fence. There in a little clearing were three little pigs. There are lots of wild pigs throughout the hills of California, but I don't see them often. More commonly, I just see the dug-up earth around oak trees where they root for acorns. These little guys were quite young and as soon as they saw Darby, they scattered into the brush. Luckily, he didn't chase them. I suppose mama was probably not far away, and she might get defensive.

The fire road ends and a single-track trail turns left, and climbs steeply up the hillside. This last half mile was quite a killer. Even plodding along very slowly, I still needed to stop for a couple of short rests. We came out of the woods and onto the grassy hilltop that is Tolman Peak. It's really hardly a peak at all, just a bump on a spur ridge coming down from the main Walpert Ridge. But it is near the park boundary, so you can't legally go much higher.

Now on a fire road again, we started back down along the ridge, with great views down over the lower hills to Union City and the bay. Back down into the valley, we completed the loop and retraced our outbound route. I was quite ready for the hike to be done with. It was a longer and steeper hike than I remembered.

5.5 mi. -- 1350 ft. up and down

5-28-12 Las Trampas Peak

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Memorial Day. Clear and warm. I took Darby back to Las Trampas again. This time I was thinking of making a loop that I have done years ago, over Las Trampas Peak and down the east side on the Madrone Trail, then looping back up to the ridge on the Corduroy Hills Trail. It goes through some interesting, more remote parts of the park, but it is a fairly long and hard hike. Of course, I should have known that my ambitious plans often fall apart after a little uphill hiking on a warm day.

Once again, we parked at the bottom of the Chamise Trail. This time we headed up the valley on the Bollinger Creek Trail. There were plenty of others out on the trail as we gently climbed for a while, then more steeply up to the saddle dividing Bollinger Creek and Las Trampas Creek. Now I was getting tired and it was a lot of work to push on up the hill to the top of the ridge. Continuing northwest along the ridge top, it seemed like a lot further than I remembered and more up and down before we began our final climb up to the peak.

More than 40 years ago, I remember hiking this ridge top with my younger brother. We were hiking from our home in Lafayette across the hills to Danville. There was no park and no trails except for ranch roads. It was all private land, but no one was around but for a few cows. It was relatively easy hiking cross-country over the grass covered hills until we reached Las Trampas Peak. From there the ridge was steep, narrow and covered with chaparral. Someone had bulldozed a fire break a short ways along the ridge, so we followed it. Soon it ended, and we pushed our way into the dense brush. From the peak, it had looked like if we could get through a mile or so along the ridge it might get easier. So on we bushwhacked, dropping down on the east side through very steep woods to avoid the chaparral. Hot and exhausted, I realized that it wasn't getting any easier, and we turned back. We fought our way back out and took an easier way down the east side of the ridge.

Hiking along the ridge today, and seeing how dense the chaparral is on the sides of the trail, it was hard to believe that we hiked through it. Finally at the peak, I stopped for a rest and looked around at the view. When I was young, I always thought of the peak as being the 1762 ft. rounded hill about a quarter mile to the north of the high point. That peak has a much better view to the north.

I was fairly tired by now, and the idea of going down the east side of the ridge and then back up was not at all appealing. We hiked back the way we had come, and then continued along the ridge. The trail drops down a little on the east side of the ridge around Vail Peak, a very pretty section of steep woods. We finally came to the Chaparral Trail, which we followed down to our car. It was a tiring but rewarding day.

4.6 mi. -- 1400 ft. up and down

5-19-12 Anthony Chabot

 On a warm, clear Saturday, Darby and I set out for another hike. I chose Anthony Chabot because I didn't want to drive far, but to make it a little different, I decided to start near the campground on the Marciel Road and loop south along the northern shore of Lake Chabot. I thought we could park at the campground entrance, but didn't see any good spots, so we backtracked a quarter mile or so to the turnoff for the group campgrounds, where there is space for parking just before the locked gate.

We walked down the Marciel Road to the Live Oak Trail, then followed it steeply down to the bottom along the edge of the golf course. Turning right on the Honker Bay Trail, we were soon next to the lake. It was a pretty warm day, and Darby was already thirsty, so he found a way through the tules to the water. It was a pleasant walk for the next mile or so along the shore, passing several other hikers and bicyclists. It became much less pleasant when the trail turned up the hillside, and climbed rather steeply 300 ft. or so. The heat and the climb finally got to me and I had to stop at a bench and rest a few minutes.

