High Sierra Topix

Spring is the best time for SF Bay Area day hikes... ( my opinion) ..and it is just now heating up.
Did a quickie to Murietta Falls earlier this week.

I had been there once before..in 2016. I had forgotten what a hard hike this is. I did 3500 feet in elevation gain. ( did a little extra).
In 2016, I had a tick bite ( only time this has happened to me..) I wore long pants this time.

I saw a flock of turkeys at the base at Del Valle Reservoir last time and I saw one this time as well. The hills are still very green.. A view back to Del Valle A couple of views back to Mount Diablo Some wild flowers were out...but starting to wane.. they were better last time I went. But still nice.. I think the season is probably over now for the sweeping carpet of yellow. But still very nice. And lastly a photo of Murietta Falls. I expected a little more water given how much rain we have had. Murietta Falls is a great early spring day hike if you want to see a Bay Area waterfall and get some elevation gain in to test yourself!

It's so much nicer when everything is so green.

Thanks for the TR, was expecting to see it at a average to above average flow this year in April.
Berry Creek Falls in Big Basin (prettiest in the BA) is probably booming, and allows one to get some good mileage (11 miles) and elevation in.

Yeah, Murietta falls is pretty underwhelming. But I'm a huge sucker for oak grasslands, love the green hills with mistletoe on the oaks.

Alamere falls is pretty nice too if we're comparing Bay area waterfalls. Grizzly Gulch falls is also really pretty, but not as tall.

Nice. I was nearby at Sunol Regional Wilderness Apr 12-18 teaching geologic mapping (have done this annually since spring 2006) and on one day got a bit further east into Ohlone Wilderness but of course not very close to Murrieta falls. Yes by the time we got into April the flows in the streams had decreased quite a bit whereas the flows earlier in the year when things were raining a lot, were quite high and impressive. One of these days I need to get into Murrieta falls because I know the geology in that area and along the way would be interesting to me. Another great place to visit in the eastern Bay Area.