NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Summary

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Plentiful views of San Francisco Bay, the east bay cities and surrounding mountains make Mission Peak well worth the effort. It comes complete with plenty of wildlife and cows roaming the hills.

Trail Stats

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Trail Details

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After finding this trail online yesterday I decided to give it a go as the weather has taken a turn for the better. Yesterday it dumped rain all day and I mostly stayed in the hotel. Relaxing but boring.

A short drive out to Fremont (thankfully against traffic, the other side was not moving) had us parking in a rather small lot that, at 9 am, was half full. By time we left it was completely full and vehicles were rather impatiently waiting for spots to clear out.

A quick change into hiking shoes and shrugging Lucille’s pack on and we were off. This particular hiking area is once again a choose your own adventure, through most people seem to head straight up to the top. I unknowingly joined the crowd and headed left up Hidden Valley Trail. This is the less steep approach from this parking lot (another’s by Ohlone College but they charge for parking). Should you head to the right on Peak Meadow Trail it’s much steeper. At least it felt that way to me.

The trails themselves are mostly old roads which conveniently provide a wide, vegetation free path. Much easier to avoid ticks and rattlesnakes if you’re not in the brush. There was a warning posted for both at the trailhead. Gross.

Winding ever upward the trail lead through pretty green hillsides. This side of the peak was mostly mud free, happy day! Occasional clusters of oak tree’s dot the landscape. Best of all there are cows! I love cows. Always have always will. Those big eyes make my heart happy. And they were all through the hills. Most excellent day! Sunshine and cows!

As it turns out, Lucille does not share my irrational enthusiasm in the cow department. She saw them and declined getting out of her carrier. But she sure stared at them with her own wide eyes. Silly cat.

Where the trail intersects with Peak trail (leading to Ohlone college parking) there’s a bathroom. Good thing, I drank way too much coffee this morning. There’s also one on the back side of Mission Peak (Eagle Trail), though it’s at the Eagle Spring Back pack camp and I suspect it’s technically for backpackers.

Nearing the summit the trail turns into a fairly steep single track path. Arriving at the summit is lovely, I popped up from the back side and was immediately greeting with a sweeping view of the bay. Quite lovely (if you ignore all the city sprawl) to see the bay from above. If you turn back around there are a few watersheds visible and the hills leading to the mountains are beautiful! Today they were the most exquisite vibrant green. I felt like I could see forever. Way out in the distance I could even see snow atop the peaks. Not much, but a little.

At the top of Mission Peak is a summit marker. Apparently it’s a sculpture and the intent was to increase environmental awareness. After staring at the thing for a bit I’m still not sure how it’s making me more aware but nonetheless it’s unique and offers a popular photo spot.

As I was not feeling hiked out I decided to wrap down the other side of Mission Peak onto Eagle Trail. This is obviously less popular as the crowds immediately died down. I saw three coyotes roaming the fields (Lucille was safely tucked away in her carrier). Sadly there were no cows back here. But that camping area looked neat and tidy. Picnic benches, bathrooms, water (must be filtered prior to drinking). Cushy backpacking for sure.

The trail dumped me back onto the main trail and again, I decided I was not done exploring. So I took a diversion off the front side onto Grove Trail. And it got entertaining fast. As I approached the farm (I think?) that’s nestled in this little valley there were ground squirrels everywhere. At least they looked like the ground squirrels we have back home. They had no regard for the trail and had entry points to their tunnels all over, even in the road/path. Think I could have fallen in a few they were so big!

Skirting the group of weathered buildings, the trail became soggy fast. And apparently cows frequent this area because the ground and trail became a muddy cow pocked slip and splash. The kind of mud that suctions your foot in and tries to steal your shoe. So while trying to keep my feet dry from all the running water and cow prints laden with water I was also trying not to land on my duff in the muck, mud or cow pie. There was certainly plenty of both.

Despite the questionable consistency of the trail it is lovely back here. I literally saw not one other human being on this particular trail. Just the way I like it! There is a beautiful row of old majestic oaks lining the way for a while. Would be a welcome reprieve from the sun in summer. I startled a group of deer in here, amazing how they can be so very graceful as they leap and bound. The mud didn’t hold them back.

Soon enough the trail half disappears. It turns into a single track again and fades in and out of oblivion. In general I just followed cow prints through that ever present boot stealing slop. The rain has not been nice to this section of trail. Part of it even washed out a bit.

Eventually I popped back to a main trail and had the bright idea to head downhill on Horse Heaven trail. There were no horses. Just more cows! And I’m not so sure about the “heaven” part either. After a few dips up and down, crossing itty bitty creeks (seasonal maybe?) that trail headed straight down. And I mean straight down. As in walking sideways for part of it steep. Which is tolerable but gets old fast, especially when parts of it are a little muddy. Nothing like the soggy mess on the Grove trail but wet enough to cause my foot to slide more than expected more than a few times. Excellent leg workout.

This path went through a few dramatic drops and then would level out into a gentler slope, sprinkled off and on with serious mud. Few other would were out here. Did see another coyote. This one was just hanging out in a field with a bunch of cows.

After a bit the trail connects into Peak Meadow Trail. Parts were soggy but a vast improvement over the past few trails. At one point a few gentlemen asked if the trail was muddier ahead. Fair question. But we were barely in any mud. So. Yes. Quite a bit more muddy kind sirs. They did notice the layers of muck on my boots and knew what they were headed into.

The remainder of the trail was a pleasant stroll back to the parking lot. A few turkeys hanging in a field. More cows. This side of the trail system seems to get much less traffic. Either that or people know what the conditions are like after days upon days of rain.

The views are spectacular on this hike. A fabulous overlook for the bay and surrounding mountains. One could walk for days back there. It’s quite lovely.

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