Our summer has started off busy, so this was my first opportunity to revisit my regular hiking route up to Incline Peak. When I started out, I was determined to beat my best time from last year. But in doing so, I totally burned myself out on the first mile, so I ended up taking numerous breaks, albeit brief, on the way up. I thought I had no chance of breaking my record.

This is my least favorite section of the trail. It is steep, loose, and rocky. But it’s the last tough stretch before you get to the spur for Incline Peak, so it also means you’re almost there…kind of.

Once on the spur to the peak, there are 3 steep sections to conquer before reaching the peak.

Much to my surprise, when I reached the top, I beat my best time by 1 minute, 46 seconds.

After stopping to have a snack and take a few photos at the top, I started back down and was happy to see all of the wildflowers in bloom along the way.

In addition to the wildflowers, on the descend, I heard a small waterfall I never noticed before and went off trail to find it.

The flowers along the creek were plentiful and pretty.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=VOQcXjZsyDM%3Fautoplay%3D0%26mute%3D0%26controls%3D1%26origin%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.mustbringsnacks.com%26playsinline%3D1%26showinfo%3D0%26rel%3D0%26iv_load_policy%3D3%26modestbranding%3D1%26enablejsapi%3D1%26widgetid%3D1

I was happy to have set a new record to the top, but the beauty along the trail on the way down, that I only noticed when I slowed down, was awesome.

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