Thunder Creek, Thunder Knob — Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019

I drove out to Colonial Creek Campground at the Hwy 20 closure and from there, linked together a couple of shorter day hikes: Thunder Creek, Thunder Knob, and a walk up to the Diablo Lake Overlook for approx 11 miles of hiking. I found this to be a nice way to get some reasonable miles, great views, and minimal crowds on relatively safe terrain (of course make your own judgments based on conditions when you go). All of the trails and roads in this area are snow-covered. Although I used snowshoes a couple times, at this point you shouldn't need traction or flotation to complete the trails described below. 

Driving: Hwy 20 was clear of snow until the last couple miles before the closure, where it became covered with packed snow and ice. However, they had clearly plowed recently and applied lots of sand/salt, as I had no issues with traction. There was a Toyota Corolla (sedan) at the trailhead so presumably any car can get there. 

I started with the road walk to Diablo Lake Overlook via closed Hwy 20, which was nicer than I expected. The views are great almost the entire way, and the snow-covered road is well-trodden. Early in the day, the snow was firm but not icy and I was just fine in shoes. Total for this section, 3.6 miles and approx 500 ft gain.

Then I went up Thunder Creek. For the first mile, there is an established boot path that is a little too narrow for snowshoes. When the bootpath ended, I put on my snowshoes and created a trench up to Thunder Camp. Beyond Thunder Camp there is a ski track but no boot path or snowshoe trench. Total for this section, from car to Thunder Camp roundtrip, 4 miles and minimal gain.

Last but not least I went up Thunder Knob. There is a wide, well-established trench the entire way. I've done this trail in the summer but somehow forgotten that it really does have some nice views. A super pleasant way to end the day. As noted in several places, the bridge at the beginning of the trail has been removed for the season by the park service. I found this to be a non-issue (see my pic).