El Cajon will be always be monumental hike for me because prior to this, I had safely been in quarantine for approx. 7 weeks. So my return to being able to hike trails felt so good. I will say, I underestimated El Cajon, she's a beast of a hike for sure. And, since it had been months since I hiked, I was clearly out of shape and not up for the challenge. But, mind over matter, I pushed my self to the summit and what a feeling that was. Unfortunately, El Cajon is just as rigorous on the way back from the summit. As many have scaled this climb, the elevation gain is a total gain with much of the hike being an up/down/up/down hike. That can be exhausting on the way back to your car and at a little over 11 miles, really hard on your body. Plus, coming down on some parts near the peak where really slippery in terms of condition of trail. I put a hurting on my toes, sliding toward the front of my shoe box. Overall, this trail beat me up. Also, I might add that it was extremely hot and I had run out of water. Thank god for the rangers who filled one of my bottles back up, allowing me to make it safely the remaining 2 miles back to the car. This is a 3 liter min. of water hike. If you can drink less, god bless you. You're amazing. But to the rest of us, just know it is a sunny hike that can get very exhausting because of the elevation gains in the trail and weather conditions. For now, El Cajon. You win.