This was my second Colorado 14er and, unfortunately, I did it on a Saturday. There's a sign near the beginning that says "311,000 people climb [sic] a 14er each year", and I think all of them were on this hike. Thankfully there weren't any boomboxes.
Unlike my first CO 14er (Bierstadt), this is a Class 1 trail all the way. However, there are big steps and, unless you're very acclimated, those will take the breath out of you. The last third is also quite steep. On the plus side, there's no real false summit. You can see the close to the top from down below. The trail starts off a road and heads up over roots and rocks. That part reminded me of Vermont. But, it soon breaks out into a clearer area and before long you'll see the steepness up ahead.
One of my many regrets is that, as I was descending, a herd of big horn sheep came walking up the trail right next to me and I didn't have the presence of mind to video them. It was a great experience but also a little scary since those horns are sharp and I didn't want to piss them off.
I used the shuttle bus and, aside from having to wait a bit at the end, that worked well. I also got lucky driving there. I was speeding as usual and a cop flashed his lights at me but left it at that.
