Signed up for the 6 Pack of Peaks Challenge.  What was the first hike I did?  El Cajon.  Why?  Because I felt doing one of the hardest peaks would motivate me for the remaining 5 peaks 😊  Got up at 5am and hit the trail at 6:50am.  Got down by 4:30pm – parked on the street to be safe from having the parking lot locked up – and returned home by 5pm…long day!  It was perfect temps for hiking and with rain in the forecast the next day, there was a bit of cloud cover later on.  Well, let’s just say El Cajon was quite the challenge and the longest hardest hike I’ve done.  I’m not used to constant up and down. Generally my hikes go uphill for the first half and I look forward to the downhill on the way back.  Not the case with El Cajon.  And those inclines were seriously long (.5miles) at a 45 degree incline.  I mean just look at the mile markers and note that the hiker is practically falling over on their back!!  Top it off with being 11 miles total!  Then as we were right across the way from El Capitan, we decided to check that one off the list also.  It was just a ½ mile over the saddle so why not? Added another mile to the hike.  But after all, what is the definition of hiking?  Walking more miles than you want to LOL. The trail was well marked mostly on a washed-out fire road until you get about 1.5 miles from the summit. The trail somewhat disappeared but there were trail posts guiding you over the boulders to the summit. The inclines were a bit easier on the way back since we were heading back down.  Got to the bathrooms at the end of the hike and still had another .5 mile to get to the car. Finished up clocking 13.1 miles and took 9.5 hours – yea I have a very slow pace uphill. But that was the strategy:  take the inclines at a crawl and book it on the flats and downhills.  I wanted to pace myself so I could get through the whole 11 miles.  I knew I could make it up but I knew the return would zap my energy.  Once you reach the top there’s no choice but to head back down – no loop trail here – and work those inclines again! The downhill took just as long as the uphill timewise…lots of slippery rocks and the last .3  miles was pure boulder climbing.  Glad I wore long pants because those bush trees were aggressive and I’m sure I would have been major scratched up if I had not worn long pants. 😊 I don’t know if I will ever do El Cajon again…but so glad that I did get to the top! Next day, super sore and stiff but so proud of myself for completing one of the most challenging hikes in the 6 pack!!  Next up:  Corte Madera.