Diablo Foothills Hike

Ok, on March 10, 2007, I convinced Lisa to go out for a short two-mile hike to see the "China Wall" in the Diablo Foothill Regional Park. Check out Jane Huber's link. http://www.bahiker.com/eastbayhikes/diablofoothills.html

Six miles later, we returned to the car. Hey, how was I to know that we would be out all day?

Lisa is the well-appointed hiker, wearing her summer pack that holds just the right amount. She loves this pack and it works well for her. Water, windbreaker, sunglasses, snacks..she's good to go!

We start out and head up the trail for the infamous China Wall. Along the way, we see beautiful wildflowers just coming out in the early spring. Buttercups, Poppies, and Orange Monkey Flower. They say the inside looks like a monkey, but I have never seen it.

So, we keep hiking along trying to get to the China Wall. Blocking our path is this: A big cow or bull or steer, or whatever....All I know is that he was saying, "you wanna get by me?" he stood his ground, so we had to make a lot of noise and try to scare him away...

He stood his ground, so we gingerly walked around him. His three friends lined up as well. Here are the Roast brothers....Hey Chuck, turn around..

We finally reach the "China Wall". I cannot understand how this geological structure was created or how it was destroyed. Every time I look this up on the Internet, I get info on the Great Wall of China.

Here's another view. Interesting wall(s). We counted nearly 20 parallel walls that existed at some point. You can't see it here. but these stone walls, in some spots, are over 10 feet high.

The wild flowers were out in force and we found these Fiddlenecks. Interesting plant. The seeds and foliage of fiddlenecks are poisonous to livestock, particularly cattle, because they contain alkaloids and high concentrations of nitrates. The sharp hairs of the plants can cause skin irritation in humans. However, the shoots, seeds or leaves of several species were used as food by Native Americans, and the plant also had some medicinal uses. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiddleneck

Poppies, always beautiful, were also in abundance. Lisa is always able to get the best shots of this California state flower.

Here's her secret: she sets her camera on macro and holds steady...steady now.. and click!

Once you reach the China Wall, you see amazing things. There are holes in the wall that we thought the local Indians may have used for storage or grinding. At the top of one of the rocks, it appeared to be a carving of an eagle or something close. Pretty cool.

The China wall always fascinates me because I cannot figure it out. What built it? What caused it? What is the geology behind it? Walking along it, you get the feeling that it was once something great and meaningful.

In fact, at times, it almost looks like Stonehenge in England. http://www.britannia.com/history/h7.html

And, as always, our friend the Poison Oak was everywhere. I love this plant. Deceptive, dangerous, painful, pretty, successful, and abundant, it hides among others to disguise it's toxic nature. We found several plants that had no leaves, just a bush of stems waiting for the unsuspecting to grab ahold and suffer the consequences later.

At the top of the Wall, there are beautiful views of the bay. We stayed on top for a while enjoying the 360 degree view and having our snack. When I learn how to post a video, this is the spot. You see Mt. Tam in the distance.

Here's another reason to not eat wild mushrooms: One, you cannot tell them apart from the poisonous ones (the experts are always landing in the hospital with liver damage and death), and second, they have a way-to-close relationship with cow dung.

Here is the pretty Red-Winged Blackbird hanging out, as usual, near the water and cattails where they like to build their nests. Unbelievably, they can number in the millions and destroy whole crops. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-winged_Blackbird

OK, every hike I have been on includes a vulture swooping down on me to see if I am dead or rotting. These birds love to feed on rotting flesh and have a habit of following me around, not that I take it personal. This hike was no exception: they were everywhere.

On the "cuter" side were these little ground squirrels living in colonies of 30 to 50 varmints with their amazing linked tunnels. They stand up on hind legs to get a better view of predators. This is one of those "hey Lisa, don't take that shot; it'll never come out" shots.

Time to head home and the trail back looked pretty good. This is when you just don't want to leave the flowers, the hills, the plants, the animals and the outdoors itself.

We finally approached the final cattle gate and walked through to civilization.

..and yes, one last cow looking at us, standing his ground, doing his best DeNiro impersonation: "hey, you lookin' at me punk? Just try to walk past me."