The post Thanksgiving hike found us at Mount Diablo's Macedo Ranch staging area for an eight-mile hike winding up and down the rolling hills along Pine Canyon.
High winds greeted us at the start of our hike as we headed out along Wall Point trail. Our companions on this hike would be the occasional cows grazing on the steep slopes of the hills along the trail. Fighting a strong headwind we wound our way up the hills heading toward the Summit Trail. From there we would find Barbecue Terrace Road for our return trip along Pine Canyon .
We were lucky to have another clear day on the trail, visibility was unlimited as we climbed up the canyon. The trail would slip from grasslands to a mixed bag of rock and pine trees as the wind made that familiar ocean roar noise as it whistled through the branches.
Paw prints in the trail let us know we had a mountain lion pass through earlier. Fresh cat scat was plentiful and it appeared the mountain lion had been tracking a deer or two along the rocky trail and brush. We never caught a glimpse of them, but we did see a flock of wild turkey feeding in the distance and the abundant ground squirrels scurrying for their food.
After what seemed like a climb that took forever we found the intersection for Barbecue Terrace Road for our return leg of the hike. Descending back down along the shade of trees and the canyon walls we enjoyed the cool breezes that drifted through the trail. It was the perfect hike to work off those turkey leftover and enjoy some of the sunshine before winter steals it away from us.
With just a few more weeks of good weather we might make a few more trips back to Mount Diablo for our year ending hikes.
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