Sunday, November 8, 2009

Goodbye blue sky


With the winter months approaching Alice and I need to squeeze as many fair weather hikes we can in before storm clouds roll in. Sunday found us on Mount Diablo for a short hike up to the summit along the Juniper Trail.




The Juniper Trail is moderate hike winding up a rocky trail through light brush as it heads to the lower summit parking lot. From there it is just a hop, skip and a jump up the Trail Through Time to the summit building. Cool temperatures and high winds greeted us as we headed out mid morning.




We decided to take an extra trip along the Moses Rock Ridge Trail. This small trail spur branches off Juniper Trail to to far from the start and heads along a ridge for a bout a half a mile. It gives spectacular views of the countryside and ends at a surveyor spike left in the earth. Along the way you are greeted by two large rock outcroppings which is Moses Rock.




As we made the climb we were amazed by the visibility across the region. A few high clouds were giving way to blue skies with no smog or haze to be seen. We had good view of the surround areas from Richmond to Antioch and Benicia with even a good view of San Francisco available.




We made good time to the top where we feasted on french bread, salami and an apple before heading back down. it was nice to get a last hike in before the foul weather hist us. We still plan to hike through the end of the year but I doubt we will be rewarded with such grand views in the coming weeks.


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