New signs point the way through Clayton along U.S. coast to coast hiking trail
Signs marking the American Discovery Trail (ADT) are now in place for its 15-mile distance through Mount Diablo State Park.
The trail enters Clayton from the east via the Black Diamond Trail. It then passes through town on the Bruce Lee Trail and the Donner Creek Trail. Finally, it enters Mount Diablo State Park on the Back Creek Trail.
Concord resident John Mercurio installed the new markers. They add to the portion of the ADT already signed along East Bay Regional Park District trails both to the east and west of Mount Diablo.
“This gives both long-distance hikers and those of us just out for a casual day trek an easy way to be part of a national Millennial Trail,” notes Mercurio. Mercurio is on the board of the American Discovery Trail Society. He recently became California coordinator for the trail, which enters the state just north of Incline Village, (following the Tahoe Rim Trail) and terminates at the Pacific Ocean in Point Reyes National Seashore.
Mokelumne Trail
“The route coincides with the Mokelumne Coast to Crest Trail. This trail extends from the Sierra Crest at Ebbetts Pass. It crosses the Delta and reaches to the Carquinez Strait near Martinez. Another branch extending to San Francisco Bay in Berkeley,” he says.
America’s first coast to coast hiking and riding trail, the ADT extends from Delaware Bay across 15 states and Washington, D.C.. It splits into a north and a south route across the Midwest. Total distance is more than 6,800 miles.
“Its route knits together a succession of existing trails and lightly used back roads traversing farmlands, woodlands, cities and remote national lands,” Mercurio reports. “In the West, it utilizes lands of the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service and the Forest Service, as well as local and state parklands.”
Mercurio assumed the position of California coordinator from John Fazel, the only other person to have held the job. The Orinda resident, a longtime member of the Orinda Road Runners, was one of the local experts tapped to advise where to route the trail.
Wonderful stories found along trail
“Over the course of several years, Fazel ran and biked the entire distance of the trail,” says Mercurio. “Ask him about it. You will get a fascinating string of stories of the people he met and the wonders he observed.”
Now that the trail has been marked through Mount Diablo State Park, Mercurio feels energized to fill in the signage gaps in Contra Costa County. He wants to pursue approvals to allow signs through Clayton and Walnut Creek. Clayton has already recognized the trail in a way by mentioning it in Black Diamond Plaza’s trailhead kiosk downtown.
For more information on the ADT, visit discoverytrail.org. For more information on the Mokelumne Coast to Crest Trail, visit mc2ct.org.