I somehow failed twice on this trip to actually camp despite the fact that my original plan called for two nights camping. Mt. Diablo closes their access gates at sunset and because I worked Monday night and wasn't done packing I realized I wasn't going to make it in time to get in so I scrapped it until the next morning. Old habits die hard however, since I'm not a morning person I didn't wake up until 7:30 am and didn't actually hit the road until 9:30 am. It was a classic situation of the universe forcing me to push through. I finished packing Tuesday morning and had to get cash for the camping site so I went to Whole Foods (where I work) to get ice, matches and cash. This I succeeded at except I got two 20's, which I realized wasn't going to work. On the way to another store to break a 20 I realized I had forgotten a pillow so I detoured home. Then to another store to break the 20 and then of course I missed the first freeway exit to 680 I was supposed to take!

I hit the trail at 11:15 am. It was an absolute beautiful day and the park wasn't very crowded. I saw 7 people the entire day and very spaced out. I've hiked to the top of Mt. Diablo before but never the route starting at Mitchell Canyon and it was much tougher than from the Live Oak Campground. I enjoyed resting at Eagle Peak and signing the hiker log that is tied to the trail sign there. For my 15-20 minute break it was nice to snack with the view and read what other hikers thought as they passed the same milestone.

Eagle Peak is only about halfway to the top and the hard part (at least for me) was still head on Prospector's Gap Trail. Once you descend from Eagle Peak and cross the fire road you lose the views for the most part on Prospector's Gap trail as it becomes fairly dense and the trail narrows quite a bit. Also, up….like ass kicking up. When you emerge from Prospector's Ga Trail your at Summit Trail where it meets North Peak Trail. I rested again for the final push to the top and despite looking straight at the Summit Trail I needed to take I headed the wrong way towards North Peak. (There's a funny picture I took of me and the trail sign when I realized). Slight detour aside I headed back down hill and up to the top where I bought a trail map and relaxed outside to eat my sandwhich.

I decided to go down Juniper Trail to Deer Flat Road to Mitchell Canyon Rd and loop it through Juniper Campground, which I think was a bit shorter but also gave me different views. I made it back to my car a little before 6:15 and my phone battery was dead and I didn't know how to get to the North Gate Entrance, where you can access the campgrounds.  After charging my phone for 15 minutes or so and cranking it on for directions I found out it's a 15 minute drive from the Mitchell Canyon parking lot to the North Gate Entrance. Guess What!!??? By the time I got there, around 6:45, the gate was locked! That was the second camping fail of the trip.

The hike itself was killer though. Amazing views, the weather was awesome and the hike was a challenge that I was able to complete. All in all a good day. The camping part just wasn't meant to be!

FYI Mt. Diablo closes it's access gates around sunset and your either locked in or locked out!!!!