Ohlone Wilderness Trail
I would not have had any intention of rehiking the trail to Murietta Falls (deemed a “Butt-Kicker” in 101 Great Hikes), except that it, the Ohlone Wilderness Trail, reaches all the way to Mission Peak, covering 28 miles with 7,600 feet of cumulative elevation gain. So of course I had to rehike the trail to Murietta Falls (and then some)—the next “logical” stage in my quest to discover how far I can hike in a day.
Last Sunday at 7 in the morning, Stephanie dropped me off at the trailhead in Del Valle Regional Park, and I started walking, and I didn’t stop until I emerged at the Stanford Avenue parking lot at 4:20pm, exactly 9 hours and 20 minutes later—a perfect three mile per hour pace. It now stands as the longest I’ve ever hiked in a day after Skyline-to-the-Sea, and the first time I’ve crossed the marathon threshold. Onto 30!
Did you hike with or without a pack?
Just a daypack with 4 liters of water, and some almonds, jerky, and mozzarella cheese sticks for lunch. So probably about 10 pounds.
Also found 2/3rds of a dark chocolate bar on the trail that looked like it hadn’t been there for long. Brushed off 5 ants and a little bit of condensation and dropped it into my pack. Ohlone Trail Magic!
How many other hikers did you encounter on the trail?
Anton, between Del Valle and Sunol, I crossed paths with about 6 people. There were a bunch of people around Sunol, including a troop of cub scouts. And then I crossed paths with another 6 or so people on the way up to Mission Peak, at which point, I met up with the throng of people making the ascent that day.
Beast! When’s the 30-miler? Might as well do a 50K… :-) http://www.coastaltrailruns.com/event_calendar.html and http://insidetrail.com/calendar/