It was a pretty neat hike all in all. On the way up, I sort of stayed wondering if the mud was going to end. It sort of did once you take the last left and start heading up along the last bit of fencing. (Found a bunch of neat burrows on this corner.) Mud was not bad; it is the sort that cakes to itself and your boots, which gets heavier with every step, ya know? It was a leisurely walk, cleaning the mud off occasionally. One last note on the mud. The staging area was a bit muddy; someone with a 2wd vehicle or a light car may have difficulty in the area designated to stage. However, the area across the road from the entrance may be good if you are worried about going down and not being able to get back up.

There were lots of sign of critters, but other than a few butterflies, some song birds, and a red tail hawk, I did not see much wildlife. The hawk I saw killed a rabbit and left it in the middle of the trail. It was not there on the way up and pretty obviously was sent to do the Big Sleep by a hawk or eagle while I was heading up.

The painted hills were terrific. Up top I was a bit startled, and likely they were too, by a bunch of quail, they were rested up near the cliffs and when I came around the corner they all glided/dove off the edge, saw them glide for about 40-50 feet I would guess, which was cool to see how they move all together as one. Having grown up on the coast, most of the quail I saw only flew a few feet before they were under the cover of brush.

Great hike, really gets you out of town and near nowhere it feels. Got to test out my new to me camera as well, added some weight to the hike.