This maybe the hardest hike I've ever done, largely due to the conditions. Drove out from LA super early. I had researched the weather conditions via mountain weather forecast so we were prepared there. However, it did not mention that in the days before it has snowed at the trailhead and given that it is Palm Springs I was not expecting to start off in the snow-luckily we were mostly prepared. The trail was snowy the entire way until you could no longer even see a trail near the top. I had Gaia maps downloaded so was able to follow the trail until the last mile where it got real dicey and difficult to navigate. But we made it! It was a gorgeous blue bird day and we pretty much had it all to ourselves. Only saw 3 other groups the whole day. We saw a gorgeous sunset and were hiking down the last sections in the dark but again I was prepared with a headlamp. It also felt like we were in another world all day-think Narnia. Great and difficult day.