This is one of my favorite hikes: It's short and steep, has terrific views, and the trail is downright pretty in spots. My goal was the knee-high blueberry covered meadow near the end of the trail. However, at 4100', I realized the rain bouncing off the brim of my ball cap was solid - I was being hailed upon! Since hail is often accompanied by Thor's hammer, I decided retreating to the car was my wisest choice, and left the blueberries to the bears. The lower portion of the trail is in great shape. The boardwalks have suffered mightily from the weather and are crumbling - do not day dream while crossing them. There are a few trees across the trail, but they're easily stepped over/under. If you're spending the night to catch the sunset on Shuksan, carry water. The last dribble deep enough to dip a nalgene bottle into is not far from the wilderness area border (about 3700', I think).

We hiked three miles up the trail. The trail was in good shape. From about two miles on there was some wet snow, but the trail was always visible. The views of the Nooksack Ridge, Shuksan, and Baker were about the clearest I have seen. We had the trail to ourselves and a look at the registration book indicated light use. Although this is a moderately steep trail the bed is in such good shape that it take a lot of the hard work out of it.

Sunday was a great day with mainly clear skies. The trail from the parking lot gains elevation right from the git go. The 100 Hikes book discribes the first 2 miles fairly well.I didn't go to the old lookout site but the views starting at about 5000 feet are great. I recommend continuing up the meadows and to the top to get even better sights. The trail is quite sketchy in places but your destination is right in front of you and up. When you top out on the ridge you have Baker, Shuksan, the Pickets, and a slew of others in front of you. The stiff climb also weeds out most people so I could enjoy a quite nap by myself.

We climbed part way up Goat Mountain (north of Shuksan) on a beautiful day. Views of Baker, Shuksan, Hannegan Creek Valley, etc. were stupendous. The point to make is that the views get better and better the higher you go. The blueberry crop was bountiful in the upper reaches. It should be pointed out that the 100 Hikes description is a little misleading, since the trail to the lookout has been blocked off, and you hike quite a ways through shrub and grass land (with some trees) before coming out into the true meadows, where the views begin. It took us almost three hours to hike up to the really interesting mountainside meadows, not 1-1/2 hours as implied by the guide. John, Sue, Tim, and Len Goff

I won't give a detailed trail description here, as part of the fun of hiking is discovering and exploring on your own. The trail is in good shape and not quite as dry as we were told by two people at the trailhead. If you're going to the viewpoint at 5100 feet, your last water supply is at approx. 4500 feet. This was a small spring-fed stream about 12 inches across. If you're destination is the west summit--6725 feet--your last water supply, another spring-fed stream, is at approx. 5800 feet, unless you have a means of melting snow on top. Although both streams still had a lot of water, or at least enough to pump from. I have no idea how long they will last into the summer. Without these two water sources, the trail is dry above 3600 feet. We did see a juvenile bear just below the viewpoint, but I think there are plenty of blueberries for both the bears and humans. The views are incredible from both the 5100 foot viewpoint and the top.