Aug 17th, 2013, Morgan Territory Regional Preserve,Riggs Canyon Road, Aug 17th 2013, 1200 K Cal, 2.13 Hr, 1900 Ft

We decided to try a new trail hoping it would not be too rough on us. The trail was pretty mild most of the way, but the last mile was brutal. It was a continuous steep hike through open grassland. A few of us decided the last qtr of the hike was too intense and returned back, but the rest reached the summit.The views were exceptional, we could see from Mt Diablo to the Livermore valley. Due to a teen hiker joining us and setting pace, we completed the hike at a very fast pace with very few halts. But I can't imagine the rest of us continuing to hike  at such a fast pace in the future!

 

Route: Old Finley Road to Riggs Canyon Rd and back.
Time: 2hrs 13 min
Difficulty: 7/10

Everyone at our own pace :)

The last stretch steep climb

View of Mt Diablo

Aug 10th, 2013, Morgan Territory Regional Preserve, Oyster Point Trail, Aug 10th 2013, 1200 K Cal, 2.30 Hr, 1500 Ft

Oh well, we continue to attract new folks coming in and most importantly continue with us. Today we went on new trail which can take us to the summit. This trail has some good & bad aspects. For the most part of the trail it's very shady so a good trail to go on hot days. The bad part is lots of poison oak  and trail is very narrow so at any time there is a good chance one would touch it. But you know what I guess we are all thick skinned and all of us came down with no issues, except that lots of  thorny seeds stuck to our pants. The trail was beautiful than usual because of the fall colors. After we reached half the way we took a few minutes break, recouped energy and trudged our way back.

Difficulty: 5/10
Time: 2 hrs 30 min

Crew resting for a moment

Early fall colors making it beautiful

May I help you :)

Aug 8th, 2013, Las Trampas Regional Park -Chamise trail loop - Aug 3, 2013 - 1208 K cal, 2hrs 28min, 4.31 miles, 1782 ft

It was supposed to be short, fast hike but didn't exactly turnout that way!. The route involved alternating ascents and descents with both being pretty steep and slippery. This was among one of the more strenuous hikes we have done recently. We had a new member join us, who managed to do a pretty good job of keeping up with the rest of the team. A fog layer hung over the Tri-valley and the early morning views of Mt. Diablo through the fog were ethereal!  We lost our way a little bit and went through a couple of nervous moments before we found our way back. It was an exhausting but very satisfying hike:)

Chamise trail - Mahogany trail - Sulphur springs trail - Del Amigo trail - Las Trampas Ridge trail - Chamise trail
Difficulty: 7/10
Time: 2 hrs 26 min

Fog layer over tri-valley with
Mt. Diablo in the background

At the summit (of what?)

Had to post photo of the colorful
shoes of our most enthusiastic hiker:)