Mount Diablo
Mount Diablo, according to Wikipedia, “is an isolated 3,849-foot (1,173 m) upthrust peak that is visible from most of the San Francisco Bay Area and much of northern California.” Mount Diablo appears to be a double pyramid and has a number of subsidiary peaks. The summit is accessible by motor vehicle, hiking, running, or bicycle – there is an annual bicycle race to the top. On a clear day, it is possible to see the mountains of the Sierra Nevada, the Farallon Islands, the Golden Gate Bridge and much of the peninsula. On a foggy day, Mount Diablo can appear to be an island in a sea of fog, with occasional views of cities through “holes” in the fog. On a clear day after a storm in winter, the views from the summit are spectacular.
Mount Diablo is sacred to many Native American peoples of California. According to the beliefs of the Miwok and Ohlone peoples, Mount Diablo was the point of creation.
The mountain received its current name from the 1805 escape of several Chupcan Native Americans from the Spanish in a nearby thicket of willows. The escapees seemed to disappear, and the Spanish gave the thicket the name “Monte del Diablo”, meaning “thicket of the devil.” In 2005, a man petitioned the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to have the name changed on the grounds that it offended his Christian beliefs (despite the fact that the mountain was named by Christians). The Board rejected his petition, citing insufficient reason to change the name.
One of my favorite places on the mountain is Rock City, a collection of large rocks and rock shelters, with hiking trails and wildflowers and great views.
-Bill at Cheshire Cat Photo™
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