A couple of weeks ago I went on another hike with “V” and the guys to Mt. Diablo. Joining us were my buddies Ilya, Magda, Jackie and Craig. The hike was 16.3 miles and started off at the Castle Rock staging area.
The hike started at the Castle Rock Regional Park entrance around 9:45.
The trail started off easy enough (the first few miles normally are) so Magda attempted her infamous cattle gate vault. In the interest of full disclosure I should say she also did the vault at the end of the hike. That girl is crazy strong! =)
Magda preparing for her big trick.
Up and over (and with a backpack too, crazy!). I give her a 7.5 out of 10. Keep working on getting fully vertical Magda. 😉
About half way up the mountain a biker that we had offered encouragement to as he huffed and puffed up a steep hill offered to take a group photo for us when we ran into him further up the hill as he took a break.
Jackie prefers not to have her picture taken so although she was actually in the shot to the right, I cropped her out.
Further up the hill where we had to walk single file on a narrow path cut through the grasses we encountered the first animal (alive!) of the day. It was a baby rattlesnake and it struck at the leather boot of the guy in front of me. I immediately stopped, shouted for the people behind me to stop and then dropped in low to get a picture. Come on, I never pass up a photo op. 😉
A rattlesnake! Lucky I wasn't the target of this snakes bite. With my regular tennis shoes on he might have actually hit skin. =P
Before I knew it we had reached the summit. It’s amazing how quickly time flies when you’re having fun. =)
Beautiful views from the summit of Mt. Diablo.
On the way back down “V” pointed out this guy, a rat that was extremely curious and walked right up to me. Methinks he may have been a bit rabid since you normally don’t see rats wandering around in the middle of the day. I was worried he was actually going to try and climb up my leg thinking I was a tree or something so after snapping a few pictures I said goodbye and continued on down the trail.
Magda jokingly said "Oh I'm sorry Jenny. You're having such bad luck today, all the animals are alive.." Yeah I know, I normally only get pictures of live animals. That's only because dead animals don't run away from you. 😉
The hike was a lot of fun and a great workout. I can’t wait until the next one.. =)
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