CanDiego Hiker: Ohlone College to Mission Peak

Ohlone College to Mission Peak

Tristyn woke up early, as usual, at 6:30 AM today on Saturday, June 11, 2016. He had wanted to go hiking all week, and I had planned to although I contemplated not going since I didn't feel that great. But, we packed up our supplies (Coffee, 2 liters frozen water bottle, Gatorade, fruit juice, granola bar, animal cookies, fruit and some other snacks). We were out of the house, late, by 8:00 AM.

We stopped for Gas, got on Route 101 and headed south to the Dumbarton Bridge, a short 1.5 mile bridge across the San Francisco Bay to Fremont. We got on the Interstate 880 and after a few exists went east into the East Bay hills to Ohlone College.

We parked on the road and got on our way! It was hot - probably in the mid 80's (high 20's).

For half a mile or so, the path runs through the college. Tristyn hiked with me, pointing out rocks and birds.

We arrived at the official trail head and were already hot!

I warned Tristyn of the Rattlesnakes and Mountain Lions. He loves to see the wildlife: Cows, ground squirrels, hawks and lizards. I wonder what he would do if he saw a Mountain Lion!

The path starts off fairly steep - rising 500 feet or so over a half mile. It wasn't long before Tristyn said "Carry Me". I told him he could go in the backpack. He stated "No", and ran off. He likes hiking, but prefers to walk on his own. We cold see our goal, Mission Peak, 4 miles and 2000 feet in the distance.

There's a cool cave a mile in. He wanted to go in, I said no.

I much preferred the Ohlone trail, as opposed to the Stanford Trail. The Ohlone trail, while having the same elevation, is a mile longer. Its much nicer not having all the super steep parts of the Stanford trail with 55 pounds of boy and backpack and water on your back :)

We took our time going up, with a few stops along the way. This trail also has about a mile of shade as it winds along a creek.

This trail offers great views of the East Bay. Mount Diablo is about 40 miles away in the distance.

A nice house in the hills, and a view of the creek and trees portion of the trail

Even by June, its already very dry

The last half mile gets steep again.

Tristyn likes to scream "Sandbag" when he seems them on the path to stop erosion. It always gets humorous looks from people.

We arrived at the top after about 2 hours 30 minutes total time (of which 45 minutes was breaks or Tristyn moving at his speed). As usual, there was a long line. I contemplated not waiting in line since it was so hot, but decided we should to get a picture. We waited almost 30 minutes in the hot sun. Tristyn played in the dirt and through rocks off the edge.

We got our first picture standing at the marker

Then another with Tristyn perched on the very top. Everyone waiting in line cheered for him, which he loved :)

Short video of us at the top. It was windy.

We stood facing west (so the east bay hills, with Yosemite hundreds of miles away, is behind us)

Happy Boy!

Tristyn's Ride

Taking a break, enjoying the view, of the San Francisco Bay (center), San Jose (Left) and Silicon Valley (across the bay).

The Bay behind us

We turned around and got ready to head back.

We need to make it back to the College!

Midway down we saw a deer near the path.

I decided to put my phone down and take a video of us walking off down the path, thinking it would be a interesting video. I propped the camera against a rock to keep it supported. Enjoy my cinematography by clicking above.