Starting the hike at 6 am was okay, we wished we started earlier because the heat has been scorching. Nonetheless, it wasn't too bad once we arrived to Devil's Backbone. The beginning of the hike is sort of relaxed, it begins on an incline of paved cement which is easy being in the shade at the start. The scenery is beautiful once you start getting closer to the ski lodge, where I would recommend taking a break because the inclines go on. This hike is definitely not for those that are afraid of heights. You are hiking on a very close edge, just imagine the imagery behind “backbone.” It is the source of the center, and it requires some balance of pacing yourself and staying hydrated to prevent any side cramps etc. I felt better this hike keeping a squeeze bottle in my hand to hydrate once we saw the sun. Looking at the map, we couldn't tell how far along we were on the devil's backbone, but there were some peaks that would deceive us into the thinking we were almost there. Until we saw the peak that was the most bald. There it was, and the hike up that was pretty sandy. There was two ways to go, the super steep way and one that looped around the same way to the top. It felt great finally arriving to eat! But the way down was another story, it was pretty slippery and I could tell why most hikers had their climbing sticks. Luckily, none of us got hurt just really burned by the sun. The heat didn't get to us until we had to walk down passing the Ski Hut. The humidity was definitely felt down there and the steepness started to hurt my knees until we got the paved cement again. Overall, I think we felt the same as we have. We feel great and by the last mile or two, we felt completely over it with words of “I wish” and “I just wanna throw up now.” 😉