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Video (turn on audio on your computer!)
Topo Map
Aerial View
The trail is better described here, by professional trail describers.
But in short, it’s a 6.5 mile loop around Mt. Diablo summit, trodding to the summit as the eventual goal. Lots of great vistas. Cool for me because I had done a hike up from Clayton via Back Canyon to Murchio Gap and Eagle Peak a few weeks ago, so this hike connected with that and gave me a lot of cool vistas of that other hike. It’s nice to be able to say, “I was there.” when you’re looking at a dramatic ridge or a peak.
It’s mostly fire road, painfully steep up to Prospector’s Gap — I can take elevation gains, but a nice sauntering hiker’s path would have been preferred to a really steep grade fire road. Weather was mostly sunny, although a lot of clouds and haze washed out some of the panoramas. But that meant it was cool, and a nice cool breeze is a good thing when you’re slogging up some of these shadeless inclines.
Anyway, the evidence of my genius I shall enumerate presently:
1) the night before, I froze my water pouch so it was a frozen brick in the morning. This guaranteed me ice cold water for the duration of the hike. Brilliant!
2) I bought a sandwich at Togo’s on my way out, which I packed up. So I had this little picnic at the summit to motivate me up the hill.
3) I brought a cooler with gatorade and 7-up so cold beverages awaited me at the truck.
There are many, many more proofs of my genius which I shall enumerate another day.
Thank you.
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