The Crosier Mountain Trail from the Garden Gate Trailhead drops steeply down the hillside from the road and small parking area. From there, you climb back up a hill to only drop again and pass a popular rock climbing area known as "The Monastery." After passing the "The Monastery," the trail evens out a little and you climb up and over rolling hills until you reach a pretty meadow with some nice camping spots. Once you hike through the meadow, you climb again up a gully, leveling off once you reach a dense pine forest and you meet up with the Rainbow Trail. The summit of Crosier Mountain is only about 0.5 miles from here up a spur trail. Some folks continue down the Rainbow Trail, rather than backtracking, to make a large loop, do you do need to hike back to the Garden Gate Trailhead from the Rainbow Trailhead on a Forest Service road if you choose to do this.