A Trail That Reached Its Peak

One of the great advantages of living in the San Francisco Bay Area is being afforded the opportunity to get out and enjoy nature, whether in the foothills surrounding the Santa Clara valley or along the sandy beaches and bluffs along the Pacific coast. I recently decided to get out and spend a portion of my day hiking, and chose the trail to the top of Mission Peak near Fremont as my goal. It'd been several years since my first ascent of the roughly 3 mile, 2000 foot climb. I remembered it to be steep and challenging compared to other trails around the valley. I knew the day's temps would be in the upper 80's, and with little shade on the trail, I'd have to be prepared. Hat (check), plenty of water (check), lunch (check)...yeah, I was prepared. Prepared for me, but not for everything other than me.

Here's a partial description of the trail as presented by the East Bay Regional Parks District, who maintains the trail and some of the surrounding property:

"Rising steeply to the east of the city of Fremont, Mission and Monument peaks form a dramatic backdrop to the South Bay. The determined and conditioned hiker who reaches the top of Mission Peak will be rewarded with views of Mount Hamilton to the south, the Santa Cruz Mountains to the west, Mt. Tamalpias to the north, and Mt. Diablo and the Sierra Nevada to the northeast."

And I got all that...along with a trail intermittently marked with dog cairns, trash of every kind, signs and posts decorated with graffiti and stickers, and off-trail shortcuts plowed into the hillsides at every switchback. Oh, and let's not forget the group of hikers who apparently don't understand that playing their music loudly doesn't encourage what little fauna there is to remain within the sparse flora. Note to the Asian trail dancers: burrowing animals don't like Gangnam style, they're fans of Kenny Loggins (look it up). And of course, there are also those who believe that breathing isn't enough, that words must always accompany exhaling. Always.

My disappointment at the condition of the trail increased with the altitude. I was one of three people who stayed on the mapped trail to the top. At one point, I counted roughly 35 different people on the peak. That meant that more than 90% of the "nature lovers" who completed the hike when I was there cut upward along an existing scar of unofficial trail to do so. And what of that view reward touted in the trail description? Well, it was a clear day, and I got to see all of those Bay Area landmarks. That beauty was marred by the Mission Peak rocks emblazoned with graffiti, because it's important to let everyone else on the peak know that at least one of the God-knows how many John Does "wuz here" and that he may still love Jane forever. The surrounding area was also littered with trash, mostly empty water bottles left by people who don't realize an empty bottle is easier to carry because it weighs less than a full one. And sure, there's a trash can nearby, but who has the strength to lift the lid after such an excruciating hike, right? Besides, I have other things to carry down the mountain, like my uninhibited contempt for everything that isn't me.

They should post signs telling
people not post shit on the signs.

I can't put the blame entirely on the EBRPD. They've put up signs (that people don't read), placed trash cans and dog shit bag dispensers along the trail for hikers to use (that they don't), and erected fences to discourage off-trail cutting (that people go around). The main trail is well-maintained, and wide enough to accommodate hikers and bikers, yet both still feel the need to blaze their own trails. Outside of the societal culture that allows this type of behavior, I can't pin it on being a cultural thing as the racial makeup of the trail use misuse was varied. I can't blame it as a maturity thing as the age range for the trail use misuse was varied.

To me it's a right and wrong thing, which makes it nothing more than a disrespect thing. It's disrespectful to the land. It's disrespectful to the people who put the effort into preserving

The fence is as wide as the actual trail.
Apparently it's not wide enough.

a place for you to get away from something, not get away with something. It's disrespectful to people like me who don't give a fat rat's ass that you "wuz here" because I'd prefer that you "wuz" and I didn't know it.

So how do we fix it? Well, as current attempts have obviously failed, I see a need for some creative alternatives. Of course, my initial ideas like off-trail booby traps and random sniper days tended toward the extreme. Your dog shouldn't get blown up because you were too stupid to keep it on leash, nor should you risk taking a round for stepping into the bushes to take a leak. So the best solution I could come up with is to close the trail. Shut it down to the parking lot. Put up a big sign in all of the registered voting languages explaining why it was closed and when it will open. First time a month, then two months, and keep closing it until people get it into their heads that if they don't take care of it, they can't use it. What? You're a taxpayer? You say this violates your rights to access land that your taxes paid for? Yeah, you paid for it, but guess what? You don't own it. You're paying to have it managed. You may not be part of the problem, but unfortunately you're going to be part of the solution.

I wrote an email to the East Bay Regional Parks District after my hike. I explained how disheartened I was at the condition of the trail and how it saddened me how people apparently just don't give a shit about resources and preserves and the luxury of open space. (I'm paraphrasing, I didn't actually write "give a shit.") I also offered my suggestion that they close down the Mission Peak trail. I haven't heard back from them as of this post, but I'm sure they won't consider closure. My guess is they don't want to deal with public outrage. But maybe a little outrage would be good so when it opens up again - more likely opens for the second time because people are dense - the public will start treating the land like it has some value.