Started out excited about hiking with my husband Scott and daughter Kyra.

Boy, was I naïve about this one! It was way more of an adventure than I expected! Somehow, I got it in my mind that this would be easy, which it should have been! However, it was way too hot, the bugs mocked us, a hiker needing rescue worried us, the wind from a rescue helicopter's blades pelted us with debris, and my daughter who hiked with us for the first time swore we were trying to kill her. Did I mention that she was nearly hit in the head by the foot of the girl being rescued? Oh, and the last lick of the trail at the very top was so steep and slippery that I literally crawled on hands and knees. (Truth be told, that part was fun.) It was pretty crazy!

That being said, the trail was peppered with flowers and lizards, and the view at the top was amazing. We were able to see all the way to Catalina.

There was also the surprise of finding an airplane wing somewhere in the middle. It was entertaining to speculate how it landed there.

By the time we finished, I was utterly amazed by how sweaty and dirty we were. The reward was dinner at In-N-Out (trying to regain points with the daughter) and nothing has ever tasted better!