We got a tip from our teammate that this was his favorite hike, and and although it was difficult to find (park before the bridge that leads to the golf course), we eventually found the trail head. The man at the gate was extremely helpful despite challenging us by telling us marines finish the entire thing in about 90 minutes (and Recons in 45). We were also warned that some boars had recently given birth and if we were charged we should look for a nearby tree and try to get to it before the boar did. Luckily we didn’t need to jump up into any trees, but we did see a boar at one point (and we all looked around for low branches immediately). When I heard the trail was steep I brushed it off. I’ve hiked Half Dome several times, and there are some nasty (lots of stairs) sections on that, and even though we were just coming off of 3 days of playing ultimate and usually I wouldn’t be able to move after that much exercise. Well this trail is STEEP! I’m talking 1600ft elevation gain in under a mile steep, with several rock walls with ropes hanging down so that you can climb up them. It was also completely worth it. The views along the trail were spectacular, but nothing could compare to the top. At the top of the first peak, it was only a few meters wide, maybe 10 long, and just barely enough space for 5 people, but the views! Oh the views! We didn’t have time to go to the other peaks (which were apparently even steeper!) because we had to return the rental car before 6pm. With a a little over a mile left to go and about 40 minutes before closing we decided we had to start running for it. 7 minutes later we were out of the jungle, back in the car, and cruising towards Enterprise, getting there with a solid 10 minutes to spare.

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