Good Day on the Mountain

Here is a brief trip report on our hike on April 10 to Mount Diablo. Eleven hiker's turned out on a cool and cloudy day for our hike of six miles up Donner Canyon Road. We did the Middle trail and Falls trails to make a loop around and back to Donner Canyon Road.

We were treated to wonderful array of wildflowers including the rare Yellow globe tulip that occurs only on Mount Diablo. Indian Warrior and Indian Paintbrush were side-by-side on the Middle trail so we could easily see the difference between them.

Of course the falls were all spectacular due to the heavy rains this winter and spring. The top of Mount Diablo was hidden in clouds and fog that looked threatening, but we were back in our vehicles before it started to rain. Good day on the mountain.

Well, I might as well add that we did do a "mini" Colby Challenge on a steep section of the Donner Canyon Road. Several of our stronger ladies gave me a run for my money, passing me and forcing me to dig deep to catch up.

Bob Colby, Leader

Saturday morning workout hike, a success

Well I'll be a monkey's uncle -- I think we have stumbled onto something here. Fourteen well conditioned hikers turned out for our first official Saturday morning workout hike on May 16. Several hiker's mentioned that they liked the idea of a good workout and then getting back before noon to get "stuff" done.
"Stuff" probably includes housework, shopping and, who knows, maybe a good soak in the tub and a nap.

The hike went very well. We drove a little way up Mt. Diablo on North Gate Road and then set off hiking at a quick pace toward Camel Rock. Several hikers made the 1.25 miles (and 500 vertical feet) up to Camel Rock in well under 30 minutes and most everyone made it in under 35 minutes.

Unfortunately, the hoped for wild turkeys were a no show, but we did see a red winged blackbird.

About half of the group hung out in the shade of Camel Rock while the remainder of us scrambled up two very steep and slippery sections of Burma Road . This section gained another 500 vertical feet in about a half mile. Due to the heat we decided to beat a hasty retreat and skip the last half mile and 300 vertical feet.



Everyone who attended this hike will now be "Charter" members of our new group and will be entitled to a total of three votes in choosing a name for our group.

Please consider joining us for our next Saturday half day workout hike which will be on Saturday, May 30. Stay tuned for an email message with more details a few days before the hike.

Regards,
Bob Colby, Trip Leader

One hike gone by and another one coming up‏

NOTES AND PICTURES OF MT. DIABLO HIKE ON APRIL 18

On Saturday April 18, nine Benicia Day Hikers, including one new hiker, one second timer and a bunch of veteran hikers did the WWW hike on Mount Diablo. WWW stands for wildflowers, waterfalls and workout. Indeed, we were successful on all three objectives. the waterfalls and wildflowers were truly wonderful. And as promised, we also had a terrific workout in six miles and 1600 feet of elevation gain. Enjoy the pictures.



ANOTHER HIKE COMING UP – CHANGE IN DESTINATION ON MAY 9

Our next scheduled hike was to be Redwood Regional Park in Oakland on May 9. However, I wanted to give you advanced notice that I am changing the destination. Instead, we will go to Alamere Falls in Point Reyes National Seashore on May 9. I usually say about this hike, "If you only do one hike this year, do Alamere Falls". Feel free to ask me why I say this, but most of you know why.

Please contact me if you intend to go on this hike.
Regards, Bob Colby, Leader, 707-745-4661, arocrat@aol.com

Come to WWW hike on Saturday, April 18‏

You may ask, "what is a WWW hike ?" WWW is for waterfalls, wildflowers and Workout. The workout will always be there but the waterfalls and wildflowers will soon be gone; so, I hope you can join me on this wonderful delightful hike.

We will do the Mount Diablo waterfall trail -- six miles and 1600 feet of elevation gain. This is a stiff hike with several difficult sections and one or two sections that are very difficult. We will get a good workout on the first two miles and then take our time to enjoy the wildflowers and waterfalls.

My daughter and I did the hike today and here are some of the wildflowers we saw: Of course we saw lupins and California poppies. We also saw, Chinese houses, blue dicks, ethereal spears, Indian paintbrush and Indian warrior, buttercups, owls clover, shooting stars galore and on and on ..........

Sturdy footwear will be very helpful on this hike. On the other hand, smooth tennis shoes could get you into trouble.

As always, we meet at the parking lot to the rear of Benicia City Hall at 8:15 am to organize car pools. If you arrive at the parking lot at 8:30 you will likely miss us.

We should be back in Benicia by around 2 to 2:15 pm.

PRIOR TO ATTENDING ALL HIKES WITH BENICIA DAY HIKERS YOU MUST CONTACT THE LEADER BY PHONE OR EMAIL!

Hope to see you Saturday,

Bob Colby, Leader
707-745-4661
arocrat@aol.com