Great day on trail. Parking lot was full by 8 AM. Along with the small street parking bit.

Trail was busy, lots of people out. No obstacles.

Highlights: wildflowers and thimble berries

Reset the hiking pack earlier this week and forgot snacks and water (first  time ever). Managed to find one 500ml water bottle and somehow botched that up too by spilling more than half ( bottle fell down from pack). Not the ideal day to hike with as little water as that. Lesson learnt. Was also running on click 1 pm to 4pm Bellevue to Bellevue. barely made it back

The beautiful stone steps sure were a workout! The trail was well-maintained with lots of logs and rocks along the way for a quick break, which was perfect for my 11 year olds and 8 year old to catch their breath on the way up. The view was gorgeous, even on an overcast day. we parked at 620 with only a handful of other cars, but by the time we came down around 9 the lot was full. Worth the early rise!

That elevation gain was no joke. This is not the hike for someone (like me) who has been slacking on going to the gym lol. The view at the top was beautiful but hard to see from all of the sweat in my eyes.

Beautiful, jungle-like hike. Started before 7am and there were a couple other hikers. Dry and easy to navigate the stone steps. Definitely steeper in parts than Rattlesnake.

As you approach the first viewpoint the trees thin and the breeze comes in, relieving some humidity. Clear views of Rainier. Short ascent to the true top, looking out over Issaquah. Didn't see any paragliders at the top, but did see one landing as I left the parking lot. Lots of folks coming up after 9am with a full parking lot.