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March 28, 2007

Spring Wildflower Hikes

Spring is almost here, the sun is out, so stop wasting your time in front of the computer and come join the Juniper Ridge crew for some spring fun...

April 14 - Mt. Diablo: Back Creek Canyon/Eagle Peaks loop. This vigorous hike from the base of Mt Diablo to Eagle Peaks area is gorgeous anytime of year but especially in the Spring with sometime spectacular wildflower blooms in the Eagle Peaks area. Your trip leader, Juniper Ridge founder Hall Newbegin, is lazy, so while there will be lots of nerdy babbling about native wild plants, medicinal herbs and wild foods, there will also be plenty of rest stops and vegging time to enjoy the splendor of this magical area in all its spring glory. The hike is approximately 5 miles with a little over 2000 feet of elevation gain/loss so it is a fairly vigorous hike. We will go at a leisurely pace, but you should be in decent shape and it will take about 4-5 hours.

Directions and logistics: Meet at the Mitchell Canyon Parking lot on the north side of Mt Diablo at Noon on Saturday, April 14 and bring a tasty lunch with plenty of chocolate and other goodies to share with your food-loving trip leader. From the Bay Bridge, take Interstate 580, then Highway 24 east to Interstate 680 at Walnut Creek. Take I-680 North and exit almost immediately (right hand lane) on Ygnacio Valley Road. Turn right, go 7.6 miles (into Clayton) to Clayton Road. Turn right on Clayton Road, go 1 mile to Mitchell Canyon Road. Turn right on Mitchell Canyon and go 1.6 miles to the parking area is at the end of the road. There is a $3 parking fee and you need exact change so bring some ones. If you are having trouble finding the parking lot, call me (Hall) on my cell phone 510-845-1418. See you there!

Posted by juniperridge at 9:31 PM | Comments (0)