I got lucky today. Perfect weather – not too hot or cold, no clouds, the views were forever. I started up the trail at 6:24 am and saw no one on the way up and a grand total of five people (a party of two and a party of three) on the way down. Beautiful.
It took me about 1 hour and 5 minutes to navigate up to the balcony, which is important because I do want to do this hike in time to watch the sun rise from that lofty perch. That means going up this trail with a headlamp. There are numerous side trails that lead to rock-climbing slabs so it is important to watch the trail signs. But doing this in the dark should be possible.
About 2/3 of the way up there is a great viewpoint looking south and west:
The trail itself is excellent:
There is also a nice view of one of my favorite bridges, the Mine Creek bridge:
And here is the track:
All in all a very good workout and a fun hike. I expect to do something on Friday, not sure just what.