On a “Mission”
My six pack of peaks with a new twist this year. I decided to start out the year by completing one peak from each of six different challenges. And the Bay Area Challenge was the first one in line since I was travelling back down through California from Oregon.
Mission Peak is #1 of 6 for my first hike of the year and 1st peak in this challenge.
Starting out easy for my 1st hike of the year. Mission Peak, in Freemont, CA near the Bay Area and one of the peaks in the Bay Area Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge. It was a 3-hour drive to get to the trailhead, but I had to drive that way anyway to get to my next campsite. Which was another 2-hour drive after the hike. The things I do for fun!
I arrived at the trailhead just before 8 am. The parking lot was nearly full, but I was able to find a spot on the side of the lot where I could park the truck and trailer with no issues. And much to my surprise, there was no parking fee. I had read the day before that parking was $4 so I made sure to stop and get some cash. Oh well!
The trail is mostly a dirt/gravly road most of the way to the summit. Of course you share it with the cows. The ground was very wet, but not too muddy. I suspect in the next week it will be completely dried up since this trail is exposed all the way up. Today the weather was great. Partly cloudy, some dense fog (early) so exposure wasn’t an issue.
I had read this was the most popular trail in the area so weekends and weekdays it gets very busy. And it was. There were easily 30 to 40 cars in the parking lot and hikers coming and going continuously. As I began my hike I was greeted by an elderly gentleman (I think he said he was 86). He was of Indian descent and was a professor at the college. He has been there 39 years and was finally going to retire this year. He told me that I was a “hardcore” hiker and that he was a “softcore” hiker. Lol He was very humorous and friendly. He hikes up to the first bench (just under a mile) daily, so I’m sure he says the same to all the other hikers.
Anyway, hike number one didn’t disappoint. Lots of hikers and some views of the city of Fremont and part of San Francisco Bay once the fog burned off. Total of 6.3 miles and 2154 in elevation gain.
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