Tuesday, December 16, 2008

MT. DIABLO HIKE











Sitting here in 41 degree weather in the middle of December, it is hard to believe that less than a month ago Dan and I were hiking on Mt. Diablo in shorts and t-shirts. Granted, we did have an extended warm season in Central California, but once it was over, it was gone! Winter will officially arrive in five days, but that’s only by the calendar; based on this cold snap, I think made an early appearance. I wouldn’t want to be atop Mt. Diablo toady, but last month it was a great experience. This was a hike I’ve wanted to make for many years, but for some reason never got around to it until now. Mt. Diablo is located near Danville in Contra Costa County.

Even though the elevation at the summit is only 3849, geographers claim that hikers can see more of the earth’s surface from the top of Mt. Diablo than from any other peak in the world with only one exception: Africa’s legendary 19,340 foot Mt. Kilimanjaro. Two reasons for the grand views: (1) the mountain rises solo very abruptly from its surroundings, and (2) the land surrounding the mountain—the San Francisco Bay and Central Valley—is nearly flat. The day we hiked was a little bit foggy, but we were still able to appreciate the sweeping panorama from the Golden Gate to the Farallon Island, from the High Sierra to the Central Valley (very similar to the views to be had from Mt. Tamalpais). Geologically speaking, the mountain is a bit odd in that the hiker climbs over successively older and older rocks on the way to the summit; this is exactly the opposite of the usual progression. Much of Diablo’s sedimentary rock, which long ago formed an ancient sea bed, has been tilted, turned upside down and pushed up by a plug of hard red Franciscan rock.

We started the hike about half way up the mountain from a trail head parking area. We ascended a little over 1000 feet in less than a mile, so we climbed up pretty fast. At the top is the Summit Museum, the historic stone building atop Mt. Diablo's highest peak, constructed during the late 1930's of fossiliferous sandstone blocks quarried in the park. The Visitor Center highlights the cultural and natural history of Mt. Diablo State Park. Attached are some snaps from the day.