WARNING: You need $6 cash for the parking lot!! We didn't know!! We had to Venmo some strangers! Don't be like us!

I'm doing this challenge with a friend, and we chose Mt Diablo to be our first peak in the six-pack because the weather looked so nice. When we got to the staging area around 11:30am, it was apparent everyone else had the same idea. The lady at the visitor's center said the hike to the summit can take up to 9 hours, but we calculated based on our projected pace (~30 min average per mile) and figured it would be more like 6.

The fire road is very well-maintained. There were a couple of steep uphill sections but for the most part the climb felt constant but gradual. We maintained a conversational pace as recommended by my OB and clocked ~20 minute miles on the flats and ~25 minute miles on the steep sections. The weather was ideal, warm but not too warm, with a good breeze. There's a good mix of shaded and exposed sections. We reapplied sunscreen halfway up.

The last ~500 feet are definitely the steepest and pretty crowded as well, since a lot of people drive up there. We reached the top at 3:00pm almost exactly. The actual summit of Mt Diablo is INSIDE the visitor's center! Very disappointing.

We probably would have gotten lost on the way down without the Alltrails map. There's good signage but a lot of different trails. We actually took longer on the downhill than the uphill because the fall risk for me is substantial since I'm hiking for two. Definitely recommed TREKKING POLES! They would have made a big difference and I will be using them for the rest of the challenge.

We got back to the parking lot at 5:40pm, feeling spot-on with our pacing. I will say this was much harder than I was expecting with the cardiovascular challenges presented by pregnacy, and I do not recommend this as a first six-pack hike if you are not already in good shape. I'm pretty sore today!