Ohlone Wilderness Backpacking Trip

It was time for the Ohlone Wilderness trip. We started w/ a car drop off at Sunol Regional and then hopped in my buddy's car(Ted) and drove over to Del Valle. It was my daughter Gabrielle and me taking off for the hike. We do the final check on the gear, load up and start our hike from the Del Valle parking lot. Once on the trail it starts to go straight up. For the next 2.5 miles we climb 1700'. The weather today is nice(low 60's), therefore the hike is tolerable.

We take a break at the top of Rocky Ridge(2480'). The views are stunning, since its a super clear day. Mt. Diablo to the North with the tri-valley below it. Lake Del Valle looks so far away, though we were there less than 2 hours ago. We continue on knowing that the most challenging climb is just ahead of us. We descend down to Williams Gulch and along the way down this very steep trail we run into a bunch of boy scouts out for a 5 day trip. One of them explain they are getting ready for a trip to New Mexico in May.

Then it starts - the 'Big Burn'(as it states on the map). Yeap no joke 2400' of climbing in just over 2 miles. It starts off mellow thru tall grass, oak trees and lots of wild flowers(CA Poppys, Mariposa Lilys & Shooting Stars). The climb is steady, never really that steep. After what seems like hours we reach Schlieper Rock @3080'. We decide this is great spot for an extended break(5 miles in and 4100' of climbing - OUCH). We spend about 15 minutes sitting and looking around at the incredible vistas. It seems as if the majority of the climbing is now over. When we get to this point its like a giant plateau. Some Oak trees, but mostly Blue Pines abound at this elevation. We press on up again as usual and come to a familiar sight know as 'Johnny's Pond'. We take a few pictures and press on, but notice a creek flowing downward and start to hear water flowing. After about a half mile we come upon a canyon with three small creeks flowing. We hike for another few minutes and notice a small trail leading up to a huge formation of rocks. Once we walk over the top and look down we see the infamous Murietta Falls. We decide to explore, take our backpacks off and walk down to the falls. With cameras in hand Gabrielle and I climb along the edge of the falls(at the top) & take pictures. Its very calm at the top with all three of these previous creeks we saw flowing together to form the falls. The falls itself is flowing pretty well, dropping I'd say about 100' or so. Its a very beautiful area, worth a day hike or overnight trip. At this point I tell Gabrielle, we only have 4 miles to go. She about comes unglued and Daddy tells her "gotcha" its only a half mile away. Half mile yes on the map, but it felt like mile and a half do to our exhaustion and hunger. Finally we make it to Stewart's Camp - Yeah!

I set up camp w/ the help of Gab, putting up the tent, stove, cookware and within about 10 minutes were cooking w/ gas - White Gas that is. After about 15 minutes its lemon flavored chicken and brown rice - Yum. Not to mention we destroy a whole loaf of french bread w/ butter. Yes we were hungry. Darkness is soon upon us. Gabrielle finds her second wind and walks down to the pond close to our campsite. She tells me theres lots of frogs! Frogs, uh oh! Sure enough as we climb into our sleeping bags, it starts - Rrriibit! Nothing like getting serenaded thru the middle of the night. The evening seems to fly by and next thing I know its around 6 am. Wow we have been a sleep for almost 10 hours. I guess we were tired. We start to roll out of the tent about 730 and I notice; 1. its cold(36 - 40degrees), 2. its cloudy, 3. very windy. I decide no heating up the stove for oatmeal. We need to get moving w/ almost 10 miles ahead of us. Gab has some Trader Joe's pop tarts & I throw down a few clif bars. We pack it up and start right at 930.

