Hiking with teenagers, we weren't sure how they would do with all this "wilderness stuff".......I mean how could they keep up with Snapchat streaks without cell service! Haha Well it turns out that even teen boys could appreciate all this trail has to offer. We hiked the NCT side first which I think was a good idea. It is quite hard and there was no water source, so we carried enough to get us to our first 10 miles. Also there is not a whole lot to see on this side..... Then we came to the most beautiful view on top of a high bluff . It was absolutely in beautiful place set up camp..... although we needed to be down close to the river, so we could swim and have a water source right close by. We found a great site not too far off. It was located about 1 mile after the first big bluff where to can see the river. There is nice fire pits and it has easy river access. The only people we saw here were way up on the bluff above on the MRT . The next day we hiked the rest of the loop. There were several numbered sites on the MTR side and plenty of beautiful views of the river. And since we were with teenagers I can say, there was decent cell service on and off through the entire trail. This hike is well worth doing, but proved to be a bit tough for 1 night/2 days. I believe it was about 11-13 miles per day when you add in the couple areas where we lost the trail. Great hike with enough to see to keep even teenagers happy.