57141--the devil's mountain

[zyzyly]

After a post the other day, elainegrey mentioned Mt. Diablo in a comment. There was a big fire up there last fall. Although Mt. Diablo is about 2 hours from where I live, I can see it on clear days. When I lived live in the East Bay as a kid, I used to camp up there. I don't think I have been up to the top since I was a teenager.

Anyway, elainegrey mentioned it, and I started thinking about it. I had an unformed plan to go out and shoot some wildflower pictures today while Malida studied, but no real destination. Before I went to sleep, I thought about going up to Diablo. I set the clock for 5:30 am.

I got up and was on the road by 6. It was raining a little, and I thought about turning back to wait for another day, but decided to see what a rainy day would show me. I stopped along highway 80 to take some pictures of cows just in case.

I got up there at about 8:30. It was drizzling a little, but not bad enough to keep me away. There is an interpretive trail just below the summit that winds through the fire area. Hikers are encouraged to take pictures at specific spots and post them, so that the recovery can be documented.


I think this is a great idea. I didn't submit any pictures because it was just too foggy, but next time I will go up on a sunny day.



Here's the trail, with fire damage on either side. Even with the wetness, it still has a fire smell to it.



Some charred leaves. There was a lot of damage on this side of the mountain, but even the damage has a story to tell. Fire is a natural part of the ecosystem.



I think the recent rains have really helped bring back some green. I saw signs of new growth everywhere. The mountain gets really dry in the summer, to the point where they will close it to minimize the possibility of fire. It sits in the middle of a huge urban area and any fire could be disastrous.

It was a lot of fun being out there. Today they were celebrating the 150th anniversary of the California State Park system, and the 40th anniversary of the Mt. Diablo Interpretive Association. There were all sorts of events just getting started as I was coming down the mountain, but I got what I came for.

As I was driving out the north gate road, I came across this beautiful scene just as the sun was trying to peek through. I took a pano with my iPhone.



I definitely have to get back up there again soon.

Comments

[creactivity.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

I love the photo of the charred leaves! Around here, fires are a permanent feature of the landscape and you can see how the bush is recovering year by year from each one.

[gracegiver]

such beautiful photos. now I can't wait to get back home (my other REAL home) and see more green!

[wordweaverlynn.livejournal.com]

A few months ago gramina and I went up there. It was magnificent -- especially the long views. But I really like the cloudy, foggy sky in your pictures.

[howeird]

Impressive charred leaf photo. This reminds me of Mt. St. Helens, in that I was up in that neighborhood the days after both eruptions, and trees were on the ground like matchsticks, but a year later new growth was well underway and deer were returning. Nature has a way of surviving.

[thoughtsbykat.livejournal.com]

I'm sure on a clear day you would have gorgeous views. Mother earth does amazing thing to recover from a fire. I also saw how Mt.St.Helens and Yellowstone recovered after the destruction there.
Your pano is so pretty, very pastoral.

[elainegrey.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you for sharing! I really do want to get over there....

[i.livejournal.com]

there is an eerie beauty to burn sites. I love photographing them. nice work!

[brendamom.livejournal.com]

Beautiful. I will forward to watching the changes as the healing takes place.

[fletch31526.livejournal.com]

I love the crowdsourcing/photography idea! That should be something cool to track. Mother Nature always finds a way back... that how she works. The world has been burning & renewing itself for millennia. Some people get in a tizzy about wildfires, but unless they're crazy large or threatening humans (which happens more and more as we develop land), then they aren't always a bad thing.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

The new growth coming up, so green and soft against the charred, geometric forms of the burned trees, is a perfect image of renewal and hope, and then that last photo, the flashes of sunlight on the yellow-and-green of leaves and tiny flowers--and the sky so dark above--is a vision of wholeness, health, beauty.

[rockbirthedme.livejournal.com]

If you don't mind a suggestion -- post them. They actually do show the recovery, and will be useful to the folks studying the recovery.

Practical issues aside, they are beautiful photos. I love fog, but rarely see it -- the air is not usually still enough for fog here.