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canyonwalkerSaturday afternoon we visited Mt. Diablo State Park for some hiking. Mt. Diablo, at elev. 3,849' (1,173 m), is one of the highest peaks in the San Francisco Bay Area. We did some hiking around the summit, enjoying the views in all directions, and then scrambled around atop some sandstone outcroppings at the Rock City area on the western flank.
I mention as the crow flies because the driving distance to the summit is longer, at 55 miles. And the route we drove on Saturday was even longer than that, at 65 miles. Why? Because I made a wrong turn.
Hawk had the directions cued up on her phone as we drove. She fell asleep in the car, though, and I went on autopilot thinking I knew the route. In fact I was thinking of the route to any of various parks and trails around the north side of Mt. Diablo rather than the route to the summit itself. I blew right past the highway exit southwest of the park— to be fair, it is not labeled "Mt. Diablo Summit Next Exit ↗️"— and drove to the city of Walnut Creek northwest of it.
In previous drives to Mt. Diablo's summit we've always come in via the park's south entrance. Along that route there aren't really great views of the park until the last few miles to the top. I'd noted on those drives that near the top there was a fork in from the North Gate road. I was a little curious about it but never drove it because it would have taken us well out of our way. Well, now it was our way. And what a way it was!
Unlike the south entrance which leads miles through well-shaded canyons, the north entrance breaks out from the quiet suburbs outside of Walnut Creek onto grass covered hills. From there there are views for miles in all directions— including the peak of Mt. Diablo a few thousand feet straight up. The road winds back and forth across open hillside, climbing one ridge after another, each higher than the one before it, and with the summit almost always in view. Approaching Diablo from this side felt like giving proper tribute to a queen or a sultan.
Update: the hiking begins! (Continued in next entry)
Road Trip!
Mt. Diablo is about 40 miles away from us as the crow flies. We'd be able to see it even at that distance except there are lower mountain ridges in the way that block the line of site from the bottom of the valley. It's almost always visible in the distance when we climb any of the mountains in the area.I mention as the crow flies because the driving distance to the summit is longer, at 55 miles. And the route we drove on Saturday was even longer than that, at 65 miles. Why? Because I made a wrong turn.
Hawk had the directions cued up on her phone as we drove. She fell asleep in the car, though, and I went on autopilot thinking I knew the route. In fact I was thinking of the route to any of various parks and trails around the north side of Mt. Diablo rather than the route to the summit itself. I blew right past the highway exit southwest of the park— to be fair, it is not labeled "Mt. Diablo Summit Next Exit ↗️"— and drove to the city of Walnut Creek northwest of it.
"There are no wrong turns"
I've quipped recently that there are no wrong turns when hiking. Diverging from the intended route can be made an opportunity to find something new and unexpected, something serendipitous. The serendipity here was entering the park via the North Gate Road.In previous drives to Mt. Diablo's summit we've always come in via the park's south entrance. Along that route there aren't really great views of the park until the last few miles to the top. I'd noted on those drives that near the top there was a fork in from the North Gate road. I was a little curious about it but never drove it because it would have taken us well out of our way. Well, now it was our way. And what a way it was!
Unlike the south entrance which leads miles through well-shaded canyons, the north entrance breaks out from the quiet suburbs outside of Walnut Creek onto grass covered hills. From there there are views for miles in all directions— including the peak of Mt. Diablo a few thousand feet straight up. The road winds back and forth across open hillside, climbing one ridge after another, each higher than the one before it, and with the summit almost always in view. Approaching Diablo from this side felt like giving proper tribute to a queen or a sultan.
Update: the hiking begins! (Continued in next entry)
