After only getting 3 hours of sleep prior to this hike, I'd say I did pretty damn well. The hike did take my friend and I about 7 1/2 hrs to complete. That is with about a 1/2 hrs worth of stops to catch my breadth and 45 min. or so lunch break. My friend accidently set up maps to the Summit…. we were already an hour behind (9am) So I dealt with the change like an adult and set out for the decline first (It would have taken us almost an hr to leave the park and enter through the correct path). Decline was a bit tough on the knees but we went down towards the Juniper Trail and compared to the Oak Road Trail I felt like that was the right move. Once we got down to the bottom we checked out the Information Station and surprised the woman and gentleman with what we accidently did. They were in shock. Haha. We hung out down there for lunch then prepared for our ascent by refilling our water bottles. I had brought 3 Liters with me and had drank about half of it by the time we got down there. We went towards the Oak Road Trail and that was grueling but worth it. I felt so accomplished by the end of it. The trails were busy but there were moments of solitude and clarity (which is what I love about hiking). I was kind of bummed that I missed the hours of the Summit shop ( I really wanted a magnet or sticker) but I'm definitely coming back. I'm surprised I never took the time to come out here before. I suppose I have enjoyed the county and state/national parks in the South Bay, San Benito, Santa Cruz, and Monterey areas a little too much….time to start exploring. It was a warm day but had a nice breeze. I personally wore a long sleeve and pants but with the right amount of sunscreen I could have probably pulled off a tank and shorts without burning.

Tips for the next person to hike this would be:
Get a good night's rest
Wear sunscreen and a hat
Bring 3-4 Liters of water
Watch out for the poison oak
Take your time, you have 13.2 miles to cover, enjoy the walk and scenery, smile and laugh because you're not going anywhere.