We started climbing at around 6 AM on a Monday and there was already a good amount of people climbing. We're relatively inexperienced when it comes to hiking, especially something of this magnitude, so we had no idea what to expect. Everything was going well all the way into the Ski Lift portion of the hike. The trail is in good condition and the weather was ideal with a light breeze. After the Ski Lift on the way to Devil's Backbone, the steepness of the trail began to take its toll on us, but we took our time and enjoyed the gorgeous views behind us. We eventually made it to Devil's Backbone, where we forgot about the pain in our legs and climbed through efficiently and enjoying everything that we are seeing. The day had caught up to us at this point and we were exposed to the sun for the rest of the way. The final stretch, which was a steep incline that we took a long time traversing, but we eventually made it to the top and the views were well-worth the hard work. We stayed and took lots of pictures then eventually went down via the Baldy Bowl/Ski Hut trail. This is when our inexperience took its toll, as the descent was very steep and the trail felt like beach sand. We had trekking poles, but we took a tumble a couple of times because of the slippery footing. We eventually passed through and visited the Ski Hut and ended a long day of hiking in one piece and a wonderful sense of accomplishment. We met a lot of kind people along the way and enjoyed the hike overall.