Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

Once again, Tom Mangan shows us why it’s important to keep physically fit: so you can hike the beautiful trails of Murietta Falls and enjoy the splendor.

• Two Heel Drive: Murietta Falls Report

Here is his description of how to get there:

For those unfamiliar with the pleasures of hiking to Murietta Falls: It’s about six miles one way from the Lichen Bark Picnic Area at Del Valle Regional Park near Livermore. Getting there entails one epic climb on from the parking lot to Rocky Ridge, then going downhill to Williams Gulch, then slogging up for another epic climb on the Big Burn (steep, yes, but also one of the prettiest stretches of single-track trail in the East Bay.) After that you go back down a few hundred feet in a mile to the Falls, including a harrowing bit of iffy footing just before you reach the base.

Then you go back the way you came. A side trip along the Rocky Ridge Trail adds about a mile each way, but you avoid a really steep patch of trail and get some great scenery.

You can see all his photos here:

• 02-25-08-Murietta Falls – a photoset on Flickr