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Rebekah Sylvester

Trail was well marked and only crowded in the first mile to Alberta Falls. After that we basically had the trail to ourselves. Still hiked through some snow near the lake but totally manageable and the views were still lovely.

Great easy to moderate hike. We hit the lollipop loop up on Valentine’s Day and only saw two other people. Would highly recommend a map as there are many turns and roads that you will cross on the way! We did 6 miles by doing a lollipop loop and hiked down in the dark with headlamps after sunset. Trails are in great condition; lots of owls, rabbits and birds. The stairs are a lot shorter than I expected as I’ve done the real stairway to Heaven in Hawaii as well as Koko head. Still a good burner and they lead to great views up top!

So nice to get past the Cowles crowds and add some quality miles to your hike! Good range of ups and downs that add 3 miles in to the Cowles grind. I ran in to maybe 3 people the entire trail. Took my dog and had a quiet trail to myself.

We did this but came in a different way and did a 14 mile round trip hike. Timed it to get sunset at the main trestle and a star studded night hike out. Can't beat the stars out there with no city lights. While technically it's not legal to go on the tracks we basically hiked on or near them and hit multiple tunnels and bridges there & back. Amazing pictures and not a soul in sight besides us. We went on a weekday.