We started the hike around 7:30 a.m. from the trailhead near the parking garage. There is no slow warm-up to the incline .. starts immediately. There were lots of cows and calves on the lower portions of the trail, and we even saw the bull. When we got about a quarter of the way up, it started to mist on us and then rained on us for about 1/3 of the hike. Hiking poles would have come in handy during the steep incline prior to the rocky portion at the very top. This is a wide open area with a steep incline before you get to the final incline.

Also, the trail provides no shade. This impacts the weather, and also the possibility of *ahem* ‘relief.' There are facilities at the base of the trail near Ohlone college and also about half-way up, however it takes a strong stomach and minimal gag reflex to be able to take advantage of the facilities at the rest point along the trail.

When we reached the top it wasn't packed yet, but we saw a lot of people on the trail. It was VERY windy and chilly. There was a low and thick cloud cover at that point, so we didn't have the 360 view. I was the straggler of the group though and stuck around a bit. The clouds started burning off and I was able to get a taste of the great view. By that point, the line was ridiculously long to get a picture on the summit marker. We were surprised that the summit marker isn't actually at the true highest point. Also, we came back the way that we went up, when really, to get the full mileage you should loop around the summit. We were disappointed when we got back that we hadn't done the full thing. There are SO MANY people that it is easy to just get caught up in the wave. I definitely recommend starting as early as possible to minimize the crowd.