Sunday, July 26, 2009

Hot spell


Sometimes you just need to feel the burn. Wanting to get out on the hiking trail for a good workout we set our sights on Mount Diablo's Mitchell Canyon. The plan was make it as far in as we could toward the summit with the high summer temperatures. We planned on a minimalist hike, all the water we could carry, Gatorade and a small camera.



We headed out before sunrise and were on the trail by 6:30 am. We parked off Regency rive so we could get a head start on the trail before the park gates officially opened. Heading to the Mitchell Canyon Staging Area we were greeted by a coyote who jumped across the trail behind us before ducking into the thick grass.




This was one of those strange hikes. You sweat and get chilled early and then sweat and dehydrate later in the day. with the sunrise temperatures on the trail heated quickly into the mid-90s With the heat radiating from the ground it felt like a 100 degrees as we trudged up the switchbacks.





We pushed just past Deer Flat which gave us a round trip hike of just over 10 miles with 1,500 feet of climbing in the sweltering heat of the afternoon trail. I'm looking forward to a return to our cool coastal hikes in a month or so.

No comments: