emilie - Dec 19, 2007 9:42 pm Date Climbed: Mar 3, 2005
Great 4 Training
been up and down this thing about a million times for training. best sustained steep hike in bay area.
WickedRugged - Nov 12, 2007 1:27 am Date Climbed: Nov 10, 2007
Solid workout
A good training hike, beautiful weather and great view of the bay area. I'm glad I found this hike so close to home (Sunnyvale). Only took 1.5 hours, and I believe the total length of the route is 6.2 miles.
Sarah Simon - Oct 11, 2007 10:27 am Date Climbed: Oct 10, 2007
Stanford Avenue
I enjoyed this hike with my CEO, VP and several colleagues as a sort of team building exercise. We hike up in the afternoon, enjoyed an amazing sunset and scurried down in the dark. I was unaware that a fellow SPer was on the mountain and he captured this fantastic sunset photo. I especially enjoyed the coyotes, the little prairie dog critters and the birds. Nice hike, very neat to ponder the juxtiposition of the mass of humanity to the west and the rolling hills to the right. Lovely.
Perfect mountain to train on in the Bay Area. It's fairly exposed, so bring water. The view up top is rewarding, really gives perspective on the sharp contrast between dense urbanism and wide open space.
Have walked-up Mission Peak on many occasions and it is a lot of fun. Especially good for watching the sunset from the summit or catching some sun above the fog. It can get very hot in the summer on this peak. On one night visit in the summer, standing on the bay side of the summit the breeze felt about 5-10 degrees cooler than the breeze coming up from the Livermore side.
metasyn11 - May 2, 2007 9:33 pm Date Climbed: Apr 27, 2007
Stanford Ave
Up the standard route from Stanford Ave on a hot, sunny day. I broke my digital camera on the summit when I shook my hand to dislodge an intimidating-looking insect, and unfortunately my camera went with it and smashed on a rock :(
Unphased, I tried to descend a different route on the way back (Horse Heaven Trail), but was blocked by a dozen recalcitrant cattle unwilling to move. There wasn't an easy way around, so I traversed and descended the same route.
A beautiful peak with a beautiful view!
I've been up there a couple of times - always for some "exercise" or "training" purpose.
Never liked the route (Stanford Ave - too crowded and also it was somewhat boring) but I do remember the first time up there with a bunch of friends. We brought a roast duck, fried rice, noodles, lots of other food, binoculars, and had a moon-light dinner while the strong wind was blowing so hard on our faces. Some of us were wrapped together in this giant poncho and the moon.... OMG... the moon was so big & round and totally amazing. The view of the bay was also beautiful. Definitely a fun and an unforgettable experience.
It's weird... Before that, I had been living almost across the street from Ohlone College, where there this other TH was located, and yet all that time I lived there, I had never taken a hike. (My dad, sis, bro and their friends did though.) I would love to try this route sometime. From the photos taken by my buddy, it seems much nicer - a longer hike but w/ better scenery.
P.S. Probably not so much of a fun hike if going during mid-day. On the other hand, summiting in the morning or evening is un-doubtfully nice.
Peak Baguette - Nov 11, 2006 2:11 am Date Climbed: Nov 8, 2006
Route: Stanford Ave., Date: 11.08.06
Was going to climb Rose Peak from Stanford Ave., which I had done from Del Valle the day before, but stopped at Mission Peak due to a late start. Still, a nice mini-hike – had the summit all to myself on a beautiful Wednesday morning! There was a jacket and a pair of shorts at the summit – it made me afraid that I might run into a naked guy on my descent! Eek!
sierramtngoat - Jun 16, 2006 8:35 am Date Climbed: Oct 27, 2001
A good local workout
I've climbed this peak dozens of times in the day or night; I think it has some good bang for the buck if you want a relatively short/steep hike (~2000'/~50 min.). There is a nice traversing trail that goes across the face of the upper mountain that my friend and I dubbed "The American Route" considering that we seemed to be the only Americans on the hill and the only ones going direct. I think the park service is writing tickets for people that cut the switchbacks now, but they haven't closed "The American Route" yet.... that would be un-American!
