Mueller SP D3 ... Hiking Peak View Loop

Our plan to go to the Peak View Trailhead this morning for sunrise and a pre-breakfast hike fell through ... because we slept in. But at least we were up in time to watch the fox that came out of the forest at our site and trotted up the road by the Cruiser. Sorry ... no photo. I was too busy enjoying the unexpected sighting.

Anyway, we ended up heading out at about the same time as we did yesterday. At 60F, the morning was a tiny bit cooler, but the sun was out shining bright and it felt a lot warmer.

The 2.1-mile Peak View Loop has two trailheads where one can park. Instead of using the tight lot at Peak View, we decided to start at Elk Meadow. After all, maybe we'd get lucky and see some of the animals for which the meadow is named. Alas, no such luck.

We walked the loop clockwise, starting out on trail #22. The narrow path immediately headed downhill at a steady but decent grade. Quite the opposite of the return leg coming up on trail #18. I think this section was definitely steeper, so next time we'll hike counter-clockwise.

The loop started out in a heavily forested area that gave us plenty of shade. Soon we were at the Peak View Pond. Here we encountered a couple who was dallying along the shoreline, looking for tiger salamanders in the water. No problem, we went up a short spur, made ourselves comfy at a rock outcropping, and waited them out.

Once we took our turn at the pond, we continued along the trail, losing the shade we'd been enjoying. The trail meandered through a meadow, occasionally dipping into bits of shade. This portion of the trail was wider. Checking the legend on the map, it quickly became obvious that we would need to share the trail with bikers and equestrians. The good news? We encountered only one biker and one couple riding their horses. In both cases, we had plenty of space to get off the trail to let them pass.

An hour after we began hiking, we were back at the trailhead. We debated going back to our site for a quick bite to eat but decided to press on with our plans to take a drive and have a snack somewhere along the way instead. That story will be in the next footprint.

I'll just wrap up this story with another happy hour on the patio after we got back to Mueller SP after our drive. There was no wildlife to see on the park road, but we had plenty of critters visiting us while we relaxed on the patio.Read more