Hiked the old trail up and the new trail down. The old trail was tough, the trail is not in the best condition to the point where it was difficult to see switchbacks and lots of hikers were just climbing straight up the mountain. Would NOT suggest doing the old trial in any type of rain as water would make this hike dangerous. Definitely required some active paying attention to where we were going to see/find the trail blazes. The new trail on the way down was easy to follow and there were very few obstacles. The hike was exhausting but absolutely worth it. There was lots of beargrass blooming and the view from the top was incredible! My only complaint is there were LOTS of flies that were very interested in our food and were a bit annoying at the peak. Some mosquitoes along the trail that could get excessive after a rainstorm.
We got to the trailhead at 7 and by 7:15 both the upper and lower parking lots were full. Lots of cars parked along the road (illegally) when we got back to the trailhead. If you plan to do this hike on a weekend, you should expect the lots to be full early.
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