An eventful Mission Peak Hike

Summer is here :)

I am the happiest in summer. I love it when it's still bright when I leave work to go home. I enjoy my outdoor patio lunches. I also love the 3-4 hours of daylight after my work day for outdoor activities. In general, I like warm weather.

Summer is great for hiking as well. My first hike this year was Mission Peak (2517 feet), a 6-mile round trip with a 2000+ feet elevation gain. A friend and I decided to hike Mission Peak last Sunday. We initially planned to start around 7-8am, but it was very chilly when I woke up that day, so we decided to start a little late, at around 9am.

I got busy doing some chores and I was finally able to leave at 9.30am to pick up my friend and reached the trail head around 10.30am.

We started hiking at 10.45am, and were exhausted in the first half mile or so. We both thought we couldn't make it to the top. I haven't been doing much physical activity in the last few weeks so I expected this hike to be tough.

We were slow and steady...we took a couple breaks on the benches along the hike, took some pictures, and enjoyed some stunning views of the south bay. The spring flowers were gorgeous. There were cows grazing, and squirrels running around. The breeze was cool and it wasn't too hot.

We finally made it to the top in about 2.5 hours - and the view was worth all the effort.

We rested for a few minutes, again took some pictures, and then started hiking back. We lost our way for the first mile or so, but found the trail to head back and enjoyed the rest of the hike while taking some shortcuts (they are easier when you are hiking back :)).

Now comes the eventful part :)

We reach our car and I cannot find my car keys. We search for it everywhere and the keys were not there. I could have left them in the car trunk or lost them on the hike. We called AAA (roadside assistance) and they came and opened the car for us, and the keys were not there in the trunk.

So I buzz a friend to come pick us up, and check with a policeman passing by whether its okay to park my car here for couple days (he said yes, it would be legal).

Now Mission Peak is about 100 miles from where I live - I was visiting the bay area and decided to do this hike. So I don't have a spare car key with me. And my house is locked (Hubby and I are out of town)so I had to figure out a way to get the spare car key out of my house AND find someone to bring it to me. OR - I would have to drive home myself and get it :(

After a few frantic phone calls, heated discussions/arguments, and LOADS OF LUCK, I found someone to get the car key from my apartment (with the keys from the office), AND also found someone to bring it to me the SAME DAY.

I was starving by the time I figured all this out so we went to an Indian restaurant and pigged out :)

I finally got my car keys late in the night on Sunday, and picked up my car.

In all this mess, my friend and I never discussed our hike experience :) But we had a great time and would do it again in a heartbeat!

Enjoy the pics :)