I arrived to the parking lot at 6am and it was completely full.  I was able to find a spot down the road about 1/8 of a mile but I'm using this as my lesson to get to the lots by 5:50 at latest to avoid the full lot.  It kind of sucks to hike 12 miles and have to go even further to get to the car once you arrive back to the lot.

The hike was great.  Trail is wide and passable the first 2 miles.  It goes from maintained dirt to granite rocks and it will become a bit steep at times.  I found myself taking a breather for 30 seconds just to allow my heart rate to catch up with my breathing.  Its about 3.8 miles to the Saddle where the trail splits in 4.  Lots of signs to help navigate to the right path and there's plenty of people around to chat with while you take a snack break in the warm beautiful sun.  From the saddle its 2.4 miles to the peak.  The first 3/4 of that stretch is nice and will go downhill for a bit- take advantage of it because its all uphill to that summit.  Oh, and that downhill will bite you in the ass on your way back home because the UPHILL climb isn't welcomed.  The last 2 miles are tough and the trail is narrow.  You have to be aware of people coming down and ones who are trail monsters and hiking faster than I can even imagine ever being.

The trail switchbacks about 3/4 of a mile from the summit then goes pretty straight up the last 300 yards.  Its a tough go and I took plenty of breaks.  But once at the top, the views made it all worth it!

On the way back I rolled my ankle 3 times- I was tired and the body started giving out on me.  I was fortunate to not have done real damage but I am icing it and will baby it for the next few days while I recover.

I was happy with my time though and it was a perfect day to get in my adventure!  Lots of great people on the trail too.  I love my wilderness friends!