572. Ohlone Wilderness Trail (07/07/07)

Hikers (12): Clive, David, George, Helen, JP, Nik, Oliver, Padraig, Peter, Ramesh, Ross, Steve
Distance: 28 miles
Rating: 7 difficulty, 9 beauty
Park info: Ohlone Regional Wilderness from Del Valle to Mission Peak

Write-up by Peter -- Pictures by Ramesh

Full writeup to be added later (famous last words), but here are some notes:

• A Level 7 hike on 07/07/07 -- idea courtesy of David.
• Honorable mention to Linda L and Stacy for doing most of the hike. They bailed out at Sunol, so no leaf, but still a good effort ...
• A number of folks (predictably) missed Rose Peak ...
• A number of folks either skipped Mission Peak, or went up the wrong (i.e. back) way, thus missing signposts #5 and #6 on the OWT, but I'm feeling generous so I will still give them a leaf ...
• We started at 6:50. Steve was the first one in at 2:20 (because he jogged the last 20 yards to catch Ross), followed seconds later by Ross.
  • Steve and Ross borrowed George's car and went to Ross's house. After a cool beverage there, and another at 7-Eleven, Steve drove back to MP and waited over an hour until Gerry drove up with Linda and Stacy around 4:50pm (which was great, because he needed to hand off George's keys to someone).
  • Ross took a shower, drove to Del Valle with his son to get his van, and still made it back to MP before the next set of arrivals ...
• Padraig and Helen made it in shortly after 5:00, and I came in about 20 minutes later. Pat on the back for myself for being the first one in to do the correct trail and hit all the signposts. Not to be outdone by Ross, I went home, took a shower, had a refreshing beverage, and was back in time before the final group came in and gave Oliver a ride to Del Valle ...
• Nik did ~3 extra miles because he missed the bridge at Sunol HQ. That makes it a true INCH hike ...
• The relatively cooler weather definitely helped. I actually mulled over the idea of downgrading it to a Level 6, but decided to stick with the 7 before I got lynched ...
• If you like cow droppings -- and who doesn't??? -- this was the hike for you!
• Thanks to Ross, Oliver, and Gerry for helping with the car shuttle ...
• Thanks to Helen for leaving tasty treats on top of Rose and Mission Peaks ...
• Special thanks to George for the post-hike authentic English baked beans. Mmmmmm, mmmmmmm!!! (And no nasty after-effects, if you catch my drift)
• Infirmary report, other than the usual aches and pains:
  • JP threw up once on the hike, several times on the way home ...
  • Linda fell and cut her hand ...
  • Clive was loopy at Sunol and claimed he had water when his camelback was completely empty ...
  • Helen was hobbling badly all the way down MP ...
  • Oliver had to lie down and rest a couple of times ...
  • In other words, a good hike!
• Next time, the plan is to do the hike in reverse (or the right way, depending on your perspective), from Mission Peak to Del Valle.

Enjoy Ramesh's pictures of the day of torture.

The hike started at 6:46 am. The total hike times are below, based on Peter and Linda L's comments. Note that our times were uniformly worse than last time (except mine, since I didn't get lost--what's Padraig's excuse?). It was certainly hotter this time around.

Milestones:
George's 160^th leaf
Nik's 30^th leaf
Oliver's 40^th leaf

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