I thought Dan Mitchell was nuts when he suggested hiking to the top of Mission Peak in the dark to catch the sunrise from the summit. I knew this meant a 5:30 lift-off, which meant waking an hour earlier to make it to the trailhead on time. I’m a morning person and that’s early even by my standards.

Having done it, though, I heartily concur with his assessment: the best way to do Mission Peak is in that 60 minutes of darkest-before-dawn which turns the sky color of purple you’ll never see in any of the remaining 23 hours of the day.

Furthermore, the lights of civilization are spectacular.

And to get to the top just before the sun comes up from behind the Diablo Range and watch the dawn turn to morning … even 200 miles from those glorious Sierra sunrises it’s possible to sense a bit of magic happening. Or something. Whatever it is, it’s way cool.

The Mission Peak trail is dusty and steep — blazing hot in the summer and muddy in the winter — so it’s not the No. 1 destination on many Bay Area hikers’ roster of essential hikes. But it happens to be the first hill I developed a desire to climb after moving to California. I was so out of shape the first few times I went up that I had to give up after about a half-mile. Several years later I started getting in shape, and getting to the top of Mission Peak was one of the greatest physical achievements of my life up to that point.

Most of you will never climb this hill, but I’m guessing you’ve all got your Mission Peak. I’m also betting it’s way cool to watch the sunrise from its summit. Next time somebody suggests hiking up there, just go for it, no matter how nutty it sounds.

And all the better to do it on Thanksgiving. Because you don’t need turkey and dressing to feel thankful for the experience.