I thought ellinor was tough…. sheesh. This trail started off a little steep, but it just kept getting steeper. At one point I thought… well I guess we’re just climbing straight up then!?! Haha. I truly enjoyed the challenge of this hike. I loved climbed on the roots of the trees as if they were stairs. It was beautiful the whole way through. I’ll admit at the top I thought we were almost there…. but then you come around the bend and there’s still quite a ways to go. We did this hike on a Monday…. my highest recommendation! There were some people, but not the crowds as I have grudgingly heard about. At one point our group were the only ones up on the summit. The views were beautiful! 360° of peaks. Was a beautifully clear day. About 75 and with a nice breeze. We went up the old trail and down the new. The new trail seemed to last  forever!! But our legs were tired. It’s was 8.9 miles round trip and about 4800 emulation gain. I would love to accept the challenge of this hike again! I saw two people running it even!?! #goals