For this peak, I was joined by my partner. We have not spent an entire day together since our little guy joined the family 5 years ago! I thought it would be nice to bag this peak together since it was his first time and my 6th. After a quick side quest to the falls, we hiked the misty climb to The Notch. We couldn't stop talking about our kiddo and laughing at how he got his trail name- “Free Ride”.

We grabbed some coffee at The Notch, checked in with Grandpa with the free wi-fi there, took a breath and began the slow and steep ascent to Devil's Backbone. Winds picked up and we paused only to discover some friends that we weren't expecting! We summited together through wild winds that nearly knocked us over a couple times! We made it to the top and enjoyed a celebratory meal and each other's smiles and were reminded that we actually all met Labor Day weekend 2 years ago. After a well-deserved break at the top, we said our goodbyes and wished each other a Happy Friendiversary and headed down the Bowl. The descent was slow. The wash outs made the trail difficult to track at times. Even with knowledge of this trail, navigation was a must.

We made it back to the truck hand in hand. Grateful for our time together and ready to destroy some Animal Fries.

Happy Trails!