We started out at the trailhead around 8:00 and were so ready for a full day of hiking. I'll be honest, the length of this hike and the elevation gain had me a bit nervous but I knew I was ready for this challenge. The first 3 miles are fairly flat with a mild elevation gain. After that it gradually climbed for awhile but then before I knew it I was in serious focus mode. There were times that I wondered if we'd ever summit this peak. Ha! There was a small patch of snow to get over but not horrible. What was horrible? The mosquitoes! Geez!

We finally made it to the top and were rewarded with some clouds but mostly blue bird views. Not a bad place to refuel with some lunch. Boy did I need it!

I will say on the way down, not far from the top, we somehow managed to veer off to another trail. (we still can't figure out how). It wasn't for another 2 miles before we realized our mistake. I can't say I was excited to have to back uphilll to correct or journey. About a mile back up, we used GPS and navigated across the forest (instead of continuing to climb) to finally meet up with the original trail (please don't make our mistake) which improved our moods. YAY!

We did it! Peak 4 is complete!! Two more to tackle. We've got this.