Fantastic hike. Trail was steep at times but not terrible. Most of the forks in the trail were marked by sticks arranged into arrows. Hiked with my mother, 10-year old brother, and border collie. The views of Lake Cle Elum were incredible. Many of the trees on the way up were burned (from a fire in 2017?), but this allowed for better visibility of the surroundings. The wild flowers were in full bloom and were beautiful. Saw several deer on the way up and then an inquisitive deer kept approaching us near the summit. Also saw a few hummingbirds on the way up and an unidentifiable blue bird, yellow bird, and green-yellow bird. Saw a red hawk on the way down. Also saw a chipmunk. A little disappointed the clouds prevented visibility of Mt. Rainier, but had a great unobstructed view of Mt. Stuart.
Started at ~6:30AM and finished around 11:00AM. Saw one lone hiker near the summit on the way up (we were the second hikers to summit), and fewer than ten on the way down. This is an underrated hike that I am looking forward to doing again!
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