Oh my gosh!  OH MY GOSH!  What a challenge this hike was! I’m thinking Cactus to Clouds might be a piece of cake after doing this.  It was Up or Down…. no flats in between.  It took us 4 hrs 20 mins to get to the top… granted I had two newbies with me and one turned around after mile 3 and the other hung with me.  7 hrs 45 mins round trip.  My Fitbit says 397 floors climbed.. that’s more than Mt Wilson.  My AllTrails app recorded it as 11.2 miles with 3619’ elevation gain.    And it was warm!  No shade, completely exposed to the sun.  People did not pay attention to the sign at the beginning of the hike saying how much water they should bring.  And people with dogs… don’t put them through this hike.  It is tough and warm.  I gave two bowls of water to a dog on the trail today because the owners didn’t think they’d need as much as the sign said.!