spring time on devils mountain

donner canyon to middle trail to olympia peak trail to olympia road to summit
spring wildflowers and waterfalls on mt. diablo. beautiful day to hike. i also wanted to try out my new hydration pack. i arrived at marsh creek trailhead (located at the end of mountaineer road) at 9:30 a.m. a clear day--not a single cloud--minimal breeze, highs in the upper 60s to low 70s. i started out on the donner creek trail and intended to follow it up to falls loop. this did not happen. the wild flowers may have had something to do with it. --and the hoards of people taking the falls trail loop--crowds are not what i am out for. anyway, moving on. donner canyon trail was mellow. wildflower displays include butter cups, blue dicks, and california poppies. mt. olympia is what killed me. the first part is all right, but once i got to the flanks of mt. olympia—strenuously steep--the total rise occurs in a little over a mile. i stopped to smell the flowers often. but that was okay because there were so many of them. the geology was also interesting and i am sure there is an equally interesting story that goes along with it, (visit the MDIA site for more info on geology and wildlife). the views are amazing and expansive. click here to view album. link to more info: mount diablo interpretive association (mdia), www.mdia.org.

Comments

[Erhnam]

I love these pictures - the lush green ones, and the ones of the mountain ranges. What camera did you use?

A.

[Megan]

some kind of cannon digital. it was a great day for taking photos. the sun and clouds made it very easy. normally, i use a cannon eos elan. (the cannon digital was a 3.0 mega pixel--it was borrowed so i do not know the model.)