Brian Smith's Photos

North Peak Trail, Mt Diablo

Thanksgiving Day, and we drove up Mt Diablo in thick low cloud — headlights on, no view at all, right up until the last few bends before the trailhead, where we came out of the top of it into full sun.

That’s the reward for an inversion. Everything below grey and shut in, everything above about as clear as it gets.

Pine trees and shrubs grow on a dry, grassy hillside above a large rocky outcrop, with a winding road visible in the distance.
North Peak trail, Mt Diablo
A grassy hillside with scattered trees and power lines overlooks a vast sea of clouds beneath a blue sky.
North Peak trail, Mt Diablo
A grassy hillside with scattered trees and utility poles rises above a vast sea of clouds beneath a blue sky.
North Peak trail, Mt Diablo
Black and white view of rolling hills emerging from a thick sea of clouds beneath a sky with wispy cirrus clouds.
North Peak trail, Mt Diablo

The trail sets off along the ridge with the cloud sitting just below the line of it, which made for a strange sort of coastline all morning.

Rolling green hills of Mt Diablo rise above a thick, white sea of clouds under a blue sky with thin, wispy cirrus clouds.
North Peak trail, Mt Diablo
A lone tree stands on a grassy hillside above a thick sea of clouds, with distant blue mountains visible on the horizon.
North Peak trail, Mt Diablo
Rugged brown rocks frame a view of a thick sea of clouds filling the valleys, with distant blue mountain ridges rising above the mist.
North Peak trail, Mt Diablo
A stone lighthouse with a red roof sits atop a rugged, rocky hillside dotted with green shrubs under a clear blue sky.
North Peak trail, Mt Diablo

Out towards North Peak proper, the ground opening up on both sides.

A forested hillside on Mt Diablo rises above a thick layer of fog that blankets the valley below, with distant ridges visible under a blue sky.
North Peak trail, Mt Diablo
A tree with bright yellow autumn leaves stands on a grassy hillside, surrounded by dense green shrubs and forested slopes.
North Peak trail, Mt Diablo
A black and white view from a rocky ridge at Mt Diablo looking out over a thick sea of clouds filling the valley below.
North Peak Trail at Mt Diablo
A lone pine tree stands on a grassy hillside at Mt Diablo, overlooking a sea of clouds that fills the valley below.
North Peak Trail at Mt Diablo
A leafless, dead tree stands on a grassy hillside above a vast sea of clouds, with a distant mountain range visible on the horizon.
North Peak Trail at Mt Diablo
Grassy hills dotted with scattered trees and rocks rise toward a fog-wrapped peak at Mt Diablo.
North Peak Trail at Mt Diablo
Sunlit ridgelines of Mt Diablo rise above a sea of low clouds, with a narrow dirt trail winding through the green slopes.
North Peak Trail at Mt Diablo

Early afternoon at the far end, and the cloud had started to thin and shift below us.

A thick blanket of white fog fills the valley below, with green, tree-covered hills rising above the mist toward a hazy blue sky.
North Peak Trail at Mt Diablo
A rugged rock formation and a lone pine tree sit on a grassy ridge overlooking the forested slopes of Mt Diablo.
North Peak Trail at Mt Diablo
A gnarled oak tree with yellow autumn leaves stands on a grassy hillside, its twisted branches spreading wide against a backdrop of green forest.
North Peak Trail at Mt Diablo
Rugged, reddish-brown slopes of Mt Diablo's North Peak Trail rise under a blue sky, dotted with green shrubs and topped by several tall communication towers.
North Peak Trail at Mt Diablo
Rugged, grassy hills and rocky outcrops rise above a thick layer of white fog that fills the valleys below.
North Peak Trail at Mt Diablo

Then the walk back, with the light getting better as it went — the best of the day came in the last hour.

A grassy hillside with scattered trees and shrubs overlooks a vast valley filled with thick fog beneath a pale blue sky.
North Peak Trail at Mt Diablo
A lone tree stands on a grassy hillside at Mt Diablo, with a sea of clouds filling the valley below and distant ridges fading into the mist.
North Peak Trail at Mt Diablo
A lone oak tree with autumn foliage stands on a grassy hillside above a sea of fog and distant blue mountain ridges.
North Peak Trail at Mt Diablo
A solitary tree stands on a grassy hillside above a sea of fog, with distant ridges and a cloudy sky beyond.
North Peak Trail at Mt Diablo
A golden oak and a tall pine stand on a grassy hillside above a sea of fog, with blue forested ridges rising in the distance.
North Peak Trail at Mt Diablo
A grassy, rocky ridge with scattered pines slopes down toward a vast sea of clouds filling the valley below.
North Peak Trail at Mt Diablo
A black and white view of layered mountain ridges fading into a thick sea of fog beneath a cloudy sky.
North Peak Trail at Mt Diablo
Layered blue ridges of Mt Diablo rise through a thick sea of fog, with a faint city skyline and a radio tower visible on the horizon.
North Peak Trail at Mt Diablo

One last one before dropping back down into the grey.

Layered ridges of Mt Diablo rise through a thick sea of fog beneath a twilight sky streaked with pink and blue clouds.
North Peak Trail at Mt Diablo

A good way to spend a Thanksgiving morning, and worth the drive up through all that cloud to get there.

Brian Smith

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