ESCAPE to Mt. Diablo

To the summit at 4000′, then back down to Rock City

Our first trip of 2016-17 was to Mt. Diablo. This has been a great first trip for more than the past 10 years. It is relatively close, we know what to expect, it’s virtually free (thanks, Mt. Diablo!), and we get lots of unstructured time to kick back and get to know each other. We had a nice group of about 40 kids in 10 cars, and it was a nice start to the year.

The day started early at DeJean, as it takes a little more than an hour to get up to the summit. Lots of cyclists going up and down the mountain these days. The view from the top was clear, and you really feel like you’re up high. Even that is a new experience for a lot of our kids. No real clouds or fog to speak of, and some of us were disappointed not to see a tarantula out looking for romance.

We headed back down to Rock City in the late morning. There are several easy scrambles that anyone can do up the sandstone structures. The small wind caves provide an attainable goal and a nice reward for adventurous kids. And there are lots of mini “summits” from which kids can look out over the area. The kids have a couple hours and about a half-mile radius to go out and explore, climb, survey, or just find a shady spot to relax with friends.

We temporarily acquired a “volunteer” alligator lizard which was fun to see up close. Then we had some ice cream treats, a brief dry ice lesson, and it was time to head home. Check out the video below to see all of the shots and highlights from the day.

Thanks go out to the many chaperones who gave up their Saturday to give our kids a special experience.

Trip #2 is coming up soon, so we’ll be in touch. Enjoy the photos and the video, and thanks again for your support.