We Conquered the Mountain!

Woke up in the morning to a slightly overcast grayish sky with the weatherman promising sunshine and warm temperatures.  Seemed like a perfect day to conquer Mount Diablo.  So with bikes on the truck, a few snacks and extra water, we were off.  

Getting there was a bit confusing.  Seems the GPS in the car didn't know where to go.  It insisted on taking us the long way around through Danville.  After a few deliberations, we found signs posting the way to the South Gate entrance.  The roads on the mountain are very narrow for a truck the size of ours and we realized we'd never be able to take our RV up this grand rock!  There are many hairpin turns, and steep cliffs.  The reason is very clear why there is a 15 mile per hour speed limit.  As you climb up to the summit there are turns that appear out of nowhere and if you happen to be speeding, you could easily go over the edge and find yourself several hundred feet down the side. While on the mountain, we spotted  a lot of mountain bikers struggling their way up with an effort that made my thighs hurt just watching them and others, flying down faster than most cars would be able to go and remain safe!  

One of the many ground squirrels

Here's looking at you kid!

A small waterfall

While on the mountain we did some of the Geocaches located there.  Here are a few of the many geocaches we did while on the mountain. 

"The Pillow Basalt"  Pillow Basalts form where two plates of the earth's crust were under water and moving away from each other.  Their blobby shape is characteristic of an underwater volcanic eruption.  It was really confusing to think that this rock could be located here as Mount Diablo is a mountain and not a volcano according to geologists.

Pillow Basalts rock formation

"Overlooking Livermore Valley"  had us running down the side of the mountain as it was so steep it was hard to walk.  Climbing back up was a chore and made me realize "I'm no spring chicken!"  This cache gave us beautiful view of the distance hills and cities below.

"Wind Caves" This is a stunning sandstone formation, also known as "Tafoni".  Although commonly referred to as "wind caves" the element most responsible for forming this creation is water.  Mount Diablo is probably only 2 million years old and these caves are estimated at only being a few hundred or thousand years old.  While standing this high above the valleys and outer hills, it made one wonder how this could have all been under water so many years ago and what changes will the future bring. 

A portion of the "Wind Caves"

We walked and explored different areas.  One that stands out most in my mind is Elephant Rock.  If you looked at the right angle, it actually looks like a Woolly Mammoth was frozen in time for all to see. 

Elephant Rock

Mount Diablo offers tent and very small, no larger then 20 foot, RV camping.  With an abundance of secluded camp sites one could feel they are all alone and on top of the world. 

Camping and picnic area

Interesting mossy rock that has been split over time

Interesting plant that seems to form it's own water pocket

As the sun was setting in the West, we made our way down to the North gate and home.  I'm looking forward to more hikes on Mount Diablo and can't wait to see what other discoveries we will make.  It was a great day and we "Conquered the Mountain!

Hope you enjoyed sharing in our adventure atop Mount Diablo.

Jo

"You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching, 

Love like you'll never be hurt, 

Sing like there's nobody listening, 

And live like it's heaven on earth." 

William W. Purkey