My partner and I underestimated this hike. We decided to make this summit the first of on our list, judging only by the length of the hike, and without taking into consideration how steep it may be. That being said, this was still one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had.

Very early on in the hike you will come to a fork. To the left is the Mission Peak trail, and to the right is the Peak Meadows trail. We hiked up using the left trail as I think most people do. The trail is very wide, allowing multiple people to walk next to each other. Although the trail was steep, it was stable. We never lost our footing, except for the final trek towards to the peak.

The weather was beautiful. We started at around ten in the morning. It was still cool outside. Towards mid-day it got a little warmer, but it wasn't too bad.

We do quite a bit of hiking, but this is only the second mountain we have ever climbed, and because we aren't in the best shape it took us a tad longer than it probably takes others. However, we weren't in a race. We took many breaks, giving us a chance to really appreciate the views and the nature. In addition to the benches along the trail, there are plenty of shady spots with rocks to sit on to stop and rest.

As we got higher up the trail we saw more birds flying at eye level, which was magical. There are a lot of cows, including one especially vocal one at the start of the trail who we still heard as we ended our journey. There were a few instances where we were pretty close to the bovine, none of them were a danger to us.

The trail was rough, but the final race to the peak is one of toughest parts on it. This is where the trail essentially ceased to exist, and now you are climbing over rocks, climbing around people, and it is an area where you really need to be careful since you're on the edge of a mountain. The wait is worth it though, because the view from the top of the peak is glorious, seeing as far out as San Francisco. We had to wait in line to get our picture with the famous pole, but it too was worth it, because the people in line were so friendly, and it was fun listening to everyone tell their stories.

On our way down we took the opposite trail. We wanted a new view and to fully experience the entire hike as much as we could. Take note that although the trail may look gentle from a distance – at least I thought so – there are certain parts that are way more steep than the hills on the trail up. It actually took us a lot longer to go down than it did to come up, but it was worth it to see some new territory. On the map it looks like we took the Horse-Heaven trail, but we came out on the Peak Meadows trail that we saw at the beginning of the hike.

This hike was tough, no doubt about it, but there are also no doubts that this hike wasn't worth it, and I 100% expect to do it again.