Caveats 1: It is hard
The trail is difficult. The sections are given difficulty ratings, and most were, like, 3/5. I think Leonidas’ 300 hiked these and set the ratings. This is a steep trail. There is some dividing line where “steep hike” becomes “free solo”, and Menalon walks right up to the edge.
We spent five days, which meant that days 2, 3, and 4 were “double-stages”. Our daily distances and ascent were:
| Distance (miles) | Ascent (feet) |
|---|---|
| 7.76 | 2,707 |
| 11.86 | 2,982 |
| 8.76 | 1,539 |
| 9.62 | 2,714 |
| 8.63 | 1,956 |
For a total of 45.3 miles and 9,726 feet of elevation gained. The low point of the trail was 1,378 feet, and the high point was 6,636 feet.
We’ve done more distance and ascent on trails in the Swiss Alps, but Menalon doesn’t believe in that zig-zag thing for gaining altitude. Why zig and zag when you can go straight up!
Some parts of the trail are eroded, despite the best efforts of the maintainers (no different from what we’ve seen in Switzerland, but slippery, scary, and difficult nevertheless).
