Great hike!  Very challenging with some beautiful views.  It is a steady climb but there are some spots that let up and give your legs a little rest.  The trail is shaded about half of the time and there is a water station a at the top if you need to refill.  It was relatively quiet since we did the trail on a weekday.  We passed a few people before Orchard Camp and after that, we only saw a couple of people (runners) coming down the trail.  We started at 6:30am and the weather was cool going up.  Trail is in great shape except for the part after the toll road and before the summit.  It gets narrow with brush growing into the trail.  Coming down was, of course, easier than going up.  🙂  Even though we had a nice cool breeze for about half of the way down, it did warm up a bit toward the end.  We made it back to the trailhead just after 3pm.   This was a great first hike for the challenge.  Even though my legs hate me right now, I am confident that I can finish all of the original 6 peaks!