The weekend's on the wane, but it's been fun...and draining. Welcome, Spring 2011! We watched you ride a storm front into the Bay Area, raising creek levels to new heights. And as much as we love you, Spring, we'd be good if you could relax the rain for just ONE day this week. But your influence is already apparent.
Yesterday's Diablo Trails Challenge was an epic - anyone who finished the 50K, Half Marathon, 10K or 5K should put the date on their resume should they be asked about their perseverence and dedication. I was the "5K Turnaround", a position for which I volunteered. Pushing through mud and stream crossings for a mile to reahc my station, I was shuttled the remaining three quarters of a mile by a park ranger who took pity. The creek crossings were great, though - the stream through Pine Canyon was a foot higher than last weekend thanks to monstrous overnight rain showers. I was dressed for the occasion, though, and didn't drop feet in the water even once (my technique requires front wheels up while in the water, and feeling my way over the rocky streambed).
Once at the turnaround, I watched as the Half runners, then the 10K, then the 5K folks cruised past. Rain of varying intensity was the order of the day, and being cocooned in rain gear I was in no distress. We sat and cheered the runners along both directions - they passed us on the way back, too. The trail was a thick, gooey muck by the time the 5K sweeper came by, so I packed up and pushed back, knowing the mud would be stuck like some bas relief acrylic to tires, frame, shoes and clothes. Each creek crossing was a gift, enabling a firmer grip on freshly cleaned tires. That brief bit of solace disappeared into "fail" mode once I hit the shore and I took on more mud, though.
As on the way out, though, the friendly ranger stopped to help me in as I wallowed at the mercy of the slippery, sticky trail. Half marathoners and 10K runners still flew past. The rain was a motivator, as the wind must also have been in the higher elevations. We heard from the higher aid stations that the temp had not climbed out of the 30's, and that some 50K runners were experiencing hypothermia. That category of athlete is built from some of the more rugged pieces of The Human Experience, though, and I'm sure all made it home safely.
Fast forward to this morning. I was tired after yesterday, so I slept in until 9 or so. Having been awakened at 3:30 AM by a torrent of wind and rain, I decided to head out to the Mines Road - Del Puerto Canyon loop to see what Nature had wrought overnight. Now, I know we had rain in Livermore...but what must have occurred in the Southern Diablos was incredible - the tiny creeks and drainages had turned to rivers; waterfalls where waterfalls had never been were falling from every notch in the hillsides; entire valleys had become flood plains. Canyon walls had fallen, leaving rocks of all sizes in the road, and testing my Corolla's ability to navigate the narrow passages around them.
The most fun was finding that the two places where the winter - gorged creeks normally crossed the road had become challenges. The water was still less than a foot deep, but velocity and volume were off the charts. Add to that a normally quiet culvert where the creek crosses beneath Mines Rd. had burbled over onto the road, leaving that section of pavement in tatters. A short distance past that last crossing was a large blue oak entangled with a half dozen manzanita bushes lying across the road, blocking the northbound lane. Mines is a quiet road, though, so it probably wouldn't have stopped any traffic. The locals are used to it, of course. The theme seemed to be "these mountains got one HELL of a lot of rain last night." The runoff was unbeleiveable. I drove all the way to the base of Mt. Hamilton before turning around to take on Del Puerto Canyon. Water was everywhere.
I knew the Canyon would be difficult. The walls are vertical most of the way, composed of flaky sedimentary rock and loose topsoil. As expected, rockslides were everywhere. The recent frozen mornings followed by warmer rain probably loosened up the canyon walls a lot. I drove with crossed fingers, half expecting to be ambushed by a 500 lb boulder dropping from one of the walls. Several of that size had found their way to the middle of the road.
Driving wasn't too hazardous if one stayed on the pavement. But one unfortunate 4WD - offroad pick up type abruptly violated the "Rule of Four Wheel Drive Infallibility". I drove past and watched a bulldozer pull the unfortunate large, dual cab, 4wd truck out of the flood - stage level creek at Frank Raines County Park. I guess a flooded creek crossing in a steep canyon seemed like a good idea at the time to someone who will probably still guess wrong going forward. Some people are like that....
The upshot is - this was a heck of a storm, but it didn't dampen the weekend. The ground is beyond saturation, a finding that's somewhat ironic for the First Day of Spring. We expect rain the entire week. And still good things came of the weekend. Bush Lupine blooming next to Bush Daisies were a beautiful accent to Del Puerto Canyon's unforgiving allure. Deer chomped on fresh greens everywhere. A lone jackrabbit just north of San Antonio Valley gave me two ears "up" for getting past the rockslides and flooded streams.
A weekend doesn't have to be sun and warmth to be fun and games. Welcome to Spring, 2011. No matter the weather, it's with us for three months so PLEASE make the most of it! See you out on a muddy trail soon!
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