This hike seemed like it was never ending. I hiked this solo and there were so many friendly groups who offered for me to join their group or to give me food/snacks. Unfortunately I'm a pretty slow hiker so I couldn't keep up but I appreciate the hiker friendliness. This was probably the most gentle hike in terms of climb – it starts with steeper portion but then flattens out among manzanita plants of various heights. After several miles, it starts to climb again and this is also where I started to struggle with altitude. It was generally a cool clear day to do this hike, but I may have injured my foot on this hike too much to be able to finish the challenge. The trail had no remaining snow by this time.