Go figure as soon as trail starts we climbing uphill again. Almost seems like torture considering how much we climbed the day before(but it was worth it - this place is very beautiful). After only a half mile the trail is rolling, when all of a sudden this horse comes out of nowhere. Its running at almost full speed and looks really pissed. I steep off the trail and watch kinda off helpless as it goes by. Gabrielle is about 50' behind me and the horse stops to look at her. She says"hi horsey" Luckily the horse continues on. Wow what could of happen. A few hundred yards up the trail there are fresh marks in the ground - like scuff marks, probably from the horse. After .6 of mile we get back on the Ohlone Wilderness Trail(Stewarts camp is a side trail) and reach our highest point at 3490'. From here its about 3 miles to the top of Mt. Rose. The wind is really blowing like mad above us. We are in between ridges, so the wind is not that bad, but it feels cold enough to snow. The Sky's have looked threatening since we left camp. Up at this elevation(3400') the hills take on a different character. Many of the trees(Oak) have been blown over from past storms/wind. Blue Pines seem to thrive in this climate. After 1 1/2 miles we come to Box Canyon. Very picturesque area with high canyon walls and three different creeks running downward. We hike by a pond w/ fish in it - Wow. Very surprised to see fish. Then we hear the wind as we go uphill - again. As we approach the crest of the trail it opens up to the west and the wind is blowing so powerful, we can hardly stand up w/ our packs on. This is nuts! The wind is blowing close to 40 -50 mph. We are leaning to our left w/ force to walk along this ridge line - this is nuts! Its like this for about 500', where we turn down a switchback and begin to have some relief from the wind. At the time we were screaming and laughing at the same time. The power of the wind is very amazing. Its about this time we are caught by a day hiker on his way to Rose Peak. His name is Pete and he started this morning at Del Valle. We share conversation for a few minutes and we continue on. We descend down to North Fork Indian Creek 3200'. This means only one thing - we have to climb out. By now we are used to this, besides its such a great area. Soon back on the ridge we see glimpses of Rose Peak. Just before the trail junction we run into a couple w/ their golden retriever. They tell us they started in Fremont at 5am and are doing the entire 28 mile trail to Del Valle - Wow thats some miles in one day. Its about 1230 pm w/ most of there walking done. They are making good time. Soon we come to the base of Rose Peak and the wind is blowing like its the thing to do!(top picture on the left is us at the base of the Mt.) We leave our packs and venture up the last 300' to the summit. Again the wind is just nuts! Its very difficult to stand up. We go back down to the main trail and start hiking towards Sunol. We start to see more people along the way. Most are out for a day hike to Rose Peak & back(about 20 miles round trip). Our plan when we left camp(about 4 hours ago) was to stay at the Sunol Backpack camp 1180'. As more and more people go by, it starts to seem that rain is going to hit early tomorrow(Sunday). Gabrielle & I start to rethink our plan for the day. We have reservations for the backpack camp, but we may hike the remainder 4 miles to the car. We'll see when we get there. We continue on for another 2 hours and the body and feet are starting to feel the effects of 7 hours of hiking w/50 lbs on the back. Finally after some serious downhills we arrive at the camp. We dump the packs and use the facilities. We see lots of other hikers camping and some resting. We talked to a few who are near the finish of their 15 mile day. They state the weather report is saying rain in the morning. Gab and I look at each other and I tell her we have rain gear, so if we have to, it can be done. But the look on her face says it all. I explain we just did almost 10 miles and still have 4 to go. We grab some energy bars and turkey jerky, munch it down and start our last part of the hike. Down we go, go and go. Within almost 2 hours we start to close in on the park entrance and the car. By this time we are starting to kinda of lose it. Gabrielle is giggling uncontrollably and I'm start to sing really silly songs "the bird the bird the bird is the word"(way to much Family Guy). Ah yes we see the car! We sit in the car w/ gab still giggling and me staring off into space. We are tired - about 14 miles in one day or 20 miles in two days. A bit much for most backpackers, especially Gabrielle on her first trip. I must say, I'm very proud of her on completing this trip. It was definitely a tough one w/ over 5000' of climbing in two days & 20 miles to boot. Another note, this is one of the most beautiful trips I have hiked. The green hills, the vistas, and wild flowers ( not to mention my hiking partner ) made this trip one to remember. I highly recommend everyone to do this hike one day, especially during the spring. Its awesome!