Birthday Mission Peak Hike

My birthday was this past weekend and to celebrate, I invited some friends to do the Mission Peak Hike in Fremont with me, the bf, and bubs.

I did some research on this hike and learned that it is dog friendly, but it is common for dogs to die from heat exhaustion. This hike is not as easy as it sounds and plenty of people underestimate it. We got plenty of tips from friends that have completed the hike as well as the internet:

• There are 3 main trails, but the trail that starts at Ohlone College is less steep.
• Start early; it gets crowded and it is harder to walk in the sun.
• Bring plenty of water for the walk and after the walk.
• Take breaks. We rested twice going up the trail.
• Going down is steep; clip your toe nails so they won't hit the front of your shoes. (i cut my nails and it still hurt going down hill)

After about 1.5 hours of walking up a pretty steep and windy path, we finally reached to peak where we rested in line for 30-45 minutes to take some photos with the famous totem pole.

Waiting in line to take pictures at the totem pole

When we reached the top, one of our friends that was running late met us and it turns out that he RAN up the steeper side of the mountain to catch us! Luckily he's a runner, but still, that must have been exhausting!

Yay us!

Family Portrait

On our way down, we had to carry Bubs a little because we had let him walk off leash and he was tired from running back and forth. He would run ahead and try to hide in the shade of low bushes, but would get up as soon as we'd pass him by. He fell asleep fast on the car ride home.