This trail was particularly beautiful while steadily climbing to the top.

We tried to get an early start on the trail since the weather had been more like spring than winter the last couple of days. Upon arrival, we realized we werent the only ones that had the same game plan as the small parking lot at the entrance to mission peak was already full. Luckily, it was easy to find residential parking walking distance to the main gate. Once we were on the trail, even though the parking lot was full, there didnt seem to be a lot of foot traffic. All of the hikers that day seemed to be spread out as we came across only a few people throughout the hike.

I must say, for this trail being on cow pastures, there is definitely an ample amount of amenities. We found clean restrooms at the main entrance and on the trail with hand sanitizer. The trail itself was wide, signed and well manicured (I like to think the cows help with that). Each bench we passed had a dog bowl full of water as the trail is dog-friendly. You are at an incline the whole way up to the summit so it is a challenging hike but the views make you forget about the physical work your body is putting in (at least in my case).

Navigating the trail was a little tricky because of the multiple forks-in-the-road. Luckily, locals on the trail were so nice and more than helpful to us when they saw our confused faces. We asked for guidance at least twice and each time we were greeted and helped without hesitation which added to our amazing experience on this trail. We were able to make it to the summit without losing our way thanks to the people that helped us.

The wind picked up towards the top of the summit adding an element of difficulty. Im not sure if the top half of the trail is always windy, but I would've brought a windbreaker had i known. The winds felt like 45mph and strong enough that people were turning around without reaching the summit. We decided to strap up and go for it, and i'm glad we did because the 360 view from the summit is breath-taking.

My friend and I agreed that we would definitely do this trail again. This hike has a little bit of everything for a hiker with the added bonus of cow spectators silently cheering you on. We found a freshly birthed calf on the way down peak and couldnt help but google-eye it for awhile. I've seen cows before but hiking on their turf is a completely new experience for me. We definitely kept a safe distance out of respect for the animals and admired them from afar.