The way I relax from vacation - Mt Diablo overnighter (2008.05.04)

    So most people go on vacation to rest. blah. Since Arshi planned the Maui trip there was a lot more resting then I'm used to on vacation, so when I got back I was lucky enough to hitch a ride with Adam Thacher out to Mt Diablo for good ol'run for the top. Adam is training to do Rainer this summer, so part of his training regimine is to do a 3,000 ft climb in 2 hours with a 30lb pack. We started at 8pm from Murchio Gate (600ft) and hit the summitt ~2.5hours later (3800ft). We missed the time mark, but I think that is partly due to the fact the trail is about 5 miles, when a more direct route could have gotten us the elevation in probably 3 miles. Tuckered out, we crashed out at the top, just beneath the summit. I was so tired I didn't even get into my bottle of Pope Valley wine, just took a couple photos and crashed out, so that I could awake a 5am and catch the sunrise in all its glory.


Yes, so much light pollution that there wasn't a moon and we didn't need flashlights on the entire trail.


Fog on the hills


Yarrow in the Foreground looking south from the summit


Broomrape - no not something that goes on in prison or back in calaveras. This is a saprophobic flowering plant. It sucks its life off of other plants roots systems