Mt. Diablo ( Hike two )

 Mount diablo hike was 11 miles long. As you can see in the pictures, the sun shined bright and I was ready to bask in the warmth.The mountain is a little less than 4000 feet high. After Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa this is the only mountain that has a view that is never ending. Apparently, this is because the mountain pops out of nowhere and the land around it is plain flat. This contrast works for a perfect 380 degree view.    

Along the hike, we saw very cool rock formations which are called "Rock City". Diablo in Spanish means Devil and some troops way in the past thought they saw the devil and hence, the mountain today is called 'Mt. Diablo'.  The area we hiked was 'The Grand Loop'. It was at Wall Point that we had our picnic. Horse riders were plentiful and I saw some beautiful stallions. The best part of the hike was the snake that one of the hikers almost stepped on and jumped away pretty impressively. The Alameda Whipsnake with a black stripe is common in the area but I can't be sure the golden yellow snake we saw was the same. I got pretty close to the snake to take pictures but won't be repeating that again. (At the tip of my pinky below is the snake coiled up.)

The path most of the way was paved. Open space was plentiful with green oak woodland in the distance.Climbing some slopes to see a nice view was a decent workout. I was looking forward to seeing mountain lions which are often seen here, but maybe I will have better luck next time.