Mitchell Canyon
Aerobic climbs and insane descents on a panoramic tour of Mount Diablo.
San Francisco may be a hilly city, but you'll need to drive elsewhere
to find long, steep aerobic climbs.
After awhile, the Marin Headlands and Mount Tam just don't cut it anymore.
For longer stretches of granny ring ascent, there is Big Rock Ridge to the north, Sierra Azul in
the South Bay, or Mount Diablo to the east. We had ridden the Mitchell Canyon loop before, but there is
a natural extension to that loop which I've long been thinking about.
It rises up past Juniper Camp to Devil's Elbow near the peak, swings around the summit on singletrack, before continuing
down through Prospector's Gap.
The climb up to Deer Park had been a hard enough little grunt.
Continuing any further seemed like madness.
With a section known as the "Widowmaker" higher up on the Juniper trail,
I feared to even imagine what the ride to the summit might be like.
Never did I guess that heading back down would be the worst part of the ride...
Photos
Click to expand
Beginning the ride along the shady Mitchell Canyon picnic area,
the fireroad starts out mild through oaky meadows and creekbeds.
The hard climbing workout begins after 2 miles (elev. 1000), climbing 1½ miles to Deer Flat (elev. 2100).
Juniper Camp (elev. 3000) comes two miles later.
Average grades are 5% through Mitchell Canyon, 14% to Deer Flat, 9% to Juniper Creek.
The final distance to the summit (elev. 3849) probably assumes you are taking the trail from Juniper Camp,
where bikes aren't allowed. Summit Road is probably around an 8% grade. Enjoy!!
A splash of fall color in October. There wasn't much, but what there was still sparkled in the backlit sun.
Actually, I think a lot of it might have been poison oak, which is like that year round.
The shade is nice on a hot day. This is continuing through the dry riparian corridor crowding the fireroad,
shortly before the steep ascent begins.
Looking back down at Mitchell Canyon while climbing the switchbacks to Deer Flat.
View of Eagle Peak from Deer Flat. There is Antioch, Concord, and the northern extension of the Bay up the American
River in the distance.
A pleasant start on the way from Deer Flat to Juniper Camp.
Actually this part of the trail wasn't too bad, a lot of middle ring stuff-- until you get to...
dare I say it... the "Widowmaker"!
There are two reasons I always stop for a break, no matter what, even if it's a workout ride and I'm trying to get in shape.
One is if my crotch is going numb,
it's just not worth the risk of nerve damage.
But I went with a slightly slower rebound setting for this climb, which seemed to help the problem.
The other reason is for a good picture. If I ever pedal past a beautiful scene
because I'm worried about going fast, then stick a fork in this goose 'cause I'm cooked!
Oh no... it's the "Widowmaker"!
Maybe it doesn't look so bad from this angle, but you better pop it into the granny.
The lens flatens it out a bit, plus trails always look shallower when viewed from the side.
It is manageable enough to ride, but this section did drain the last of my aerobic reserves.
Fortunately, the rest of the way to Juniper Camp is fairly flat.
Juniper Camp is a pleasant and shady place to cool down, and maybe munch on an energy bar, while waiting for the crushing
pain in my left shoulder to go away.
On Summit Road, pavement has never looked so good.
It escapes me why we cannot ride on the final leg of the Summit trail below,
but have to take the road to the summit instead-- with speeding motorcycles and sports cars and no shoulder.
I sure don't see anyone else using this trail.
Nonetheless, is a fairly quick spin up to Devil's Elbow, where the North Peak singletrack begins.
You can see it cutting across the hillside... don't slip!
It looks flat here, but ends up being a very technical trail, worse than Skegg's, Soquel or Saratoga Gap.
Similar to Henry Coe's Middle Ridge Trail.
At 3500 feet, Devil's Elbow was the high point of this loop;
it's only 300 vertical feet below the summit,
so if you haven't been there before you may as well take a brief detour to check it out.
Beyond Devil's elbow, the first shot is Devil's Pulpit which the trail passes by on the left.
I don't see why they don't just call the whole thing "Devil's Singletrack."
Maybe a freerider wouldn't think it's any big deal, but this is the kind of trail that eats light weight
climbing rigs for lunch.
Soon it loops around to the east side of the mountain where all direct light will be lost in the fading sun.
That is one sad looking tree, the lone audience member at the pulpit.
Coming to the end of the North Peak Trail, near Prospectors Gap.
At least no more twisty, rocky singletrack, but beyond the little ridge there the fireroad begins its
mad descent to Donner Canyon.
Plenty of bike tracks, but I had the place to myself until the bottom.
One last look at golden fields of foxtails and backlit pine needles, before the trail steeply plunges for the rest of the
ride into twilight shadow.
