No views today in the fog on this Fathers Day morning as I started at 7:15 am. There were some wildflowers blooming along the side of the trail below the lower balcony where the trails breaks out in the open. Quite the assortment of colors. Pics 1-3 were all taken at this location!!

Trail becomes all snow at 4300 ft. The snow was  consolidated, so I headed up without putting on gaiters or spikes. I put on gaiters coming down, as I was wearing shorts, and water was getting in the inside of my boots. Not from the snow, but from the limbs of the small fir trees that were encroaching the trail due to them being bent by the snow. The snow here up to the summit is quite deep in spots, 2-4 ft in the open spots, with next to nothing under the trees. The forested summit had no snow, and with the fog, it was like looking down into the abyss!! Good to get up early, while the snow was still consolidated

Just to update 6/4 report.

There is still snow as described. Microspikes and poles are handy.

A fair number of stream crossings. The one at the Museum turn-off is the biggest. You cross it partly by walking on a loose log or a wet one parallel to it. After the rains forecast for the rest of the week, it could be higher or faster. Poles help. 

Some wildflowers, both above, below, and at the balcony.

Also some bugs. At one point, some of us wished for bug juice. The rest of us just didn't want to stop. 

Hiked to Dirty Harry’s Balcony, Museum, and Peak — a hat trick! 

I agree with some other trip reports below that the balcony itself is less impressive than some of the viewpoints below. 

For the museum, you do NOT have to bushwhack to get to it. Hike past the balcony turnoff until you get to the Museum Creek crossing. There are a few places the creek crosses the path—you want the main one, not the first tiny stream. There is a proper trail to bring you up to the “museum,” marked with a cairn and everything, on your right *just* before you cross the creek. Look for the cairn! Wish I’d have know that as it would have saved me a small bushwhack. 

For the peak itself, the views are totally worth the trek, but there’s snow for the last mile or so of trail. We schlepped our way up with just poles, but do yourself a favor and bring microspikes. 

Hiked on 5/17. Went out attempting to hike to the peak today but reached the stream crossing around mile 3.1 and the water was high and running fast so it didn't seem safe to cross, probably from all the rain this past weekend. No snow at this point! Had a great hike until this point, really enjoyed the trail and all the view points along the way. Hiking to the balcony is definitely worth it to me. There were also lots of spots to go climbing along the way if anyone is interested in that. 

Bottom Line: Despite living in the area, this was my first time on the trail. It has some similarly to parts of Little Si and the Chirico trail up Poo Poo Point. There are probably more scenic trails in the vicinity, but on a quiet day with a lot of solitude, the trail suited me just fine. Flowers at the bottom, but it is still winter-ish as you get higher; I did not encounter snow, but others were coming down with snowshoes :)

Statistics:

• Distance: 6-1/2 miles
• Vertical: 2210 feet
• Duration: 3 hours
• Trail: Good condition and well signed; fairly rocky with muddy spots; many ledges on the way up with good views of east to Snoqualmie Pass; second growth forest with rocky cliffs, domes and scree slopes; trail beyond Dirty Harry's balcony is a former road conversion (I honestly found it kind of dull, and only went as far as the major creek crossing the trail, which you can definitely get by without getting wet)
• Weather: Mostly cloudy and cooler as the day progressed

Not a lot of options on this trail, other than taking the climber's access loop on the way down, which is definitely a rougher trail with some exposure. This forms a small loop near the bottom, but generally this is an out-and-back. The beginning of the trail has most of the flowers - especially the profuse bleeding hearts right at the start. I think the lower ledges are more impressive than the official "Dirty Harry's Balcony" - my pic below is from a lower spot :)

PS. No car break-in like this hike the other day - so that was a plus! :)