Route Climbed: Stanford Avenue Date Climbed: January 1, 2006
It was insanely windy climbing up today (can you say, "jetstream"?). Almost considered turning around but I had decided earlier in the week that I wanted to do it on New Years Day. Half ran and half walked up and finally made it up in ~50 mins. The wind felt like it was actually helping push me up on some sections. On other sections it was all I could do to keep from blowing over. The summit pyramid was ok because it was sheltered from the southwest wind but at the top I literally could not stick more than my head up above the rocks or risk getting blown to Livermore. I think it took me about the same time to go down because of the strong headwinds! Saw just a few other brave souls on their way up. Luckily, the rain held up.
This is a fun little workout peak with a great view of the Bay area from the top. Walking briskly it takes around 1 hour to get to the summit. I climbed it early in the spring, and it was much more pleasant. In the summer it gets really hot on the trail to the top.
Great workout hill in our backyard here in Silicon Valley. Used for a variety of sports, I use it for hiking and running. Great views and always a nice hike.
emilie - Dec 19, 2007 9:42 pm Date Climbed: Mar 3, 2005
Great 4 Trainingbeen up and down this thing about a million times for training. best sustained steep hike in bay area.
WickedRugged - Nov 12, 2007 1:27 am Date Climbed: Nov 10, 2007
Solid workoutA good training hike, beautiful weather and great view of the bay area. I'm glad I found this hike so close to home (Sunnyvale). Only took 1.5 hours, and I believe the total length of the route is 6.2 miles.
Sarah Simon - Oct 11, 2007 10:27 am Date Climbed: Oct 10, 2007
Stanford AvenueI enjoyed this hike with my CEO, VP and several colleagues as a sort of team building exercise. We hike up in the afternoon, enjoyed an amazing sunset and scurried down in the dark. I was unaware that a fellow SPer was on the mountain and he captured this fantastic sunset photo. I especially enjoyed the coyotes, the little prairie dog critters and the birds. Nice hike, very neat to ponder the juxtiposition of the mass of humanity to the west and the rolling hills to the right. Lovely.
WeatherMan - Jul 12, 2007 5:44 am
TrainerPerfect mountain to train on in the Bay Area. It's fairly exposed, so bring water. The view up top is rewarding, really gives perspective on the sharp contrast between dense urbanism and wide open space.
SpiceMan - Jul 8, 2007 5:11 pm
Fun HikeHiked up from my uncle's house who lives on the slopes of Mission Peak.
Bill Kish - Jun 27, 2007 5:41 pm Date Climbed: May 1, 1997
Stanford AvenueA favorite local training hike.
genmai3 - May 25, 2007 6:02 pm
Stanford AveHave walked-up Mission Peak on many occasions and it is a lot of fun. Especially good for watching the sunset from the summit or catching some sun above the fog. It can get very hot in the summer on this peak. On one night visit in the summer, standing on the bay side of the summit the breeze felt about 5-10 degrees cooler than the breeze coming up from the Livermore side.
metasyn11 - May 2, 2007 9:33 pm Date Climbed: Apr 27, 2007
Stanford AveUp the standard route from Stanford Ave on a hot, sunny day. I broke my digital camera on the summit when I shook my hand to dislodge an intimidating-looking insect, and unfortunately my camera went with it and smashed on a rock :(
Unphased, I tried to descend a different route on the way back (Horse Heaven Trail), but was blocked by a dozen recalcitrant cattle unwilling to move. There wasn't an easy way around, so I traversed and descended the same route.
A beautiful peak with a beautiful view!
muajee - Dec 20, 2006 9:29 am
The boring route :pI've been up there a couple of times - always for some "exercise" or "training" purpose.
