I anticipated doing this hike solo, but ended up being joined by friends. One friend does this hike a couple times a year so he was a great leader for us!

On the way up my friends were chatting about the elevation etc. I never have done too much other than swimming in elevation so it got in my head. Right when we started about a tenth of a mile in I had a mild case of anxiety/panic attack. Thankfully I kept going and all anxiety was in about 1.5 miles. I am so glad I did because it was such a great hike. Challenging and beautiful views!! All the hikers on the trail today were so nice and friendly. The dogs on the trail were very well behaved as well!!

The weather was great…not too hot and a nice breeze as we approached the top. However, I was really glad we started about 7:30 because any later the finish likely would have felt too hot for me.

The views were breathtaking. I usually like loops for any activity, but after today I found the appreciation of an out and back. We stopped on our way up to look around, but not nearly enough to really see the true beauty of the surroundings. However the way down we got to see how amazing it all was that we missed on the way up.

It was great to have some lunch at the top! I am happy to have done this one as my first peak and that I had a small group of great people keeping me company.