Mt. Diablo 11-8-14

It has been great hiking weather lately, cool and clear, and I've been taking advantage of it. On Friday, Darby and I did a nice hike at Las Trampas, a beautiful loop on Las Trampas Ridge, all on trails that I have previously written about here, so no point in writing more about them. Usually on the day after a good hike, I'm feeling like taking it easy, but on Saturday morning I felt like going out for another one. I thought that it was about time to visit Mt. Diablo again, so I left Darby at home. I wanted to see some of the rugged north side of the mountain, which I especially like, but don't visit often because of the longer drive.

I arrived at the Mitchell Canyon Staging area around mid-morning and was confronted with the problem of paying for parking. I didn't want to block the road while I tried to figure out the payment system and there were "no parking" signs all around, so I went on into the parking lot and into the visitor center. I thought for sure I could pay there, but I was told that I would have to go back to the entrance road, quite a distance away. So I went back and put my envelope with my payment into the slot, then back to the parking lot. I looked around for a ranger so I could complain about their stupid, inconvenient system, but didn't see one, so I just started hiking on the Mitchell Canyon Trail.

I remember Mitchell Canyon from when I was a kid in the 50's, and went to a big picnic at a park there. Our neighborhood in Lafayette used to get together for a picnic every summer and it was a great time for us kids because we all knew each other. I doubt that there are many neighborhoods today with such a sense of community, but it was a place where lots of young families had moved into new homes about the same time, and the kids quickly made friends. At the picnic, one of the older boys, a teenager, decided to climb Eagle Peak, and set off up the steep slope. Several hours later he was back, and I was so impressed that he had done it. Looking up at that rugged mountainside today, it's still hard to believe.

As I hiked up the canyon today, I kept looking for some sign of the picnic area, but didn't see any. In the 50's, none of the north side of the mountain was part of the state park, and the picnic site was a private park. On the USGS topographic map of the area which is dated 1953, there is a dashed rectangle marked "park" a couple of miles into the canyon. That must be the place.

Mitchell Canyon

The canyon was very pretty today, with lots of fall color, and I was enjoying the easy, mostly level trail the first couple of miles. Then the fire road begins to climb and just keeps on climbing. I remember this part of the trail from another time when I was a kid. My scout troop hiked up the mountain with full packs as training for a Sierra backpacking trip. It was a 100 degree day in early summer, and it made me pretty sick, but somehow, I made it up the mountain. Looking back on it now, it seems pretty careless that our leaders would make us do something that dangerous to our health. Today, the cool weather and lack of a pack made it a much nicer hike, but it was still pretty hard work and it seemed to take forever before the trail leveled out at Deer Flat. I was pretty well soaked with sweat when I got there.

Climbing to Deer Flat

I turned left at the trail junction, descended to cross a little dry creek, and then there was more climbing to Murchio Gap. I was tired, but still really enjoying this part of the mountain. It's a beautiful area that feels especially wild and remote. It's a patchwork of oak woodland, grassland, dense stands of manzanita and many rocky outcrops. Although it takes some hard hiking to get there, it was a popular place on a nice Saturday. I passed a couple of older people like me, but most of the other hikers were young and fit looking. Even though there were plenty of other hikers, it didn't feel at all crowded because it is such a big area.

Murchio Gap

From my high point at Murchio Gap, I started down the Back Creek Trail, which begins a steep descent on a rough single-track trail cut through thickets of manzanita. There would have been some great views if it were not for the brush which was well over my head. The footing was a bit tricky on the steep trail with lots of loose rock. I was quickly losing elevation and noticed that the manzanita had changed to Chamise, but it was still over my head. At Murchio Gap, I had been about level with Eagle Peak, but now its rugged cliffs were high above me. The downhill steepness didn't let up and my legs were starting to feel kind of rubbery. I had to concentrate on going slow and stepping carefully to avoid a fall. Finally, as the trail neared the dry creek bed, the slope began to lessen and the walking became easier.

Eagle Peak from Back Creek Trail

As I passed the junction with the Meridian Point Trail, I remembered another time on the mountain. In the early 70's, when I was working on my book, I joined a group of volunteer trail builders and spent a day working in Back Canyon. I don't remember much about it, but knowing that I had played a part in this trail being here felt pretty good. At that time the Meridian Point Trail was the only way up out of the canyon, and the trail up to Murchio Gap had not been built. As the trail came out of the canyon into gentler slopes, I took the Coulter Pine Trail across the grassy hillside back to the staging area.

It was a really enjoyable hike and I saw a lot of interesting and beautiful country, but I was pretty well worn out at the end. I got in the car and started driving home when I began to feel a bit light-headed. The feeling passed after a few minutes, but next time I finish a long hike, I will rest a while before driving.

7.5 miles, 2100 ft. climb

Garin 10-28-14

High Ridge Loop Trail

It's a beautiful cool, clear fall day, perfect for a hike. I don't feel like driving very far, so Darby and I go to Garin. I chose to start from the staging area near Mission Blvd. and Whipple Road in Union City, but we could just as well have started from the park's main entrance at the end of Garin Ave.

We started off up the little valley of Dry Creek's north fork. I've always especially liked this stretch of trail along the meandering creek with lots of big old sycamores. After a mile and a half, we came to Jordan Pond, where a couple of people were fishing. In the picnic area near the main entrance, we turned right and headed up the hill. After climbing about 500 ft., the trail bends to the southeast and continues gently climbing along the ridge. All along this ridge there are great views out across the bay. A side trail takes you a quarter mile to the Gossip Rock, some oak-shaded sandstone with depressions where native americans ground acorns. It's an interesting place, but we skipped it this time. The trail then descends steeply into a little canyon and back to the starting point.

This loop is one of my favorite hikes because it gives you a taste of several types of terrain -- a lovely creek, a high open ridge, and a shady little canyon. Until I got back home and looked it up, I couldn't remember whether I had covered it in this blog. I found that three years ago I had covered a shorter loop via the Pioneer Trail, but not this one. Then I remembered that hiking that shorter loop was not at all easy for me. I was not feeling very good and had to stop to rest several times. On today's hike, I went slow on the hills, but didn't stop, and I felt pretty good all the way. It made me realize that my bypass surgery really did make a difference, and that I am able to do a lot more now than I could before.

6.0 miles, 1200 ft. climb