Disclaimer: This was my first attempt at a peak, and I did it thinking I could keep a hair appointment.

The Good (well, overall): We got to the trailhead at 6:15 and the parking lot was already BEYOND full. If you’ve ever been to this trailhead you know what that means 😐 While the Icehouse Canyon trail can get a bit exhausting at times, you save 2 miles (one way) by not taking the Chapman Trail. Once we got to the Icehouse Saddle I was able to take a break while the rest of the group caught up. From there we took the Ontario Peak trail through Kelly Camp, this trail was also well marked and easy to discern. We did see some snow remnants, but I will note there was NONE on the trail itself.

The Bad: Somewhere along the way I became the Pack Leader, and you should note I am very directionally challenged. At the point in the trail where the Bighorn Peak & Ontario Peak trails diverge I came across two other hikers who I assumed KNEW what they were doing, at least they sounded like they did.

The Ugly: Long story short, we ALL lost the trail (apparently it was through the overgrown bushes) and ended up gaining WAY more elevation than we needed to, but we survived. Eventually we spotted signs of life in the forms of other hikers and found the trail again.

The Good: We made it to Ontario Peak without further incident and on the way back discerned approximately where the trail had been lost.

The Bad: Bighorn Peak, maybe I was tired or maybe I was annoyed that the sign up at the peak was gone. I had to stop a few times and wait for the people behind me to give me some insight as to where the trail went 😐

The Ugly: I felt like Mother Nature was messing with me, I was making good progress with elevation gain and then *bam* lose it, then never mind elevation gain again. That last stretch before the peak was ROUGH.

The Good: Managed to spot Bighorn sheep! The trail back down was pretty uneventful until ** dun dun dun**

The Bad: I decided I would jog down some part of the trail coming back down the Icehouse Canyon trail. No, I did not fall.

The Ugly: Around two miles away from the trailhead my feet started to hurt, pretty bad .. but I wasn’t going to stop. It felt like I had blisters on the bottom of my heels (one on each side). When I got back to my car I discovered that I did indeed have to half dollar sized blisters on the bottom of each heel. It wasn’t the shoes, as I have been hiking in them for over two months, it wasn’t the socks as I have worn them without incident as well. It was mu hair-brained idea to jog when I have NEVER done that before.

So as I type this I am once again soaking my feet in Espom salt. Peak #1 done, now onto planning Peak #2 (sans jogging of ANY type).