Morgan Territory Regional Preserve
is located in Contra Costa County, southeast
of, and connected to Mt. Diablo State Park. I had never heard of it until I was
looking at a nearby P1K that lies just outside the park boundary. At the last
minute I decided to make an outing to visit it and a few points inside Diablo
State Park on Martin Luther King Day. I couldn't talk any of the family into
joining me though they all had the day off. I just don't understand how other
people could want to do something other than go for a hike on a day off. Crazy.
It took about an hour to drive from San Jose, exiting I-580 at North Livermore
Road and taking it to Morgan Territory Road which runs through the park. The
staging area is located at the crest of the hills at just over 2,000ft
elevation. The park is multi-use, popular with hikers, equestrians, cyclists
and cattle. In fact, the only thing the park seems to really be 'preserving' is
the extensive ranching on all the lands. That's certainly better than a
sprawling suburban development, but if cow poop bothers you, this park is not
for you.
I crossed to the west side of the road and started on the 
Clyma Trail.
The west end of the park is dominated by the long Highland Ridge running from
the
northwest uphill to the southeast where it culminates at Marsh BM, just outside
the park. The Clyma Trail heads up the west side of the ridge but stops short
of the ridge itself because of the boundary. Views of the surrounding
grassy hills are obtained shortly after starting up, stretching east
across the Central Valley to the 
snow-capped peaks of the Sierra. The
views also stretch north
across Suisun Bay and the Sacramento River delta, but these were almost
completely washed out by smog and marine haze (as was the Central Valley).
I left the trail a few minutes
later when it turned to the north at a bend. Cross-country in the area is not
hard, but one must watch out for poison oak, hard to see at this time of year
when there are no leaves on the branches. I wanted to head more or less directly
to 
Marsh BM, but 
a ranch home blocked the route, requiring a
slight detour to the north around it. At the 
park boundary they've
posted Area
Closed signs, ostensibly for "resource protection." This land outside the
park is managed by the East Bay Regional Park District, so it is also public
lands. I really couldn't understand what resource was being protected because
ALL the hillsides have been extensively grazed by cattle. There wasn't anyplace
I could walk that wasn't already divoted with cow hooves. It really was a
puzzle to me, not just a rationalization for ignoring the sign (I would have
hiked up the hill regardless).
It took about ten minutes to climb the hillside behind the signs to the
highpoint. I found 
the benchmark at the highest peaklet in a flat
clearing west of the tall 
relay towers found at the summit area. A
paved road leads to the
top from along Morgan Territory Road, but I had ruled that out on the drive in
because there is at least one home along the road. The approach from inside the
park worked out quite nicely. There is a fine view of Mt. Diablo's
twin summits to 
the northwest. Lower on its southeast flanks
could be seen the other points
I was interested in: Oyster Point, Cave Point, and Windy Point and it was to
these I next turned my attention. The first summit had taken little more than
half an hour but the next would be more work - the nearest was some 4 air miles
away. There is an easier approach to this side of Diablo State Park by driving
to the end of Tassajara Rd, but I decided to do the hike from where I was to
give me a good tour of the regional preserve.
I headed northwest from the highpoint, following a combination of cow trails
along the crest and a dirt road that runs below the crest on the northeast
side. Along the crest I spotted a bobcat who appeared to see me at the same
time. I paused to get a picture, but it was too hidden from view. Moving closer
caused it to move off, but I got
a zoom of it just before it went over the crest
and disappeared into the chaparral on the other side.
Once inside the park boundary again, I followed the
Highland Ridge Trail
for a couple of miles. I ran into several small
herds of cattle along the way.
It looked like the cows had given birth in the past few months and their young
charges were already looking quite hefty. The little ones were skittish and
would hide behind mom when I approached, but the bigger cows had very little
apprehension about my being there. They would get up and move to the side of the
road, but barely. They'd easily let me pass
within a yard of them, just keeping
an eye on me in case I turned out to be after the children. These cows were
obviously very used to people.
