Monument Peak
Hike Review:
This hike reminded me a lot of Mission Peak, which isn’t a surprise, since Mission Peak is less than 5 miles away.
There was almost zero shade, so it’s best hiked on a cool day.
The trail was dusty, with lots of cow poop littered about the trail.
This being a Bay Area trail, there were lots of steep trails with no switchbacks, which means that it’s slippery and hard on the knees on the way down.
What I Learned:
I should check my hiking shoes before I go hiking. My hiking shoe was less than 100 miles old, but it failed me a couple of times on the steep downslopes (with me falling once). When I checked the bottom, the treads were almost flat.
What Happened?
6.2 miles, 2 hrs 58 mins, 1837 ft of ascent
I hiked Ed R Levin County Park with the goal of hiking up to Monument Peak with my friend Kyle.
We started the hike on a day that was much warmer than it had been in the previous week. I was hoping for temperature in the mid 70s, but it was 10 degrees or so higher. Given the lack of shade or wind, it just meant that we ended up sweating more than I had thought.
We made steady progress up the trail, but right as we got to the relatively flat top of the hills, with about a little more than 1/2 a mile to go, we had to turn around, as the park closed at 6:30pm, and we didn’t want to overstay our welcome. The downhill parts were slippery, as the trail was much steeper than I realized on the way up.
We made it back to our cars with about 15 minutes to spare, though given the amount of people hiking up, it seems like the closing time might be more negotiable than the signs around the park indicated.
Although I didn’t reach Monument Peak, I don’t think I’ll be coming back—I don’t enjoy hiking these exposed hills on dusty trails, with cow dung littering many parts of the trail.
