Camelback mountain has been on my bucket list for a very long time and it did not disappoint! Started off in the morning but not too early because I don’t do well in the cold (7:40) and we were lucky enough to get excellent parking near the trail head. I could tell pretty quickly that the elevation was going to be a challenge although I felt fit enough to do it. As we got closer to the end of the trail, I think around trail marker 28, I saw that it seems to go straight up in some places and turns into rock climbing. It was challenging, I had to take some breaks, but it was totally doable a ton of fun and very rewarding. The trail wasn’t overly crowded like i expected, but there were plenty of hikers there. Fantastic views of the valley at the top!  Bonus, Santa was at the top with a Christmas tree handing out candy canes.