After driving around for 45 mins. I finally found a neighborhood to park in. This experience has made me despise EVERY homeowner in the area that lobbied to have the parking signs put everywhere within a mile radius. A**holes!
There is even a cul-de-sac- where 44th street turns in to McDonald and they put signs up there... THERE'S NO HOUSES THERE!!!! WHY WOULD YOU DO DUMB SH*T LIKE THAT?!?!
Anyway, they do have a shuttle, so you turn right at the McDonald/Tatum light on to McDonald going east. Go down that road what seems like 10 miles. Turn left at the "hikers parking" sign or "Invergordon Road" and then turn right into the Police station/Post office. I think It's 5-6 bucks both ways. It is WAY too far to walk. Worth it to do this.
Minus 2 points for NONEXISTANT parking and when there is parking it's NOT FREE.
The hike is brutal. I hate seeing young kids doing it because I think it has become MORE dangerous to go down than in past years due to how many hikers there are and erosion. I literally saw this father half carrying his 10-11 year old son down who looked like his legs had given out. Not a safe situation.
I fell twice and rolled my ankle once. I have done Camelback probably 10 times. But no matter how advanced you are, there are a ton of people who don't know how to hike and leave loose rocks and kick dirt around so there's no great ridges to walk down the whole way. Everything is either steep or coated in sand.
With the ankle rolling... My ankle rolls like once every 3 months. I have piss-poor ankles so don't judge the hike unless you're in the same boat. Judge the hike based off of the falls. Because I have never fallen down on any hike on any other mountain. Just sayin'.
Totally worth it at the top. BUT be prepared for your joints to want to give out or your muscles to not work properly if this is your first hike. You're spent at the middle... and it's a looong way down.