Practice Hike - Mt. Diablo

Fellow Extreme-Weekender (Chris) and I decided it would probably be a good idea if we did a couple practice hikes before the big hike in Yosemite. This would give us the chance to do a gear check but to also get some real hiking time under our belts. Fortunately, we live close enough to take advantage of one of the Bay Area’s premier mountains, Mt. Diablo, which is claimed to have one of the largest viewsheds in the Western United States. It is an isolated 3,849-foot upthrust peak that is visible from most of the San Francisco Bay Area and much of northern California.

The trail chosen, Grand Loop, involved us driving to the Summit and then taking a moderate 6.8 mile hike which looped around the peak.

Trail Statistics: Start by descending the Summit Trail to Devils Elbow. For the complete loop, take left turns at each junction: North Peak Trail to Prospectors Gap, Bald Ridge Trail to Murchio Gap, Deer Flat Creek Trail, Meridian Ridge and then Deer Flat Roads to Juniper Campground, and back up on the Juniper Trail. 6.8 miles with a total climb of 1820 feet.

Trail Description: This is a circumambulation of the summit along some of the park's most attractive hidden trails. The North Peak Trail has fantastic displays of wildflowers in the spring, including the rarely seen wind poppies. The Bald Ridge Trail has a new surprise every few yards - a tiny rock garden, an unexpected vista, perhaps a sighting of the elusive California thrasher. The Deer Flat Creek Trail is a gem, an exploration of the geology and rare botany of serpentine soils and rocks. And the Juniper Trail has its own set of rock gardens featuring tundra like stunted plants.

Here are some pictures we took throughout the hike:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Godfather116/MtDiabloGrandLoop

Matt’s Comments:
"The weather couldn’t have been nicer, sunshine with a slight breeze. The trail, seemingly easy at first turned into quite a challenge on the homestretch with a never ending >1000 ft climb back towards the summit. A good pair of hiking boots and hiking socks is a must! I didn’t have any problems with my feet all day which is exactly what I wanted. During the hike I took a ‘nice and steady’ approach, not trying to overexert myself but still making forward progress. At hikes end, I noticed that I nearly finished the 100 ounces of water from my CamelBak, not including the bottle of Gatorade I drank. The only snack I consumed along the way was a NutriGrain bar. Overall I thought it was a great practice hike but in the back of my mind I know it wasn’t even half the total distance required for the Half Dome hike which is nearly 16 miles long!!"

Chris' Comments: "Matt tried to kill me and Gatorade is good."