great hike today!

It was an early spring, partly cloudy day. Around 11am on a Saturday, the parking area near the gate at the road was nearly full. Going up was easy, coming down hurt my knees. At the top are bathrooms. Took us about 90 minutes to climb and 15 minutes less than that to descend. The weather turned when we summited. Became cloudy and the air up there was near freezing. Started to rain a bit. That's ok, we were prepared. The clouds parted every so often to afford us some nice views. We looked out the North and Western view then walked the forest road south a bit to see the south lookout. Seattle was hidden behind a light veil of clouds. Lots of people to chat with. All in all, it was a great training hike that created everlasting memories.

The Mount Walker trail gains 2,000' in only 2 miles - a steep trail. But the trail is excellent, consistent grade, well drained tread, a surprisingly easy way to gain this much elevation. No blowdowns. We hiked in mixed drizzle and wind, no snow on the route, only peek-a-boo views from the summit. We returned by walking down the road, closed to vehicles at this season, for a 6-mile RT hike. Park at the closed gate where the road leaves US 101. No permit needed to park here.

The sun finally decided to show itself, so I wanted to get in a great workout in the sunshine. I took the trail up, and the road back down. The trail itself is in great condition, the road has a few rockslide areas but they are all easy to walk around. The snow has all melted from the summit, but the views of the neighboring Olympics with their snowy tops were great. I could even see Seattle, but it was too hazy to see Mt. Rainier.

Dusting at the top