We started our hike at 6:30am just as the sun was rising. It was a beautiful sight from the clearing above the set of wooden stairs near the register.

We arrived at the summit at 11:30, taking the toll road all the way to the top. After having something to eat, taking pictures, using the restrooms (they’re open!) and generally goofing off almost an hour, we headed down and made it back to the trailhead just after 4 pm. Our track had us covering 16 miles in 8 hours, 55 minutes including breaks. The trail is longer than the 14 miles in some online trail guides. Deceptively tough! But a beautiful hike, and a great day to be on trail. We capped it off with a visit to Lucky Baldwin’s in Sierra Madre, highly recommended.