Exploring Las Trampas

If you were on this hike in Las Trampas Regional Wilderness on May 22, I am sure you would agree this was a butt "kicker" of a hike! I added up the mileage for all the trails we did and it came to 6.38 miles. Only 6.38 miles? How can it be? It certainly seemed like 10 miles or more. When you go up and down and up and down and up and down -- well you get the idea..... I don't think I remember a flat section.

Luckily, all of our hikers, 13 in all, were seasoned veterans; all in great condition. We had blue skies and cool temperatures. Thank our lucky stars for the cool temperatures or the hike would have been gruesome. As soon as we left the trail head, the trail headed up a relentlessly steep, seemingly endless ascent of the Rocky Ridge View Trail. I do believe this is the steepest start to any hikes that we do all year long. We were all huffing and puffing.

We stopped on Rocky Ridge to explore the unusual "wind caves" carved in sandstone; taking great care to avoid the abundant poison oak. As we passed over the ridge, we paused for a lunch stop and were amused by humming birds darting around a blooming California Bayleaf tree. After passing over Rocky Ridge, we descended the "Sycamore" trail. The Sycamore trail was bordered by Pennyroyal and Sticky Monkey flower shrubs in full bloom. It was truly beautiful but steep and sometimes treacherous.

Finally, at the end of the Sycamore trail we reached "Devil's Hole" which actually seemed more like a little bit of "heaven on earth" in a forest of oaks and Bayleaf trees just made for climbing. We paused for a break and a few of our number did some tree climbing. In the trip photos you can see the smiling faces of those "monkeys" in the trees.

And at last we found out why it is known as "Devils Hole". The trail that
ascends back to Rocky Ridge is aptly named Devil's Hole Trail, and it is
steep and steeper on sometimes loose footings. A definite challenge even
for seasoned hikers. All in all, a great day on the mountain.

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