Check your brake pads, adjust your cables, and flush your lines before going on this ride.
Fireroads on Mount Diablo get ridiculously steep, and the first time I rode Mitchell Canyon
(taking the Bald Ridge route) there was one time I had to get off and walk because my rim brakes weren't strong
enough to stop me from accelerating.
My Hayes hydraulics were strong enough, barely, but they made a screeching racket on the 800 feet of vertical drop
straight down Prospectors Gap.
This is after they had already overheated on the North Peak trail-- and I still had Meridian Ridge to go!
All told it is a 3000-foot drop in hardly more than three miles.
I weigh around 200 pounds, and my riding style is cross-country, but whenever I ride Diablo always find
myself wishing I had gone with 8" rotors.
What a relief upon reaching Donner Canyon with it's pleasant rolling meadows. Unfortunately, there is
the final kicker of several short but steep hills on the way back to the parking lot.
(b. October 12, 2003)
Back to East Bay.
Back to Gatetrails.com.
Beginning the ride along the shady Mitchell Canyon picnic area,
the fireroad starts out mild through oaky meadows and creekbeds.
The hard climbing workout begins after 2 miles (elev. 1000), climbing 1½ miles to Deer Flat (elev. 2100).
Juniper Camp (elev. 3000) comes two miles later.
Average grades are 5% through Mitchell Canyon, 14% to Deer Flat, 9% to Juniper Creek.
The final distance to the summit (elev. 3849) probably assumes you are taking the trail from Juniper Camp,
where bikes aren't allowed. Summit Road is probably around an 8% grade. Enjoy!!
A splash of fall color in October. There wasn't much, but what there was still sparkled in the backlit sun.
Actually, I think a lot of it might have been poison oak, which is like that year round.
The shade is nice on a hot day. This is continuing through the dry riparian corridor crowding the fireroad,
shortly before the steep ascent begins.
Looking back down at Mitchell Canyon while climbing the switchbacks to Deer Flat.
View of Eagle Peak from Deer Flat. There is Antioch, Concord, and the northern extension of the Bay up the American
River in the distance.
A pleasant start on the way from Deer Flat to Juniper Camp.
Actually this part of the trail wasn't too bad, a lot of middle ring stuff-- until you get to...
dare I say it... the "Widowmaker"!
There are two reasons I always stop for a break, no matter what, even if it's a workout ride and I'm trying to get in shape.
One is if my crotch is going numb,
it's just not worth the risk of nerve damage.
But I went with a slightly slower rebound setting for this climb, which seemed to help the problem.
The other reason is for a good picture. If I ever pedal past a beautiful scene
because I'm worried about going fast, then stick a fork in this goose 'cause I'm cooked!
Oh no... it's the "Widowmaker"!
Maybe it doesn't look so bad from this angle, but you better pop it into the granny.
The lens flatens it out a bit, plus trails always look shallower when viewed from the side.
It is manageable enough to ride, but this section did drain the last of my aerobic reserves.
Fortunately, the rest of the way to Juniper Camp is fairly flat.
Juniper Camp is a pleasant and shady place to cool down, and maybe munch on an energy bar, while waiting for the crushing
pain in my left shoulder to go away.
On Summit Road, pavement has never looked so good.
It escapes me why we cannot ride on the final leg of the Summit trail below,
but have to take the road to the summit instead-- with speeding motorcycles and sports cars and no shoulder.
I sure don't see anyone else using this trail.
Nonetheless, is a fairly quick spin up to Devil's Elbow, where the North Peak singletrack begins.
You can see it cutting across the hillside... don't slip!
It looks flat here, but ends up being a very technical trail, worse than Skegg's, Soquel or Saratoga Gap.
Similar to Henry Coe's Middle Ridge Trail.
At 3500 feet, Devil's Elbow was the high point of this loop;
it's only 300 vertical feet below the summit,
so if you haven't been there before you may as well take a brief detour to check it out.
Beyond Devil's elbow, the first shot is Devil's Pulpit which the trail passes by on the left.
I don't see why they don't just call the whole thing "Devil's Singletrack."
Maybe a freerider wouldn't think it's any big deal, but this is the kind of trail that eats light weight
climbing rigs for lunch.
Soon it loops around to the east side of the mountain where all direct light will be lost in the fading sun.
That is one sad looking tree, the lone audience member at the pulpit.
Coming to the end of the North Peak Trail, near Prospectors Gap.
At least no more twisty, rocky singletrack, but beyond the little ridge there the fireroad begins its
mad descent to Donner Canyon.
Plenty of bike tracks, but I had the place to myself until the bottom.
One last look at golden fields of foxtails and backlit pine needles, before the trail steeply plunges for the rest of the
ride into twilight shadow.