While family camping at Colonial Creek, we decided to give some of the grandchildren their first experience of a "hike with elevation", so we chose Thunder Knob. It was a warm (low 80's) late morning, but the trail was in good shape (two step-over logs) and there was enough shade to keep things comfortable. The three youngest (4, 4, and 6) made it past the viewpoint at 1 mile and on to the pond (later a marsh?) at about 1.5 miles, but at that point their legs and patience wore out. After checking out the pond for tadpoles and dragonflies, and stoking up on snacks and water, Herself and the two Moms took those three back down to camp and lunch. (If only we knew how close we were!). The 8 year old and his Dad joined me on the final 0.3 mile and bit of elevation gain, and the wide views were worth every bit of the effort. The first viewpoint (off to the left) has the best views; the second one (straight ahead) overlooks Thunder Arm of Diablo Lake, but there are trees in the views and scrambling down for unobstructed views is a bit tricky.
650 feet gain turned out to be a bit much for short legs on their first attempt, but we'll all make it next year!
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