Well here we go again: Me vs Mt. Wilson.

This trail was my first hike of my 2022 So Cal Six Pack of Peaks challenge and it was brutal!  Coming into this year, I was determined to teach this trail a lesson, so once again I started this year's So Cal Six Packs of Peaks Challenge with this hike…and I was out with a vengeance to conquer that hill!

Going into this hike I definitely made sure I was more prepared (applying what I've learned with my experiences since the last time I hiked this trail).  Being prepared made a HUGE difference.  I was ready.

I started my hike around 6:20am and began my ascent…overall I was feeling pretty good.  I took it VERY slow, but steady and arrived at the summit around 12:50pm.  To my disappointment, the café was closed (probably only open on the weekends), so no ice cold Dr. Pepper waiting at the top for me. 🙁

It appeared Mt. Wilson was trying to show me who was in charge once again, but I was determined not to let it win this time!

So after a quick snack break, I topped my water off and began my descent of Mt. Wilson…Admittedly I wasn't super into it at first (I was tired and annoyed about that café – good for a laugh now), but I just kept going.  The whole time I remembered how miserable I was last year as I was going down and how many stops I had to make.  This year, my stops were substantially less (plus I didn't take a two hour nap at the top either!) and I felt relatively good (considering I was on the mountain literally all day).

This was one of those situations where I wasn't just challenging myself physically, but mentally as well.

This time around, the trail was fairly quiet – only a few people coming and going, definitely more at the beginning part of the trail.  Because of the amount of rain we had this year, there was a lot more wildlife (including bugs, squirrels, birds, and a TON of lizzards!).  Overall I did enjoy myself and the hike was a good hike…but more importantly, I didn't let Mt. Wilson almost beat me this time!