Never liked the route (Stanford Ave - too crowded and also it was somewhat boring) but I do remember the first time up there with a bunch of friends. We brought a roast duck, fried rice, noodles, lots of other food, binoculars, and had a moon-light dinner while the strong wind was blowing so hard on our faces. Some of us were wrapped together in this giant poncho and the moon.... OMG... the moon was so big & round and totally amazing. The view of the bay was also beautiful. Definitely a fun and an unforgettable experience.
It's weird... Before that, I had been living almost across the street from Ohlone College, where there this other TH was located, and yet all that time I lived there, I had never taken a hike. (My dad, sis, bro and their friends did though.) I would love to try this route sometime. From the photos taken by my buddy, it seems much nicer - a longer hike but w/ better scenery.
P.S. Probably not so much of a fun hike if going during mid-day. On the other hand, summiting in the morning or evening is un-doubtfully nice.
Peak Baguette - Nov 11, 2006 2:11 am Date Climbed: Nov 8, 2006
Route: Stanford Ave., Date: 11.08.06Was going to climb Rose Peak from Stanford Ave., which I had done from Del Valle the day before, but stopped at Mission Peak due to a late start. Still, a nice mini-hike – had the summit all to myself on a beautiful Wednesday morning! There was a jacket and a pair of shorts at the summit – it made me afraid that I might run into a naked guy on my descent! Eek!
sierramtngoat - Jun 16, 2006 8:35 am Date Climbed: Oct 27, 2001
A good local workoutI've climbed this peak dozens of times in the day or night; I think it has some good bang for the buck if you want a relatively short/steep hike (~2000'/~50 min.). There is a nice traversing trail that goes across the face of the upper mountain that my friend and I dubbed "The American Route" considering that we seemed to be the only Americans on the hill and the only ones going direct. I think the park service is writing tickets for people that cut the switchbacks now, but they haven't closed "The American Route" yet.... that would be un-American!
lakenyon - May 14, 2006 9:19 pm
various times03/04/2006: Ohlone Wilderness Trail from Del Valle to Stanford Ave
2003-2006: Quite a few times from Stanford Ave.
SummitJunkie - Mar 26, 2006 9:59 pm Date Climbed: Mar 27, 2006
Mission PeakQuick workout to the top. Nice views, lots of people.
SawtoothSean - Jan 14, 2006 1:41 am
Route Climbed: West side Date Climbed: December 25, 1994Great little mountain- many ascents when I lived nearby.
Joglo - Jan 1, 2006 9:12 pm
Route Climbed: Stanford Avenue Date Climbed: January 1, 2006It was insanely windy climbing up today (can you say, "jetstream"?). Almost considered turning around but I had decided earlier in the week that I wanted to do it on New Years Day. Half ran and half walked up and finally made it up in ~50 mins. The wind felt like it was actually helping push me up on some sections. On other sections it was all I could do to keep from blowing over. The summit pyramid was ok because it was sheltered from the southwest wind but at the top I literally could not stick more than my head up above the rocks or risk getting blown to Livermore. I think it took me about the same time to go down because of the strong headwinds! Saw just a few other brave souls on their way up. Luckily, the rain held up.
Bob Burd - Nov 22, 2005 1:09 am
Route Climbed: Stanford Ave / Ohlone College / Sunol / Ed Levin Date Climbed: ManyIf you live in the Bay Area and go hiking, you've probably climbed this. Hugely popular.
NewDayRising - Oct 21, 2005 3:27 am
Route Climbed: trail Date Climbed: many timesgood for conditioning.
mparker - Sep 29, 2005 12:43 am
Date Climbed: September 9, 2004Good workout and not a long drive if you live in the Bay Area.
Smithman123 - Aug 29, 2005 9:10 pm
Date Climbed: August 8, 2005This is a fun little workout peak with a great view of the Bay area from the top. Walking briskly it takes around 1 hour to get to the summit. I climbed it early in the spring, and it was much more pleasant. In the summer it gets really hot on the trail to the top.
Shawn - May 3, 2005 9:41 pm
Date Climbed: Many many timesGreat workout hill in our backyard here in Silicon Valley. Used for a variety of sports, I use it for hiking and running. Great views and always a nice hike.