Mission Peak Hike

Date: March 2nd 2008
Time: 11:50am - 3:30pm
Distance: ~6 miles
Elevation change: ~2200 feet
Weight: Mehul 17 lb, Priya 0 lb

First thing first, we received the Grand Canyon backcountry hiking permits for the June 8, 9 and 10th -- hurrey!!

This is my first hike with the new backpack and with Kamal and Vandana. We started little late, well quite late compared to our initial plans. I added a lot of water, fleece jacket, wind cheater, avocados, wheat bread and few other stuff to have 17 pounds in the backpack. The hike was steep as expected. Me, Priya, Pappa, Kamal and Vandana - we were the group of 5. It was windy to begin with.

I did this hike after a long time - this was the very first hike that I did with Amit, Haresh, Kaushal and Shashin in year 2000. Mission Peak hike is a very famous place for casual hikers, runners, even bikers and occasionally backpackers who go to Ohlone Wilderness area. Easy access from Fremont is the other reason why the trail is always crowded. However, its a totally open area without shade and very wide trail - almost like a one lane road. People have made a lot of illegal trails across the switchbacks. Though, the park people have controlled it quite a bit lately, it seemed. There were signs to prevent people from taking shortcuts and they seemed quite less compared to the distant memory I had about the place.

While enjoying the great view of the bay, we maintained the steady pace. We reached at a place that looked like a remote area of Tibetan plateau - there was a big black cow looking like a yak! Shortly after that spot, the wind was getting intense. By the time we reached the peak trail, it was enormously powerful. We weren't prepared for this situation - Kamal and I were wearing running tee-shirt without any other layer. We kept going on, very slowly, against the wind. Roughly .25 miles before the peak, we decided to take shelter behind a small 3' high rock. After catching some breath, we decided to return.

On the way back, we enjoyed the avocado - wheat bread sandwich under a tree. We consumed the entire loaf.

Two lessons learned: always be prepared for any weather condition (this is what may increase the backpack weight), and given the amount of food we consumed in this hike, we really need to plan how much food would we carry for the 3 days 2 nights backpack in Grand Canyon.