Mt Diablo 2-6-19

It was Wednesday, and when I left my painting class around noon, there was blue sky and sun and it felt like a good chance to go for a hike after all of the rainy weather that we have been having. Now that Darby is no longer with us, I haven't been going out so much, although I still try to fit in some kind of walk every day. For many years we avoided hiking on Mt. Diablo because dogs aren't allowed on the trails, but that is no longer a concern. I thought about where to go on the mountain, and remembered that I had never been on the Mary Bowerman Trail which is a short loop around the very summit. I had known about it since its creation in the late 70s, but always thought that it would be too short to bother with.

There had been snow in the higher bay area hills on Monday night, and there would probably be some on the mountain, but I didn't really care about that. We had spent the previous weekend in a cabin on highway 4 above Arnold, and had nearly a foot of snow come down while we were there. That was enough to satisfy me for a while. Then as I drove toward Danville, I saw that there were only a few little patches of snow showing on that side of the mountain, so I didn't expect to see much.

At the South Gate, the woman at the kiosk informed me that the road was closed at Juniper Camp because of ice on the road. I drove on up, thinking that I could hike to the summit from there. When I got to Juniper, the fairly large parking area was full. I wasn't expecting crowds, but here they were. I found a wide spot to park back down the road a ways. As I started up the trail toward the summit, there was a few inches of snow in the shady areas under the trees. There were lots of people coming and going, including lots of families with small kids. As I got higher up the hillside, the crowds thinned. The afternoon sun on the snow was pretty, and many chaparral shrubs had lacy patterns of snow on their branches. There were a few spots where the trail had become dangerously icy, and it was hard to keep from slipping.

On the trail above Juniper Camp

I remembered the trail from Juniper Camp to the summit as being fairly easy, but I guess I'm not in such good shape anymore, and I was already getting pretty tired from the climb. Where the trail crosses the road near the big microwave tower, I stopped to reconsider my plan. I still had a bit more climbing to do and it was getting late in the day. I decided to just walk back down the road. It would be a longer distance but much easier walking. It was quite enjoyable walking down without worrying about the mud and ice of the trail, and looking out at the expansive views. There on the south slope of the mountain, there was very little snow, and none on the road. It was also nice to be on the road with no cars.

On the road heading back down

So the Mary Bowerman Trail will have to wait for another time. It was a nice afternoon anyway with a good walk in pretty surroundings and great views.

approximately 2.5 miles, 700 ft. climb