Cheryl from UNITED STATES writes:

I am 57 year old, non-hiker, Casual Walker. This was a good hike that took some effort. I think "The average hour" to hike mountain this applies to a young more fit crowd and certainly to Ironman-types who we saw run up the mountain. But it can be done at my age and older! Some had walking sticks which I could see being both helpful and a hindrance on some parts of the trail. Wearing light-weight knit pants, long-sleeved shirt, and Keen brand closed-toe trail shoes seemed sufficient. The more traction the better as there is some slippery gravel parts. It was a nice partly sunny day with a chance of rain in mid-July. At one point, I stripped down to my tank top as I got warm. We took many rest tops to enjoy the fabulous views, take pictures, and catch our breath. The railroad tie steps were steep and we felt that was the hardest part of the ascend. I brought raisins, banana, and water and consumed all while on the trail. Hikers brought their dogs with them who seemed to enjoy the hike. There were toddlers in back packs and young children though I did not see children climbing the last 500 ft of rocky trail. We needed more than a hour to make it to the top. We fell shy of the top (being on a 1 hour time clock with our shuttle) by about 400 feet where the hand-over-hand rock climb began. From reports from those who took the short cut(s), it was much more difficult than following the trail with some difficult, hand-over-hand rock climbing. The descent was easy and fun and took less than 30 minutes. I seriously can't wait to do this again!!

2014-07-20