After hiking 8 miles on Bill Williams Monday I thought hiking 6 miles on Mt Elden would be easy since it was not a huge difference in elevation. Boy was I wrong! I didn't consider that elevation gain was spread over 3 miles versus the 4 miles it was spread over on Bill Williams. It was NOT a pleasant trip but I did it! I was .3 of a mile from the top when storm clouds came close. I was not going to turn around and attempt the summit another day so I pressed on and PRAYED! When I reached the top I refueled and then headed back down. It was raining off and on and I could see the lightning strikes getting closer. I kept pressing my way down. Two minutes, no exaggeration, after I got into my car the rain began to pour and the lightning was right in front of me. I'm thankful I made it safely down and SO glad that hike is over. I got off trail a couple of times – I really had to keep looking at AllTrails. Three down and three to go!