Sutton Mountain overall was a beautiful experience. The views were gorgeous, I encountered wildflowers, butterflies everywhere, larks and sparrows, and cricket songs on the way down.

The trail itself was not my favorite. It's an old jeep trail basically, and from what I could tell, not maintained at all. There was a nice break from the uphill about halfway up, but the majority of the trail was very uneven ground and pretty rocky in a few places.

There was a closed wire cattle gate at the road entrance, so I parked across the street and went in on foot. It was pretty warm, so I could see the summer heat making this a pretty miserable hike in July or August.

The first half is mostly uphill with just a couple of small breaks in between. Then about halfway there's a nice stretch of just walking along the grassy hillside. Then about the last mile or so as back to uphill.

Carrying a map and trail guide notes is a must! Nothing is marked and the trail gets a little lost at the end just below the summit. It took me several minutes to figure out how to get up to the summit, I found a couple of other small trails that were confusing, so I'm guessing there were others who had the same issue and ended up trekking up through the grass.

Some other must haves for this trail:

-Boots! To protect your ankles, but also because there are rattlesnake warnings for this area now. I didn't see any rattlesnakes, but I did come across what was thankfully a very polite bull snake. Once I saw him he was obvious, but I was so focused on not twisting an ankle that I came close to stepping on him. I can only imagine how much harder a rattler is to spot in that terrain, so wear boots and watch your step!

-Insect repellent. I did find a tick on me, thankfully I brushed it off before it bit me, but don't sit in the grass and check yourself and pets carefully afterwards. The mosquitos also got pretty bad on the way back.

-Sunscreen and/or UV protective clothing and hats. Very little shade.

It was a tough but doable challenge, I enjoyed the hike up, and I am very proud of myself for this accomplishment, but on my way down I was so over it with the rough trail! I was so focused on watching my step that I didn't get to have as much of the downhill “reward” that I was looking for.

Still, some favorite moments:

– Surrounded by butterflies in many different colors.

– A private air show at the top from what looked like maybe a swallow.

– Cricket choirs

– A cute little lizard who stopped right in front of me. I think he thought I couldn't see him if he didn't move.

– Of course the beautiful views.