Started the hike at 8:00 a.m. believing that we would be hiking only 9.5 miles. Unbeknownst, we would in actuality hike 17 miles that day. The Social Hiker site gives you the option of hiking to Santiago Peak via Maple Springs Rd. I took that to mean that the hike started at the Maple Springs Visitor Center. However, the Maple Springs Visitor Center is not the starting point for the 9.5 mile hike. Instead, if you start at Maple Springs Visitor Center you are looking at a 24 mile round trip hike.  From the Maple Springs Visitor Center, there is a paved road that is approximately 3 miles long. After three miles, it turns into a dirt road that really should only be driven by off road vehicles. After about 5 miles, I asked someone driving how far Santiago Peak was from where we were. He indicated that it was approximately an hour an half driving but could not provide us with actual mileage. There is almost absolutely no cell service on this hike so we could not verify our location and how far we were from Santiago Peak. At that point, I realized that we must have started at the wrong point. The guy assured us that we would have a nice hike since it was a cool day and so long as we had enough water and snacks so we decided to keep going. Soon after, we ran into two bikers who I again asked how far Santiago Peak was. They couldn't really say but estimated about another six miles. We then realized that this 9.5 mile hike would turn into 24 miles if we decided to hike up to the peak. We considered turning around, getting our car, and driving up to where we were supposed to start our hike but instead decided to just keep going since it was still early in the day and we felt good. At approximately 7 miles, we arrived to where we were actually supposed to start the hike. There is a dirt area to park and a wood marker near the entrance that says Maple Springs. From Maple Springs Visitor Center to the peak it is approximately 12 miles. It was a gorgeous day until we got to the top where it became increasingly cloudy. We were unable to see any views from the peak and we also could not find the sign that said Santiago Peak. At this point, it was about 2:00 p.m. and we were worried we would not make it down by nightfall so we gave up on looking for the sign and head down. We made it down another 5 miles but our feet were killing us! Of course, we decided to go on this long hike with brand new boots. So we finally just had to flag someone down and ask if they would take us to the Maple Springs Visitor Center. We met a very nice couple that was more than willing to take us down. They truly were a Godsend. Overall, the hike was a fun and memorable experience despite how challenging it was. I definitely learned my lesson in making sure I do a little more research when doing one of these hikes. We intend on doing it again but from the correct starting point and getting our picture in front of the Santiago Peak sign. What an experience for our first hike of our Six Pack Peak Challenge.