This is one relentless trail of gain. Right from the beginning the trail starts up unforgivingly off from the Suiattle River Trail and never gives up. If you look at a map of the route the tightly spaced graphic squiggles don't seem to represent the number of switchbacks and of course a real-time view of the number of downed trees on the trail. But the tread is excellent with a soft cover of duff and very few rocks or roots. The forest is mostly hemlocks and Douglas firs and a floor of salal and Oregon grape. There is no evidence of logging in the area. The only cut trees appear to have been for trail maintenance. We thought that with the cool temperatures the bugs would be gone, but when we stopped along the trail there were small annoying gnats of mosquitos. The route spends ninety nine percent of the distance in the trees, so when you break out onto the hundred yards or so at the top of ridge you are suddenly high in the middle of the mountains. When we were on the trail we had no idea what the conditions would be at the top. The clouds had come in and there was a brief period of light rain but once at the summit the clouds were high enough that we had clear views of Glacier Peak, Sulphur Mountain, Sulphur Mountain Lake and the Suiattle River valley. There was also enough of a breeze to keep the bugs at bay. The trail is in need of some maintenance on some of the narrow areas where the tread slopes down hill and of course the many blow downs. FR-26 is in much better shape since the last two trips on it. The potholes and eroded sections have been nicely graded.

Reached the trailhead at the end of the Suiattle River Rd at 10am. No issues with the road, just some avoidable potholes and occasional washboarding. Managed to miss the turnoff for the Sulphur Mountain trail on the first pass, despite the obvious sign (it's before to the Suiattle River trail register, and not further along, as shown incorrectly in the Northwest Trails v1.80 maps). The trail had a great tread (no rocks or loose dirt), but was steep at times, and there were at least a dozen blowdowns (a few of which could be tricky if you aren't slim and have long legs). Had lunch at the top of the ridge before heading back down. Despite seeing half a dozen cars in the parking lot, I didn't encounter anyone on the trail (other than a Douglas squirrel and a pair of grouse).