Mt. Diablo 11-29-15

It was a Sunday and a good day for a hike. I don't like to do weekend hikes with Darby because there are usually lots of dogs on the trails, so since I wasn't taking him, I decided to go to Mount Diablo (where dogs are not allowed on trails). The recent cold weather had made my knee hurt more than usual, so I didn't want to do anything very difficult. I thought I would try the Madrone Canyon Trail, a mile-long section that would be new to me. It doesn't appear to be a new trail, but it doesn't show up on my old map from 1987.

I had seen a recent news story about problems with bicycles on the mountain. Apparently there have been a lot of collisions between cars and bikes in recent years. The state park addressed the problem by putting up signs saying "do not pass bikes on blind curves". That sounds reasonable, but I doubted that the problem could be solved simply by putting up signs. On my drive up, I saw first-hand how serious the problem was. Most of the road is a narrow two-lanes with no shoulders cut into a steep mountain slope, and many blind curves. It is a steep climb, so the uphill bikes are barely moving. Several times, I had to come to nearly a complete stop and wait what seemed like several minutes for the bicyclists to round a corner. I would guess that a lot of drivers don't have that much patience. There needs to be a better solution, but I don't know what that would be.

I paid my $10 at the gate and parked at Curry Point. I started off heading up the Summit Trail, then went left on the Staircase Trail. It was a chilly day, but clear and sunny, and it felt good to be outdoors again. Soon I was down in the chaparral and sandstone of the Rock City area. It is a bit confusing with lots of side trails through the rocks, but there were plenty of trail signs showing the way. The signs told me that I was on the "Trail Through Time", and I enjoyed reading several large signs explaining the geologic features. This is one of the most popular areas of the park, and there were lots of families with kids climbing on the rocks. Watching them, I remembered doing the same myself some 60 years ago, and then more recently with my sons and now my grandkids.

Rock City

The "Trail Through Time" signs led across the main road and down into a canyon on the Madrone Canyon Trail. It was a pretty walk shaded by oaks and a few madrones with lots of moss and ferns. At the bottom, a bridge crossed the dry creekbed and I turned left on the Devils Slide Trail. It climbed up a little side canyon, passing Sulfur Spring, a puddle of milky water with a bit of sulfurous odor. The woods gave way to grassy hillsides at the top and I turned left again on the Knobcone Point Road. A bit more climbing brought me back to my car.

Madrone Canyon Trail

This turned out to be quite a nice little hike, and not hard enough to bother my knee very much. On the map, the Madrone Canyon Trail appears to parallel the main road, but in reality it is far enough down in the canyon that I was totally unaware of the road being nearby.

3.3 miles, 750 ft. climb

Diablo Foothills 11-17-15

It has been a couple of days since the last rainstorm, and the weather has been cold and clear. Yesterday I did a little hike at Garin and an icy wind made it a bit uncomfortable. Today promised to be warmer with less wind, so another hike seemed to be a good idea. I was thinking of somewhere around Mt. Diablo, and looking at the map, I noticed a trail to the top of Castle Rock, one that I had never tried. I could go up Pine Creek, take the Sunset Trail to the top of the ridge, and follow it back to Castle Rock. The only problem was that the map shows the trail ending at the park boundary just past the top of the hill. I figured that it is only about a half mile back down to the trail along the creek, and I should be able to manage that even if I did have to cross a bit of private property. I would leave Darby at home since part of my hike would be within the state park, but he could use a rest day anyway.

Shell Ridge Trail

 On the drive out there, I thought maybe I could extend my hike a bit by starting at the Old Borges Ranch instead of the Castle Rock Trailhead. But then I missed the turn and ended up at Castle Rock anyway. I still could check out a bit of the hills to the southwest, so I started off up the Diablo Scenic Trail. The name sounded good, and I found that it lived up to its name. With some green grass starting to show after the recent rains, the wooded hills were quite beautiful. Then there was a very steep section up a chaparral covered hill that slowed me down a bit. At the top, a single-track trail branched to the left, avoiding a bit more climbing, so I tried it. It turned out to be a shortcut to the Shell Ridge Loop Trail, which I intended to take anyway, so it all worked out. Soon I was back down to the Stage Road Trail along Pine Creek.

Rocks above Stage Road Trail

I continued along the familiar trail up the creek. We have had three pretty good rainstorms in the past month, but because of the drought, there still was no water in the creek. I've noticed the same with several other creeks. I think the land has become so dry after years of drought that it just soaks up the rainwater and doesn't allow any to run off. It was a very pretty walk anyway, with groves of oaks and green grass coming up all around.

Sunset Trail

I turned left on the Sunset Trail, a rough single-track climbing steeply up a rocky little ravine. At one of the steepest parts, I heard something and looked up to see a mountain biker speeding toward me just a few feet away. I quickly stepped up the steep bank to get out of the way as he sped past. Then I lost my balance a bit and fell back to the trail, just missing his back tire. I doubt that he noticed, but if I had fallen back a split second sooner I would have knocked him off the trail for a bad fall. I think mountain bikes are great, but it's too bad that a few riders have no regard for other people's safety let alone their own.

At the top of the ridge, I turned left on a fire road that soon turned into another single-track, the Castle Rock Trail. This turned out to be the best part of my hike. The trail winds along the top of this sharp ridge, partly in oak woodland, partly in chaparral, with lots of big sandstone rocks. It reminded me of the trail along Las Trampas Ridge. At several spots there are great views of the tops of the spectacular rocks rising from the southwest side of the ridge. At one point I heard voices below, probably from climbers on the rocks. Fortunately I had chosen the fall season to do this hike because the area is closed much of the rest of the year to protect the peregrine falcons that nest in the rocks.

Castle Rock Trail

I reached what appeared to be a high point on the ridge, the hill named Castle Rock on the map, and then the trail became harder to follow. I stayed to the right at each fork and that turned out to be the right way. I came out on a grassy hillside with a fence signed "Park Boundary". But it didn't say "no trespassing" so I crawled under the fence because the way looked much easier on the other side. I followed cow trails or deer trails down the hillside, and they soon became more obvious trails from human use. At one point the trail went straight down a very steep slope and I had considerable difficulty getting down without falling. After that it wasn't so bad and I ended up at the mouth of a little canyon. I had to crawl under another fence and then I was back on the Stage Road Trail. Right at that spot, there was a sign reading "Habitat Enhancement… No Entry Beyond This Point". I regret breaking the rules, but I doubt that my footsteps caused that much damage. Another half mile and I was back to the car.

So once again I have to say that this report is just a recounting of what I did and not a recommendation that others do the same. I don't want to be responsible for anyone getting into trouble for breaking the rules or hiking on private property. On the other hand, I have some pretty strong opinions about property rights. I don't see the harm in someone walking across private land that is far from any homes or other development. When I visited England years ago, I enjoyed walking across farmer's fields on paths that had been used for centuries. We could do that here with some more reasonable attitudes.

This hike turned out to be one of my best in a long while. I like places with a lot of variety and this one had plenty -- rolling grassland, oak woodlands, shady streamsides, rocky chaparral, and great views.

5.5 miles, 1200 ft. climb