We had an awesome day with bluebird skies on the mountain. We got to the sno-park at 8:15am, barely sneaking into the overflow parking lot and returned to the parking lot at 4pm. Bootpack was nice and firm, and we only used microspikes for the trek. All in all, it was a typical crowded day hike in Washington and I can't think of anything notable that hasn't been mentioned in other trip reports.
Recommendations/Somethings I will do differently in the future:
- Make sure you bring sunscreen and water! It's completely exposed beyond 4000' and the snow doesn't help. The weather report predicted a wind chill of 18 degrees at the summit, but it felt like 60 degrees as there was no wind throughout the day. I'm glad I brought the extra layers, but it was just extra weight.
- We used microspikes the whole way, but the snow was relatively soft at 10am and was an absolute slush pile at 2pm, which made glissading a bit challenging. Would definitely recommend getting on the mountain early for a real alpine start with crampons/ice axe.
- If you're looking for solitude and time to reflect about your place in the universe or your role/impact in this crazy world, this is not your hike. At least not during the unrestricted permit season. We were surrounded by hikers and skiers the whole time. The false summit was swamped by 50ish people/dogs hanging out uncomfortably close to the ridge cornices. It might be worth coming back in worse conditions just to get away from people talking about road traffic or how they bought a house in Portland.
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