Fremont Peak offers vistas that stretch to the Sierras
From its base, before the final, steep, back-pulling climb to
the flagpole-appointed summit, the view at Fremont Peak sweeps up
the Pacific Coast as far as Moss Landing. Inland, in clear winter
air, visitors can gaze across the San Joaquin Valley to the Sierra
peaks. Straight below the rolling fields and farmlands of San
Benito, South Santa Clara and the Salinas Valleys reach out to the
skyline.
Fremont Peak offers vistas that stretch to the Sierras
From its base, before the final, steep, back-pulling climb to the flagpole-appointed summit, the view at Fremont Peak sweeps up the Pacific Coast as far as Moss Landing. Inland, in clear winter air, visitors can gaze across the San Joaquin Valley to the Sierra peaks. Straight below the rolling fields and farmlands of San Benito, South Santa Clara and the Salinas Valleys reach out to the skyline.
It’s easy to imagine, in this breeze-swept spot, what the same view meant to a brash young American who, for a few days in 1846, thought it was his duty to claim the stunning peak for his nation, along with all the visible area it commanded. That the territory was still under Mexican control didn’t apparently matter. Fremont’s brief stand on the spot marked a moment in the annals of California history, which in time bestowed his name on the 3,169-foot high peak.
The drive up to the small, quiet state park is only 11 miles, as it climbs and winds up through rocky, grassy slopes leading along oak-dotted hills and into digger pine woods. At the top, a fee-station area provides parking and nearby picnic tables invite a pause to savor an afternoon repast along with the ambiance before heading up the trails. For those with sturdy shoes and even sturdier climbing legs, there’s that crowning achievement: scaling the pile of granite boulders to the sharply pointed peak itself. Once there, plan to pause, read the historic plaque and gaze out to all the compass points that make up the vast view. By the way, bring plenty of drinking water.
To get there from Highway 101, take the Highway 156 exit heading toward San Juan Bautista. Drive three miles to the stoplight intersection at The Alameda. Turn south onto County G-1 (San Juan Canyon Road.) Very quickly, in about 200 yards, at a fork in the road, take the left fork. At the immediate next fork, head right at the small sign that says, “Fremont Peak State Park, 11 miles.”
Fremont’s little fiasco at the peak 156 years ago was more an embarrassment to the U.S. government than an international incident. But rumors were swirling that Mexico’s control over the area was coming to a close. Unbeknownst to either local Mexican Comandante Jose Castro, or Army Brevet Captain John C. Fremont, events in faraway Texas were changing the course of both nations’ histories. Troops under General Zachary Taylor had entered the first battles of the war between the U.S. and Mexico. Had the two minor adversaries in California known, the beginnings of America’s conquest of the West might have occurred at Fremont Peak. In retrospect, the American’s premature capture of Gabilan (now Fremont) Peak in March 1846 was not as isolated an incident as first portrayed.
Fremont was on his third expedition to California that year, and not-so-private rumblings in the Mexican-governed region were turning to talk of independence. There were also nervous rumors that increased American immigration meant the Mexican loss of California to the United States.
In January of that year, Fremont had visited U.S. Consul Thomas O. Larkin in Monterey. Larkin, appointed a confidential agent in Mexican California by U.S. Secretary of State James Buchanan, was a local businessman with numerous economical interests in the region. For several months, he had been in secret communication with Washington D.C. because the United States was looking for a peaceful way to acquire the Mexican-held territory. At the meeting, Larkin offered Fremont his assessment of the prevailing situation. Ironically, he also introduced him to both the Mexican military commandant, Don Jose Castro, and to ex-governor Alvarado. The two already knew of his prior Western regional explorations. When queried, Fremont fabricated his motives for returning to California, stating he was there to collect scientific, geographical and commercial information. He also claimed that his men, about 60 of them, were not soldiers but just common citizens, even though each was armed with three to six guns, rifles and pistols.
On March 1, 1846, returning from the Santa Cruz area, the Fremont party turned inland into the Salinas Valley. On March 3 they set up camp at William Hartnell’s Alisal Rancho. Two days later, Comandante Castro sent a cavalry officer to present orders: the men were to leave at once, under penalty of arrest and deportation.
Fremont, insulted, marched his men along the base of the Gabilans, then up a wood-road to the top of the highest mountain, called Gabilan, or Hawk’s, Peak. From the promontory, the men commanded a sweeping view of the Salinas, Santa Clara, and part of the San Joaquin Valleys. Quickly they erected a small log shelter and raised a flag. Although the Corps of Engineers flag wasn’t the Stars and Stripes, it was the first American flag to fly in California.
Down below in San Juan Bautista, Comandante Castro gathered a reported force of 300-400 soldiers and Indians, issuing a general call to arms summoning the citizens to fight. As Fremont and his men stood guard at Gabilan Peak, Castro kept his men in plain sight in San Juan, drilling and preparing for battle. The cavalry was summoned from Monterey and three pieces of artillery were brought in.
Curious and hoping to ambush the cavalry, Fremont took 40 men on the second day and snuck down the wood-road to hide and to watch the Mexicans’ movements. At one point, they observed the adversaries halt on a road just a few hundred yards away, hold a consultation, then turn and depart.
The next contact came when Fremont received another written departure order from Castro. Then from Monterey, Thomas Larkin chimed in. Fearing a general public outbreak, he demanded the Americans to break camp. In all, three days had gone by when a sudden wind gust blew down the temporary sapling flagpole. Fremont took it as an omen: either the Mexicans weren’t going to attack, or, having second thoughts, he decided prudent departure was more in order.
Thomas S. Martin, who accompanied Fremont on the Third Expedition as a worker and hunter, later narrated the final experience, “…Fremont got a despatch (sic) from American Consul to leave. When we received the despatch we were getting ready to go down in the night and surprise Castro at the San Juan Mission. It was about 2 hours before sundown when we received the Consul’s despatch, and after dark we moved down & camped within 1/2 or 3/4 of a mile of the mission, hoping that we might get a chance at them.”
No shots were exchanged, and no one followed Fremont as his men departed the area on the night of March 9-10, 1846. The party headed through Pacheco Pass and down the eastern slopes into the San Joaquin Valley enroute to Sutter’s Fort. A man of immense pride, Fremont later recorded in his diary that the surreptitious exit was made “slowly and growlingly.”
In the end neither adversary could claim victory or defeat from the mini-confrontation. Castro posted a proclamation in Monterey announcing victory for his side, calling the Americans cowards and poor guests. For his part, when California joined the Union in 1850, John C. Fremont became one of the new state’s first Senators. In 1856 he became the first presidential candidate of the newly formed Republican Party.
Today, besides its status as a California historical location, Fremont Peak State Park offers four miles of moderate hiking trails, lots of wildlife viewing including the soaring hawks for which the peak was originally named, turkey vultures, deer, coyote, raccoons, bobcats and snakes. Wildflowers bloom in spring, with numerous other flowering plants adding color into fall. Primitive campsites and picnic areas offer a longer stay.
The Fremont Peak Observatory, sitting on a slight rise up a small access road, offers scheduled, seasonal programs and stargazing activities April through October on Saturday evenings without a full moon, including a chance to peek through the 30-inch Challenger telescope. For more information, or to schedule a visit when the facility is open, check out the Fremont Peak Observatory Association Web site at: www.fpoa.net or call (831) 623-2465. For more information on Fremont Peak State Park visit the California State Parks Web site at: www.parks.ca.gov or call (831) 623-4255. For camping reservations, phone 800-444-7275. Park hours for day-trippers: 8 a.m. until sunset.
Elizabeth Barratt can be reached viaemail at: da***@ch**********.com.