At a junction I turned south and followed a series of 
trails (Jeremiah,
Grizzly, Sulpher Springs) to the southwest corner of the park. I passed by an
old building alongside a creek near Sulphur Springs at the lowpoint
before climbing up and over 
a minor ridge. At the crest of the ridge I
found 
a pig trap, one of many I saw throughout the park, though none of
them were currently set. I dropped down the west side of the ridge, part of it
cross-country to get get me down to Riggs Canyon and the start of the
Oyster Point Trail. There is another unoccupied building found here,
an 
old homestead set on an overlook above the creek. I found the trail
easily enough along with more cows including one that looked to be guarding
access 
across the creek. On the other side of the creek I passed by a
sign marking 
the boundary between the two parks, then
started up the narrow trail towards Oyster Point.
The Oyster Point Trail for the most part follows along the northeast side of
the ridge whose highpoint is Oyster Point. I had hoped it might actually follow
the ridge for better views, but alas, no. The northeast side is heavily wooded
and brushy and though I couldn't be sure, it seems likely to be rife with poison
oak. As the leaves are off the branches at this time of year, I just avoided
contact with any likely-looking branches. There was
some snow dustings in a few
places higher up, a surprise, considering Oyster Point barely 2,000ft in
elevation. I was dismayed to find the trail actually going past Oyster Point,
some three hundred feet below, according to the GPS. How could something called
the "Oyster Point Trail" not actually go to Oyster Point? It turns out it does,
I just didn't hike far enough along the trail to find out. I left the trail and
climbed steeply up the hillside, half under forest (and the dangers of poison
oak all around!), half grassy. I reconnected with the trail, now more of a use
trail, as it climbed the final distance to the southeast and the summit. There
is 
a small post at a viewpoint, about 30ft from the actual highpoint
which is located under 
some dense brush. Yay. Even the view was a
non-plus because the haze washed out much of it.
By now it was 1:40p. I would have to hurry if I was going to make it to Cave and
Windy Points and still get back home anywhere near a reasonably acceptable
"dinnertime" return that I had given to the family. I went back down to the
trail near where I had left it earlier, then continue west looking for some sort
of connector trail to get me to 
Cave Point,
the next summit to the north. I
didn't have a trail map for Diablo State Park with me as my last-minute
preparations had left a few things undone. If I had looked at a map, I
would have found that there is no reasonably direct way to get from one to
other, but instead I discovered this with a field study. I found the junction
for the Oyster Point Trail on the northwest side near a saddle, but I found no
trail, maintained, use or animal that could get me to Cave Point. The
intervening terrain looked to be horribly dense chaparral. I would have to do
this another time, probably approaching from the northeast where trails can be
used to reach both points.
I returned to Morgan Territory and 
Old Finley Road,
turning north to make a loop
of my hike for the middle portion. I was navigating with the aid of a map I had
picked up back at the trailhead, but the trails on the left margin are
compressed and a bit confusing. At least that's my excuse for missing a turn and
ending up on Riggs Canyon Road, heading deeper back into Diablo State Park than
I had intended. It wasn't all bad - though I'd get back later than I'd hoped,
it was a nice hike. Some reasonable guesswork at various trail junctions
off the edge of my map eventually got me headed back towards Morgan Territory
along the 
Highland Ridge Road/Trail. It was 3:10p by the time I reached
the park boundary.
Because I had spent more time than planned in the state park, I
decided not to make a bigger loop inside Morgan Territory since it would likely
take yet more time that I was already short on. I hiked the Highland Ridge Trail
back up to its apex at the southern boundary, down the other side a short
distance and some 
easy cross-country to get back to the Clyma Trail and
the staging area.
I ended up only about half an hour behind schedule which would be
easy to blame on traffic if needed (it wasn't). I'll have to make another trip
out to explore the trails and roads in the eastern half of the park. Aside from
the rampant cattle grazing, it's a very scenic park and a most worthwhile visit.