I'm a slow hiker and I tend to prefer my day hikes be limited to around 10 miles, so this was a challenge for me. I really enjoyed the hike and the views. It took me 106 minutes to get up the shortcut. The views at the top were great and there were a lot of wildflowers I could try to identify. By the time I hit the last uphill section around mile 12 my legs were jelly and I was running out of steam. It was a slog up that last climb but I took it one step at a time and had a lot of breaks. Plenty of light left in the day. The last section just before the visitor center (when doing it clockwise) was really fun through the forest cover. I'm glad I survived, and glad there was plenty of summery light! It took about 10 hours, with 8 hours of walking time.