The Mt. Diablo reference hike for my 69th birthday.

Seth has a stomach malady and Kevin is unavailable, so it's just me and Rob V. I pick him up in Orinda at 9:15 and we're on the trail by 10.

Last year I had great biorhythms and we went fast, but Rob bonked on Diablito Ridge (the short-cut at the end). We don't want a repeat of this, so I let him set the pace.

Temps are in upper 60s in Clayton, with brilliant sunshine. As usual, by Murchio Gap my back is drenched with sweat.

Murchio Gap

Above that it cools off (mid-50s at the top) and there's some wind (blustery at the top) so I'm comfortable.

Bald Ridge Trail seems even more beautiful than normal. The grassy hillsides glow gold,

and the manzanita are vivid red and lime green.

I have a huge spiritual attachment to this place.

We pass a trio of chubby teenage girls. Then they speed up a bit, and we have to speed up ourselves to stay ahead.

Rob lets me go first on Diablito Ridge. I go into mountain-climbing mode: slow pace, looking only at the ground in front of me, monitoring pulse and respiration, entering a comfortable meditative state. Rob is able to pretty much keep up.

Rob at the very top of Diablito Ridge

When we get to the top I feel great, literally as if I hadn't done anything.

On the way down I jog a little, and this jars my knees and compresses my spine. I gradually get sore quads, and a little sciatica which causes pain on the outside of my R knee. But I can control this.

I'm definitely sore by the time we get back to the car, around 3:30. The soreness pretty much wears off by later that night, after a beer with the somewhat-improved Seth.

Overall we're just a tick slower than last year (2.2 MPH vs 2.3).

Aside: my body seems to be engineered for climbing. The ascent today was easy and pleasurable. I feel like I could have done it twice. This makes me wonder if I should try Cactus to Clouds (9000' vs. 3600').

The descent was not so much fun. But I'm 69 and I can still do it - so there!