High from Granite Mountain

We did this hike on a partly cloudy Saturday. Reached trailhead at 7:30AM, parking lot was ~70% full. Trailhead for Granite Mountain is shared with Pratt Lake. First 1 mile is easy. Next 2 mile is constant climb, much steeper this time. In first 3.5 miles you gain about 3100ft. Next 650ft is bouldering + scrambling to the lookout. I found it scary at first, but its traction is pretty good, so take your time and find the most suitable route for you. We had to wait ~2hrs for clouds to clear to get some views. Once clouds were gone, the 360 degree views were surreal! We went past the lookout and found a secluded spot for lunch. It also had great view of 2 lakes one of which was Prett. Bugs really annoyed us throughout – so bugspray is must! It took us 4 hrs to climb to the top and 2.5 hrs to come back.