L.A.'s Favorite Mountain — I once or twice heard it described that way. It lives up to its reputation, both as a beautiful destination and something you feel accomplished after finishing. This was my third time to the summit (previous two were in 2014 and 2015). It was the greenest I've seen things, and very beautiful as always.

We arrived at the trailhead just before 7:30 am. The parking lot was crowded — all the marked spaces were taken, but we found a couple of spots on the side of the road after circling around. The trails were busy, but not uncomfortably jam packed. We hiked up at a gentle pace via the ski hut. The weather was perfect! I don't think I would have changed it a single degree, or added more or less breeze.

It was nice being at the top, and cool to be among dozens (perhaps a hundred) joyous people, also happy to have made it to the summit, and enjoying the wonderful environment. Visibility from the top was good. The marine layer lingered in the basin below, making it feel like we were even higher than we were.

We went down via the ski lodge. Trail conditions were good. It was a bit rough on the knees as always, but not much can be done about that when you need to descend from ten thousand feet. All in all, a wonderful day.