Mission Peak: A Mission Accomplished!

Before 2020 packed up and left, we just had to stick out our tongues to the roller-coaster-of-a-year. A friend and I decided to do that with a hike to the summit of Mission Peak! Now that that is behind us — I brag — it is a mission accomplished!

Phew! What a year it was! I’d been looking forward to it, particularly to roll up that premature midlife crisis that had come my way and toss it far away. We had a few trips in mind, some local, some not so near ones and a couple of international ones, too. And then there was supposed to have been a special girlfriend getaway with a friend who was to turn 40 with me.  And then 2020 played wicked! 😏

It turned out that 2020 was the one to do all the tossing; it hurled all those trips someplace into the unknown. Before the epidemic-of-the-century got all the attention it was fishing for, we did some family hikes as we had resolved to do one a week. Then we all fell ill with what just might have been covid19 (it was later found that the virus had touched California much before the first confirmed COVID19 death, in mid-February.) The strange bout of illness that gripped us ticks off most of the symptoms that are said to be that of Covid19. Anyway, that threw us off our hiking tracks. Then we went into a shelter-in-place order and the rest of our plans got derailed, naturally.

The 40th birthdays came and went and we thought we should —after the order was lifted — at least hike to the top of Mission Peak in celebration. Then came some rude heatwaves and the worst forest fires California had ever seen. The skies over us were grey for WEEKS. We had a few orange days too. Then there were the spikes in the (covid) cases and another shelter-in-place, this one, however, allowed us to hike.

So armed with our face masks, sanitizers and even some disposable toilet seats, we decided to scale mission peak and give 2020 a — GET LOST gesture! 😀

The hike to Misson Peak

The hike to Mission Peak (near Fremont, CA) happened on a cold December morning. It was a couple of days after Christmas (yeah, almost 2021) and when we stopped at a gas station near the Ohlone entrance we could see thick fog hugging that part of the mountain range that housed Mission Peak. Glad it hadn’t marred the vision on the highways on our way to the regional park where the peak is, we slowly trudged up a few switchbacks of the Diablo Range and around its rolling hills. We passed a ranch or two on the mountain and some lovely dark woods. And then there were more treeless hillsides.

As we gained altitude the fog seemed to come down on us and engulf us. The uphill climb made me sweat even with all that fog around and I had to take off my jacket and fold it over my arm. However, I must say the fog turned out to be a good friend. I shudder to think what it might have been like to hike there in the summer months. (The heat and I just DON’T get along!) Not only did the fog keep the atmosphere cool and moist but it also curtained the peak in the distance as if not to discourage us. A few more curves and gentle slopes later the trail began getting steeper as Mission Peak rose before us veiled in the cloud-of-white.

On the way, we had had glimpses of the views from the mountain and they seemed to fade into the white pall that moved in. And we had no hopes of catching the sights from the top of the peak that day. And somehow that thought didn’t seem to be disappointing, that day. I just wanted to be able to get to the summit and touch the pole that served as the marker, there. (I’d seen so many pictures of it and was looking forward to taking a picture with it.) I hear it’s called the ‘Peeker.’

The Views from Mission Peak Summit

A strenuous few hundreds of meters’ climb through the craggy sides of the peak later, the fog began to mysteriously move away. And when we got to the apex it was all gone and there were some sweet rewards, there. The peeker was wrapped in red and dressed with some evergreen foliage and Christmas ornaments. And we were surrounded by stunning views of rolling hills, a deep blue lake in the distance, some light blue pools, and a bird-eye-view of the City of Fremont and beyond it, the San Francisco Bay looking calm and pretty in its winter atmosphere.

Some Tips for the Trip:

• Set your navigation systems for Ohlone Entrance or the Stanford Entrance. 
• If you end up near Ohlone College, you can park in the college’s multi-story parking. Parking should be free on weekends. There’ll be a parking fee if you are there on a weekday. (We were there during the pandemic when the college wasn’t in full operations. So the ticket machine seemed to say, ‘free parking.’)
• Make sure to carry water (a whole lot, if you are hiking on a hot day). I tried not to drink water on my way up because the restroom up there was/is closed during the Covid19 season. (I don’t really advise that and I must say I made up for it with lots of water and coconut water, later that day. )
• There is a restroom on the way, closer to where the climb gets steep. You might want to check the East Bay Regional Park’s website before you go, to know if it’s open or not.
• Make sure to carry some snacks. (I really needed that to fuel the walk down. I was famished after the climb!)
• Layer up. It might be cold/windy/foggy, depending on the season.
• Tread with care when you walk through the rocky stretch near the summit. You don’t want to stumble and fall on those hard sharp rocks as that could mar that tipsy-from-the trip feeling 😉 and the walk back down.
• There is an elevation gain of over 2000 ft. And it’s an over 7-mile hike on the whole. It IS a strenuous hike but it’s so worth it!  The views are so very rewarding!
• Wear a good pair of shoes. Make sure the soles are good especially for those days after the rains because the walk through the steep final stretch to the summit can be challenging when the ground is wet. And wearing wide-toed shoes might be ideal for the descent when your toes tend to feel all the pressure of the downhill walk.

To my partner-in-the-pursuit —
Dear Shee, Thank you for planting the idea of a Mission Peak Hike, thank you for the reminders to do the hike, thank you for sharing 40 with me, thank you for the company and for the ride. And THANK YOU most of all — for the memory!

To the year that went by —
Not-so-dear 2020 aka the year-of-the-pandemic-and-all-the-pandemonium, 😠
Sorry. You couldn’t ruin it ALL!! 😛

Linking to —
Our World Tuesday
&
My Corner of the World

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