I arrived at the trailhead around 10:30am and there were plenty of available parking spots. This was my first time doing Dirty Harry's Peak, but I've done Balcony once before. It was a hot day (80+ degrees F) so I packed one Nalgene with Liquid IV water plus a full LifeStraw filtering soft bottle. I drank the equivalent of three Nalgenes, filtering twice at the large creek halfway up the Peak trail. I also put my hat in the streams a lot. I was by myself, so the higher I went, the more concerned I got about heatstroke, staying damp and drinking often was key.
The trail up until the fork to the Peak was in great condition. If you're going all the way to the Peak, I recommend sturdy shoes/boots because this trail is quite rocky. Overall the trail is in good condition, but the higher you go the more overgrown it gets. My legs got scratched a few times. There was one small tree down across the trail but it was easy to step over. Also, the higher you went, the more mosquitoes came out. They weren't necessarily annoying, but I definitely killed at least 10 on my way up. I had the summit to myself (and most of the hike, to be honest) and wore a bug net over my head just to keep my sanity. The views were stunning!
When I got back down to the river, I took a swim before heading to the car. Well deserved! Gaia stats: 4hrs 10 minutes (moving time), 8.1 miles, 3,348ft elevation gain.
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