A stripe of clear eastern sky gave me hope that the weather report could be
wrong and it might not rain after all when I arrived at Mission Blvd at 7:30am.
This Sat, I took a break from running with my friends in Almaden and planned to
explore the Ohlone Wilderness Trail following the Ohlone 50k foot race,
well-known for its toughness (7500+ ft of climbing). I overloaded on carbs
yesterday with bananas, pasta, and a big tuna salad sandwich and had a so-so
sleep. I did not feel like running right out of the car.
To better fight Covid-19, the water fountains were sealed off in plastic and the
mobile restrooms locked up at the trailhead. There were much fewer weekend
hikers and I only met about a dozen on the way up. After about two thirds of the
ascent and following a steep climb, the trail turned flat, the summit came into view,
and the wind grew fierce. It all of a sudden felt freezing. The signature pole at
the top where young folks used to line up to get on for photos to prove that
they had conquered Mission Peak donned an orange coat of plastic construction
fence. There were only three people in front of it.
I wasted no time there as my feet felt icy. I headed south and turned left
toward the east. About one mile down, I went through a gate and ran into a large
herd grazing on the lush pasture. The black cattle were peaceful and some
staring at me with bovine curiosity. The calves were playful but their parents
could be over-protective. I was a little apprehensive but there was no way to
convince them to keep social distance. Luckily, nothing happened. I was soon
through and by myself. My feet loved the trail as the slopes were gentle, less
worked on as those on the Fremont side, and had fewer hard-packed sections. It
was the most enjoyable part of the run. The gate at the Calaveras Road was
closed and I turned back after downing one bottle of water and a pack of nuts.
The rain went on and off but never heavy. Gusts of wind above certain
elevation, however, made me feel like I could die of hypothermia. My body felt
great except for the feet which started to hurt coming down from the summit for
the second time. By the time I turned around at an Ohlone college parking lot
for the third climb, however, I still felt I could do it. I ended up stopping at
the two benches at the foot of the summit, forgoing the last 200 ft of climb.
The last descent was painful and I had to give full attention to the road to avoid
rocks and negotiate with hard-packed surfaces. But my quads and joints felt
much better than in my first 50k last year. At least I was still running, I told myself.
I reached the car at 1:30pm. The last descent took almost 50 min but the thoughts
of the Wilderness had been sweet.
