Oops, I did it again.

I spent Christmas day running from campus to Diablo and back, again. I did it counter-clockwise last time [trip report], so I figured I had to do it clockwise today. I was pretty close to not getting out the door since the research I'd hoped to do over the break isn't really happening (it's taking the super-duper econometrics lab servers close to 24 hours to run one stupid 45,000 observation matching regression) so I was ticked about that, and it's been raining all week. But I hit the trail at 4:30. For the first few hours in the dark and rain I was wondering why I didn't stick with my original plan and spend Christmas in Yosemite, but then it got light out, I hit the Lafayette Ridge Trail, Keep the Car Running came up on the iPod, the endorphins were flowing, and life was grand.

Lafayette Ridge Trail, an awesome roller coaster in Briones Regional Park, Diablo in the background.

Acalanes Open Space. The sun actually came out!

I feel obligated to photograph things bearing my name.

The original plan was of course to run all the way to the summit, and I felt good enough to do that until conditions became perfect for some horrible gumbo, and then I decided not to bother. That shortened the route by maybe 12 miles to somewhere around 65, I'd say.

As lame as not going to the summit was, I did get to see some cool stuff I'd never seen before, including China Wall [sat photo].

The view from 999 Panoramic Way, just before finishing. I finished the run where I started (the top of Dwight near the dirt track) just before 1:00 AM.

So I'd say the run went pretty well. If you're interested in the details of the route, see the g-map I made last time. It's pretty easy to imagine how I cut off the summit, just pinch the the part of the loop where it gets real close together even closer. I also took another slightly different route on the Tilden to Briones Reservoir EBMUD part--I went down the De Laveaga Rd. EBMUD trail that comes out right by JFK University and Orinda BART and walked along El Camino Pablo a couple miles to the res. Anyway, this is boring you. Let me just end by saying that this is mostly pretty straightforward with the excellent free East Bay Regional Parks maps (Las Trampas, Briones, Central Contra Costa Regional Trails, and I guess Tilden & Redwood) and I love this map of Diablo, but EBMUD trails are only mapped on "A Rambler's Guide to the Trails of the East Bay Hills" Central & Northern Sections, published by The Olmsted & Bros. Map Co, which have perfect scale for a long run like this. Unfortunately, these are out of print, so if anyone ever happens to come across a copy for sale somewhere, please notify me ASAP. (Their map of Tamalpais is also great).

Have I mentioned that I love listening to Fresh Air? It's the best for long runs. Doris Kearn's Goodwin's Team of Rivals has started off well also.

If you want to spend 18 seconds of your life watching a salamander I saw, feel free.