This was the perfect day to start out the fall hiking season. We had planned on doing this trail last winter but the opportunity never happened, so it seemed right to start off with the Ballantine Trail. We began the uphill trail at 6:30 with a temperature of 48 degrees. There was no sense of urgency as this was the first hike of the season for us. The plan was to be done about 1:30pm. We made good time to the cabin after stopping several times to enjoy the view and catch our breath. After having a 30 min lunch at the cabin the trip resumed and for the next 2 miles we had to bushwhack our way through some very thick and overgrown cat claw, cactus and every other thing that will stick, prick or cut you. It looked like we went through a meat grinder after we made it to the top of the ridge. The trail was practically nonexistent and extremely over grown. I would not recommend doing it if you do not have a GPS and good route finding skills, and a few pints of extra blood with you. We lost the trail (if you can even call it a trail) many times in the 2 miles and 2 hour adventure. We made it back to the trail head exhausted and bloody at about 3:30pm. Overall it was a hike to remember, we only saw 3 other hikers all day on the Pine Creek Loop North as we were heading out.