One last hike before driving to LA!  Reviews say this hike should take about 3 1/2 hours to complete, but I felt I should be able to beat that.  It’s only 4.6 miles, no way I’ll need longer!  Wait, 2000ft of vertical gain?  On second thought….

One thing I’ve learned over the past few years of hiking, any trail that gains 400-500ft/mile is pretty hard.  By the time I reached 1.15 miles, I was getting close to 600ft gained, so yeah, this was pretty hard, but I had only taken about 30 minutes to that point, so that wasn’t bad!  But then it hit me. I only had about a mile left to hike, yet still needed to climb about 1400ft!  Yea, this was not going to be easy, but I pushed through. I had to make a few stops to catch my breath and make sure I was still on the trail, but I was making pretty good time.  Once you get to the last quarter mile or so, there are so many trails criss crossing in every direction that it’s almost impossible to know which one to follow, but as long as you’re heading up, you can’t really go wrong.  I made it to the top in just under 90 minutes, then back to my car in exactly 2hrs 38mins for the total round trip.  See?  I knew I could make it in less time!

Start to finish this was a beautiful hike, with so much to see everywhere!  I wish I wasn’t pressed for time, because I would have loved to explore more.  This hike is on the scenic drive, so you will need to make reservations and you will need to complete the whole drive.  Tortoises we’re out and about according to people at the visitor center, but I didn’t see any.  I did see a tarantula crossing the road as I was driving by, so that was pretty cool!  Drive slow and enjoy the scenery and wildlife, it’s literally all around you!