Black Diamond Mines

Black Diamond Mines

I grew up not too many miles from Black Diamond Mines in Contra Costa County in California.  We spent a lot of weekends exploring and hiking it’s many trails, caves, grave stones, mines, boulders, and cliffs.  

Somersville,

Rose Hill Cemetery,

Nortonville,

Jim’s Place,

Stewartville,

Prospect Mine,

The Audit,

Star Mine,

The Swallows Nests,

Carbondale,

Lark Trail,

Coal Canyon,

Cumberland Trail,

Black Diamond Trail,

Oil Canyon,

Ridge Trail,

Manhattan Canyon,

Eureka Mine,

and Chaparral Loop. 

One year around christmas time we climbed up into one of the great oaks and collecte mistletoe, tied a red ribbon around little bunches and sold them in front of Raley's Grocery store by Dad’s Dental Office.  We'd sat at those same sliding doors giving away kittens on a number of occasions.  There used to be a penny gumball machine in that store and we got caught once buying gum with indian and wheat pennies from Dad’s closet.

In the early days Black Diamond Mines was a little rougher, the cemetery run down, parking was free and you could squeeze into some of the mines through the bars.  Or perhaps that was just because I was a skinny little kid back then.  We’d started a little camp fire a few times at the cliffs by the swallow’s nests and roasted hot dogs.  Inspired to get something ready for the ward talent show one year I hiked in a rope and video camera with some of my friends.  We tied up the rope to a tree hanging over the top of the cliffs and swung out over the abyss.  When we were done and had enough good footage I took the VHS tape and recorded clips between two VCR’s and even recorded a song over the top, “I’m Still Alive” by Pearl Jam.  I didn't make it to the talent show that year but Jay Jackson showed it and it horrified a lot of parents.  

As you pass Eureka Mine on on Chaparral Loop the trail becomes sand stone and names are carved into it wherever you look.  One of my favorite things to see on that train were the old manzanita trees, gnarled and old with smooth red bark.  The greatest part of the hike was the sandstone hill that we’d lime to the top of.  Covered with manzanita we’d snake our way to the top, hand over hand, in between red and yellow sandstone boulders.  The view from the top was spectacular. You could see the cemetery, and all the way out to the where the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers met, and Mount Diablo off in the west over the golden hills spotted with green oaks.  On top we’d hunt for the dragon carving that has been maintained by someone over the years.  And other carvings.  We’d find countless someone + someone’s carved into the soft stone.  I’m sure our names are up there somewhere but we were never all that patient when it came to carving when there was exploring to do.  We called the animal trails that criss crossed the area hobbit trails because they were too small for big folk.  The trail down the other side was narrow and had a lot of switchbacks which made you feel like you were moving faster than you were.  We’d fly down the hill singing “Nothing can stop the running trail” while trying not to fly off the trail at the tight corners.

There was an old tree out on the way to Jim’s Place on Coal Canyon or Black Diamond trail that we called Tree Beard because you could see a face in it from a certain angle.  Jim’s place was a cave where some guy named Jim used to live.  I don’t know much of the history but always wanted to live in a place like that.  He had a hole where a chimney pipe would poke out and a square skylight carved out of the sandstone and even shelves carved into the wall.  I can’t imagine a better place to live than out in the golden california hills in a nice warm cave hunting rabbits and deer for food.

Sometimes we’d hike through sunset and by the light of the moon.  Our weary feet and whining voices longed to be home in bed.  Wearing us out was probably one of the top reasons to go hiking anyway.  Sometimes we’d get separated the faster kids in the front pack with Dad and the slower kids in the rear with Mom.  Dad would leave us trail markers pointing which trail to take when we came to a fork.  Sometimes we’d run ahead just to leave trail markers knowing that Dad would find them and know which trail we took.  

I helped restore the old cemetery one year and secreted away a C&H brick in my backpack that was made in Pittsburgh and I’m sure is haunted by the ghost of whoever’s grave it was from.

I love climbing the black attle hills, debris from the Eureka mine.  

I remember one Christmas Day playing chestnut baseball up near Lark trail.

I’d always find a walking stick that I needed to bring home, along with sandstone blocks that I’d carve into shapes by rubbing them against cement.  I’d collect the different colored sand from the stones in bags and layer them in canning jars or discarded beer bottles.

We've found snakes, seen deer, imagined bears and dragons, and had wonderful times at Black Diamond Mines.