We continued on the Columbine Trail as it winds in and our of a couple of several ravines overlooking the lake. I didn't have a map with me so I was just going on memory. I thought there would be a trail branching to the right taking me back to the campground entrance, but it wasn't there. Hiking cross-country there would be out of the question, as it is all dense brush and poison oak. So it seemed much longer than I expected before we saw a path branching to the right. This path took us climbing up a ridge to the Lost Ridge group camp. Along the way, Darby heard something in the grass, and flushed out a turkey. It went running off with Darby right behind. Luckily, he doesn't like to get too far away from me, and he soon came back from his little adventure. We skirted around the edges of the camp occupied by a lot of kids, and finally made it back to the car.

After doing this hike, I told my son, Chris about it. At the time, he was working a temporary job at this park. He told me that I must have passed near the location of a Bald Eagle nest that people have been watching. I'll have to go back some time and check that out.

5.2 mi. -- 1250 ft. down and up

5-13-12 Briones

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Briones has been one of my favorite parks, but I hadn't been there in a pretty long time. I guess it seemed like a longer drive than closer parks, but it is really not so far. The weather had been cool for a couple of days, and the morning started out foggy so I didn't try to get an early start. By noon, it was starting to clear, so Darby and I drove north on 580 and through the tunnel to Orinda. I saw that traffic was barely moving in the other direction, surprising for a Sunday, so I figured that we should return on 680 instead.

We started hiking from the Bear Creek Road entrance and headed southeast on the Seaborg Trail. Late spring rains and cool weather had kept the grasses green. Usually by the middle of May they would be getting dry. The trail was a easy fire road for a mile and a half or so, then climbed about 600 feet to a ridge top. I remembered that there were nice views from Lafayette Ridge, which branches from this ridge a quarter mile south, so we walked over there. We weren't disappointed. The view is great to the east and south. Mt. Diablo, Lafayette Ridge, Las Trampas and Rocky Ridges, the town of Lafayette, and the east side of the Berkeley Hills.

After a few photos, we retraced our steps and continued north along the ridge. There was still a fair amount of climbing to do as the ridge gains a couple hundred feet of elevation. The views continue to be good, first on one side, then the other as the road winds along the crest. It was still cool and windy, but clear and sunny now. We passed several other hikers, but for much of the way we were alone.

There are a collection of small antennas at one of the high points, peak 1433. Just short of this peak, I looked to the east at the very steep chaparral covered slopes that form a natural amphitheater there. I've always remembered these slopes, because in my boy scout days, a friend and I hiked up there and found a rough path out to a shallow cave that kids had carved out of the cliff. We hung out there and enjoyed the view. The ridge continues around to the northwest in gentle ups and downs, past the high point, Briones Peak.

Another memory came back, this time of hiking up to this area with my high school girlfriend. This must have been around 1961, before Briones was open as a park. There was an old unpaved county road connecting Bear Valley to Alhambra Valley, and we had parked at the summit. When we returned from our hike, there was an guy in a truck there to chew us out for trespassing, but he let us go.

On the Old Briones Road Trail, Darby and I headed southwest down off the ridge and along the valley back to the trailhead, passing many more hikers.

6.5 mi. -- 1550 ft. up and down

4-29-12 Las Trampas

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Darby and I set out for another hike in Las Trampas Regional Wilderness. This time, I was thinking about the rugged area on the west side of Rocky Ridge where it drops down to the head of Cull Canyon. I had been down the Sycamore Trail and the Devil's Hole Trail years ago, and remembered it as a very scenic area of steep wooded ravines, chaparral and sandstone cliffs. The only problem is that to get there (legally anyway), you need to climb about 1000 ft. over Rocky Ridge, descend a similar amount on the other side, and then climb back out again.

We started off from the parking lot at the end of Bollinger Canyon Road, and headed up the Elderberry trail. It climbs steeply for a half mile or so, then goes up and down in and out of ravines before climbing to the top of Rocky Ridge. It was a beautiful day, and the hills were nice and green. It has not been a great spring for wildflowers, but there were some buttercups and nice big bunches of lupines along the way.

The climb was taking its toll, plus for some reason, I began to have an annoying stomach ache. I was pretty well beat by the time we reached the top. I was a bit disappointed to see that the trail continued to climb as we turned northwest along the ridge.

Where it began to level off, we stopped for a rest on a hilltop with a great view all around. I looked around a bit at the sandstone outcrops with poppies around them. The rocks are packed with fossil seashells, showing that this 2000 ft. ridge was once a seashore, and not so long ago in geologic time -- only a million years or so.

After a short rest, I felt better, but I knew that I wasn't up to the hike down the far side of the ridge. So we continued along the ridge, enjoying the great views all along the way, and went down the paved road back to the parking lot. As it often works out, even though I didn't do everything I had planned, it was a very nice hike anyway, and I didn't miss the extra 1000 ft. of climbing.

5.1 mi. -- 1550 ft. up and down