The trail is most definitely strenuous and tricky. Our group would have been lost if we did not print out the instructions described on the site. It took about 13 hours to complete the entire trail, but we had to take several breaks along the way to accommodate hikers in our group. The last 1,000 of elevation, is very strenuous. We saw many hikers head back down after trying to attempt the summit. On our way back down, the Winter Creek trail is difficult to find, even people who work way the summit and who have hiked some of the trails had never heard of it. We made it out minutes before dark, found two lost “hikers” on the way out and had them follow us on the way out. The gate closes at 8, and we arrived back at our car at 8:30 pm. We had to wait for a police officer to arrive 30 minutes later to let us out, along with about 15 other cars. Trust me, you want to plan for a very long day and try to prepare for directions as much as possible beforehand.
-Kate