Morgan Territory

To celebrate my birthday, I decided to do a 5.5-mile hike in gorgeous Morgan Territory. It was an absolutely perfect day, and I had a blast on this trail. To see LOTS more photos and to read the details of my hike click "read more."

Detail of the Morgan Territory map

My original plan was to do this hike, a featured hike of the 2019 EBRPD Trail Challenge; however, I adapted my plan a little when I saw the gorgeous sandstone outcropping from the Clyma Trail and wanted to get closer to it so that I could see it more clearly up close--from looking at the map, I was worried that I would be hiking above the cliffs and wouldn't be able to see them. 

From the parking lot at the staging area, I crossed Morgan Territory Road and took the Clyma Trail. From this trail, there were gorgeous views of Mount Diablo to the northwest and of the impressive sandstone ridge to the east.

At the intersection with many trails, I went right (downhill) and then to the left at the next fork to stay on Clyma Trail, which also goes by the name "Bob Walker Regional Trail" at this point. After crossing Morgan Territory road again, the trail started to go by Highland Ridge Trail. Here, there were a TON of wildflowers, particularly buttercups and shooting stars. I took the turn at the right for the Stone Corral Trail, which lead me to the Coyote Trail, a single-track path that paralleled a delightful, bubbling creek in fairly deep shade. This part of the trail was relatively flat until the end, and then it ascended steeply. As I gained in elevation, I broke out from under the trees and got the views of the sandstone that I wanted. It was beautiful to see the falcons, vultures, and condors circling in the air and then gracefully landing on the rocks and caves of the cliff face. 

As I climbed, I started to see more and more manzanita and fewer oaks, sycamores, and bay laurel trees. I also saw lots and lots of larkspur and miniature lupine. With all of the up-and-down, I would say that this was a moderate hike even though it wasn't all that long mileage wise. It was just stunning to watch the shadows of the clouds race across the emerald green hills, to hear the songs of red-winged blackbirds near seasonal pools and the croaks of frogs near streams, and to smell the tangy-sweet smell of bay trees.