Mt. Diablo State Park

Surprisingly for the first time after summer break we had weather that was in the low 70s on the first Sunday of this fall. We decided to take advantage of good weather and hike up challenging Mt. Diablo Summit. Mt. Diablo height is 3849 feet. The hike starts at 400 ft level. We reached the North entrance of the park at 9.15 am. We checked the map at the ranger station, where the ranger suggested us to take gradual hike route Coulter pine trail instead of usual Mitchell Canyon route.

 After stretching a bit, 3 of us started our 7-mile uphill hike. Since the weather was nice and initial slope was mild, we were covering the ground faster. Soon, we took the fire road, a downhill path; causing us to loose whatever height gain we had gained earlier. After a half-mile trail on fire road, we soon reached the back creek tail. This was a very steep uphill hike for next 2.5 miles. Even though this trail is in open, it is a very narrow trail through 5-6 feet tall shrubs.  As we started to come we saw a beautiful panorama of the North Bay.  In about hour and 45 minutes we reached Murchio Gap  (2330 feet elevation) junction where black creek trail Donner canyon trail and Bald Ridge trail meet.

By 11am the weather became cloudy. Next trail to the destination was the Bald Ridge trail. It became quite steep after walking first 100 meters. We reached a high point, where all of us took Rocky style pictures. We saw the part of the Summit hidden in the clouds. As we started moving towards the summit, we started loosing height as the route was going up and down the hills. Here the forest became dense. It also started raining. We continued on the Bald ridge trail for 2 miles till we reached Prospectors Gap, (elevation 2955 feet).

The rain was still continuing. From the Prospectors gap we took Devil’s pulpit route via Devils elbow. On the way we met a 70+ year-old couple inspired us, who were doing this trail 2^nd time in a month. It took us 25 minutes to reach the lower parking lot. From there we ascended for half a mile to the Mt. Diablo Summit, elevation 3849 feet.  The weather was very cold and windy at the top.   We made to top in total of 3 hours and 45 minutes. Due to the dense fog, the visibility was almost zero.

After lunch, we headed back via the Juniper campground. The downward journey was steep but fast. It was also challenging on my knees.  In an hour we reached the Deer flat where we took a short break. Saw a rabbit and tarantula on the way. As soon as we left the Deer Flat, we took the Mitchell Canyon trail all the way to the bottom of the canyon. It took us 7 hours for total of 14 miles round trip distance with 3700 feet elevation change. I would rate this hike extremely challenging.