Dublin Hills 1-9-15

It seemed time to get back into hiking after all the holiday stuff and a very persistent cold. Besides, there were a lot of rainy days in December. I did get out for a few walks but only in nearby places that I have already written about. Today, I wanted to keep it fairly easy, so I decided to go back to Dublin Hills, a place that I first checked out a couple of years ago. On the map, I saw the possibility of a loop down into Donlon Canyon, a somewhat different route than last time, when I stayed along the ridge.

 It was a bit cool and overcast as Darby and I started out from the Donlon Point Staging Area. Last time we skipped a side trip to Donlon Point, so today, we walked the quarter mile or so to the hilltop, and found it worth the extra effort. There are great views in all directions, but especially to the south, where beautiful rolling ridges extend beyond the 580 freeway directly below. The partial overcast and hazy valleys made for quite picturesque views. As we walked north along the ridge above the rows of fairly new houses, there were lots of bluebirds flitting around ahead of us.

After a mile along the ridge, we turned right, heading past a stock pond surrounded by cattle and down into Donlon Canyon. After a gradual descent, the trail steepens through trees to the bottom. There, suddenly a condo development appears, and we walk through it for a block or so until the trail heads back up the other side of the canyon, passing a flood control pond. It's a fairly steep climb up the side of the canyon, but it didn't seem very hard, and then we were following a spur back toward the main ridge. The trail heads back down to the stock pond, but we continued along the spur passing some interesting sandstone outcroppings to complete our loop. The sun began to come out and create some dramatic scenes of light and shadow on the hills as we finished our walk.

It turned out to be just about what I had hoped for -- a nice walk with plenty of variety, good views, and not too difficult. It would be nice if the housing development was not so near, but for much of the way it was out of sight, and there was plenty of nature to see.

4.1 miles, 850 ft. climb