Mission Peak for #2

Got a very early start. The Stanford Ave parking lot is supposed to be closed until 6:30 am, but I found the last parking spot at 6:35 and could see many hiker headlamps off in the distance. This is definitely a busy place first thing in the morning — even in the dark. I started out to the right on the Peak Meadow Trail, and was about a mile or so along when it started getting light. The heavily trafficked trails are fairly compacted, and there are a number of wide spots where it appears people have made short cuts. There are many groups of people on the trail and they tended to fan out in spots. The trail to and from the peak is pretty steep, though not especially technical. There are plenty of loose rocks and scree near the summit that merit attention to prevent a mis-step. The cloud cover was dropping at the summit and the wind picked up considerably as a few drops fell as I headed down Eagle Trail where a large hawk or eagle swooped by and landed nearby. I continued down Hidden Valley Trail which was a little better groomed and less steep than Peak Meadow (but it looked like it could get fairly muddy in the rain).  By the time I got back to the car, it was starting to rain. Yet that didn’t seem to deter the countless groups of hikers heading up. I got a message from a coworker who went up with her family later in the day, and they got pretty muddy.