Enjoyable and strenuous! We followed the HikingGuy.com trail guide for Medjeska Peak, continuing on Main Divide Road to hit Santiago Peak before backtracking to Medjeska: Modjeska Peak Hike – HikingGuy.com

I drive a little Honda Fit and made it to the trailhead by driving slowly down the dirt road, so you do not need a high clearance vehicle or AWD.

From the trailhead to the top of Santiago it took us roughly 3 hours and 15 minutes with no breaks. Our total hike, including both peaks and the brief exploration of a spur trail, was approximately 8 hours of moving time (plus a 30 minute lunch break), 18.75 miles, and 5800 feet of elevation gain.

I strongly recommend doing both peaks and, if you want to break for lunch, taking the break at Medjeska instead of Santiago. The large number of radio towers on Santiago diminish the view and the peak attracts more hikers (probably due to the Six Pack), whereas Medjeska is more picturesque and tranquil – we didn't see another hiker for the entire 30 minutes we spent atop Medjeska.

Joplin Trail was lightly trafficked, with more mountain bikers than hikers. The trail is easy to follow. It is steep and I fell on my tail a couple times descending on loose rocks. Unfortunately, because of closures it's necessary to take Main Divide Road on the saddleback. Main Divide Road had a significant amount of vehicular traffic, requiring us to stand on the side of the road and breath in dust as trucks passed.

My hiking partner and I each brought 3 liters, and we ran out of water a couple miles before the end. Consider stashing water 2-3 miles into the hike if it's a warm day.