My friend John Knightly and I had a primo day - about 75 degrees, blue skies, light breeze. The trail starts just outside the South Gate entrance to the park. It goes through an incredible number of biotic communities on the way to Rock City, about half way up the mountain.

We got there around 9:00, a bit late to see lots of birds. But we did get some treats. At the beginning, we got some good close ups of a pair of loud-mouthed California Quail talking back and forth. Later, we spotted what appeared to be a Lesser Goldfinch with a large moth in her mouth. We followed her trail through the brush until she stopped. We say a couple of fuzzy heads with beaks reach up for the meal. Then dad did the same.

The day was perfect for wildflowers. The were wave after wave of blue Ithuriel's Spear just covering some of the grassy hillsides at the early part of the hike. Midway up, the trail turns to fire road that is carved into the hillside. On the left it drops off into Dan Cook Canyon. On the right it goes up hill. For me the highlight of the hike was the masses of larkspur that were out. In the rocks, it was the red larkspur. On the woody hillsides, it was blue larkspur, sometimes mixed with red Indian Paintbrush.

About three quarters of the way up, there's a couple of crooks in the road, and we're treated to a great view of Danville. It felt like we might be able to see Mt. Tam through the haze. We took this as a great time to have lunch. I remembered that I often stopped here with my kids.

For kicks, we climbed Sentinel Rock, a large sandstone outcropping that makes up part of Rock City. Then after lunch we enjoyed the views of the mountain and the East Bay from the top of Fossill Ridge. Then we bushwacked down the hill back to the main trail. Wear white pants and get a dozen ticks for the priviledge!

Here's what we saw:

Birds
Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, California Quail, Mourning Dove, Anna's Hummingbird, Northern Flicker, ? Swallow, Stellar's Jay, Common Crow, (Chestnut-backed Chickadee), White-breasted Nuthatch, ? House Wren, Bewick's Wren, American Robin, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lesser Goldfinch, Rufous-sided Towhee, Dark-eyed "Oregon" Junco, .

Wildflowers
California Poppy, Star Lily, Mt Diablo Golden Globe Lily, Blue Dicks, Ithuriel's Spear, Blue-eyed Grass, California Mustard, Milk Maids, Common Wallflower, Bedstraw, Lupine, Dove Lupine, American Vetch, ? Pea, Red Maids, Miner's Lettuce, Red Larkspur, Inland Blue Larkspur, California Buttercup, Woodland Star, Purple Sanicle, Chinese Houses, Indian Paint Brush, Sticky Monkey Flower, Henderson's Shooting Star, Scarlet Pimpernel Common Fiddleneck, Common Popcorn Flower, Baby Blue Eyes, Claifornia Phacelia, Narrow-leaved Mule Ears, Common Yarrow, Oyster Plant or Salsify, Italian Thistle, Pineapple Weed .

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Last updated 30 Oct, 1995.