INCH Hike: Mission Peak to Monument Peak

98. Mission Peak to Monument Peak (12/05/98)

Hikers (9): Eugene, Jamie, Jane M, Louisa, Mei, Peter, Pistol Pete, Russ, Steve
Distance: 10 miles
Rating: 4 difficulty, 7 beauty
Park info: Mission Peak Regional Preserve in Fremont

Write-up by Peter

For his birthday hike, The Man once again chose to go to Mission Peak. Just to make it a little more interesting, we tacked on a side trip to Monument Peak (after all, we had not been there for a whole week!).

1, 2, 3, ... INCH!

Louisa and Mei and a half-dozen other relatives (mostly kids) joined us for the INCH cheer and off we went. As usual, there were a fair amount of people on the trail, but none as intrepid as our crew! Onward!

By the time the main group made it to the first fence, Lousia & Co. were no longer in sight. We figured we'd probably not be seeing them again until the return trip. We kept going ....

Everyone made it to the peak between the 1:00 and 1:10 mark. Pretty good! As usual, it was pretty chilly at the top, so we didn't stay too long (besides, it's not like we hadn't seen this view before).

For some reason which escapes me as I write this 5 months later, I needed to head back early, so I did not join the gang heading over to the antennas of Monument Peak and started to head back down instead.

But, after a few minutes my guilt got the better of me and I turned around and headed back up to the peak again. I could see the INCHers well on their way to the antennas. Those guys are faster than they look! I had to run to catch up with them (which was not a bad thing since it was pretty damn cold up there). I finally caught up with them about halfway between Mission and Monument Peak. Hugs and kisses all around (just kidding!).

After visiting Monument Peak, we became a little adventurous and took the Eagle Trail on the way back (instead of going back up to Mission Peak). I could tell The Man was nervous about this. The Man does not like to try new things!!

By some miracle, we managed to avoid getting lost and all made it safely back down to the car. We never did see Louisa & Co. again, but I assume they also managed to survive the treacherous killer cows.