The last 8 miles drive on The road to Deer Park is washboard dirt and has a few new narrow spots where only one car can pass thru, along an exposed cliff, so please pay attention and drive mindfully as it would be a catastrophic fall. Most are courteous to move the best they can when passing. Note, no RVs/trailers due to one issues. The trail begins near a ranger hut and a clean porta potty. The trail starts off with .7 miles downhill then you begin your climb the first 2 miles is in partial shade then be prepared for full sun exposure more climb and expansive 360 views hiking along the ridge (the mountains look 3-D.)
my tip is to continue to the second hump, which is the true maiden peak. You’ll see the trip a trail viewer to the right then you can come up the back and have a fun little scramble to reach the top where there’s an elevation marker. Then usually from that marker, I continue down the left side to take a peek down into the bowl where there is very little snow right now. Everything is just about melted out. The trail is extremely dry and surprisingly pretty buggy. We clocked 7.8 miles and 2000 elevation. We ran into Matt and S who were hiking this trail for the first time and passed 3 other day hikers who had fancy hiking chairs parked by windy gap and 2 backpackers beginning their journey to Grand Lake.
It is a truly lovely hike but due to the altitude. If you’re a new hiker, you may feel this one in your lungs a bit but it’s always worth it.
Tip: bring more water than you think you need. It is extremely exposed out on the ridge and you will drink your camel pack down. I always bring an additional water bottle when hiking this area.
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