While I've hiked Mt. Diablo multiple times this year, including when it was covered by snow, a very rare phenomenon, this was a special hike to train us for something bigger. We had planned on hiking the Grand Canyon from the South Rim to the river and back in a day and hence wanted to start the Diablo hike at the summit, work our way down to Mitchell Canyon and hike back up to the summit. And why not hit the six magnificent peaks along the way! Mt. Diablo summit, Mitchell Rock, Eagle Peak, Twin Peaks, Mt. Olympia & North Peak.

What started out as a training hike, turned out to be tougher than the GC hike itself. We started bright and early but as the gates to the Diablo park open only around 8am, we could start only around 8:30 in the morning. After parking at the summit, and taking a few customary pre-hike pictures, we started downhill. Super bloom pockets were visible at many points but the downhill was not all downhill as we had to hit each of the peaks along the way. We had mentally given ourselves a cut-off time to reach Mitchell Canyon, as anything beyond that would mean we would not be able to reach back up to the summit in time before the gates closed and our cars get locked in! Not sure how strict the rangers are with that but it was a possibility we couldn't risk. So while the initial descent was fun with way too many picture taking stops our rest at Mitchell Canyon was short and sweet.

We were so committed to reaching back up to the summit that our ascent was actually faster. We hit more peaks along the ascent and the toil of the long day was getting visible. Some parts of the trails did not seem as widely used and the recent rains and storms had washed out the trails. These trails were barely 12 inches wide at most places and though they had been repaired with rocks and pebbles, gravity had moved these pebbles and there was no trail at all at some points. The sheer drop on the right and the steepness of the hill on the left, with no flat surface for your foot, made me stop and wonder what would happen if the rocks moved under my foot. I could visualize myself falling down the hill as my heart pounded loudly in my chest. This is when it mental stoicism comes in and staying focussed became crucial. The trail between Mt. Olympia and North Peak is not one I would want to traverse again. 🙂

Safe to say, our entire group made it back to the top with no calamities and we were all certain our training hike had achieved its purpose.