No surprise, we started early. We got to the top of the first climb just in time to see the sun rise through the trees on the ridge. In just two and a half miles we'd climbed half the total gain of the whole loop. And it was steep. That's why we did it at the beginning. Better to tackle it on fresh legs, even if they were now effectively trashed.

The next stretch was new to all of us. It dropped away from the high point we'd just gained and then up to the next point on the ridge. Then down and back up. Down. Up. Get the picture? Not exactly a relaxing ridge run. The trail was also degrading the farther north we traveled. This section is frequented by motorcycles and it shows.

Our next intersection returned us to a section of the trail I'd been on before. It had only been two years, but it was Treen's last big hike so it seems like it's been far longer. We cruised down the hill, back on hiker-only trail, knowing we had only one last climb. It wasn't a big one, only 200 feet, but after more than 4,000 feet of climbing it felt longer.

All that was left was a five mile, 3,000 foot descent through a lush valley. We hadn't seen anyone all morning and only saw a handful the rest of the way down. This is one of my favorite stretches of trail, but it just seemed to stretch on forever.

Now that I've checked this off my list there's no reason to do a couple of the less interesting sections again. I'll probably go up through the lush valley again, but definitely not the steep or newest sections any time soon. Don't worry, though. I've got a bunch of other pointless loops to complete so we'll never get bored.