W6/CC-045 Mt Diablo

I hiked up to Mt Diablo immediately after activating North Peak. From the peak I headed back down the North Peak Road, then up the North Peak Trail. At the Devil's Elbow trailhead I took the Summit trail the rest of the way to the top. It had gotten quite warm, and I was almost out of water when I reach the summit. There are plenty of places to fill up, however, so it wasn't a problem.

Mt Diablo summit and Devil's Pulpit.

I went up to the observation deck and had a look around, then looked around for an out of the way place to set up my antenna. I found some space on the east side of the mountain, a short distance below the tower. I set up my antenna in a similar configuration as before and got on the air. I again worked the pileup on 30 and 20, but didn't manage any contacts on 40. Mt Diablo, like North Peak, has a lot of RF, and it was almost too much for the HT.

Looking back at North Peak. The road is easy to see.

I did manage one contact on 220 and 440 with a station in North Sacramento. It was the first time the summit had been activated on either band. After packing up, I stopped by the water fountain again to refill before heading down the mountain to Black Point, my last summit of the day.

A squirrel I met at the summit.

 I took the summit trail back down to the lower parking lot, then took the Juniper Trail to the campsite. I then took a break in the shade at a picnic table, then continued down the Deer Flat Road to the Mitchell Canyon Road. The descent into Mitchell Canyon is very pretty, and there are great views from the ridge before you drop into the canyon.

Looking north to Eagle Peak.

Trailhead: Mitchell Canyon Visitors Center.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Many routes, I like coming over Eagle Peak. Alternatively, you can drive to the summit.
Red Tape: None.