Our party of two, and a couple pups, completed this hike on a sunny Thursday. This is a strenuous hike over a rough, poorly marked trail. It's a workout, so come prepared with plenty of water, for people and dogs, and do some navigation pre-work at home. I'd suggest plotting out the route on your favorite hiking app at home so you will know where to turn. Mt. Washington is not even mentioned as a destination on the trailhead sign in the parking lot. Further, there are a number of trail junctions with no or only ad hoc signage. The average grade of the trail is about 15% and there are many sections with loose rocks; I would definitely recommend trekking poles. The upper half of the trail is brushy in spots, but no nettles or thorns. The mosquitoes appear about half way up and get increasingly bad as you approach the summit. Bring bug spray and maybe a head net! The summit is forested with a weather station and limited views to the north. There is a great view to the south just before the summit, featuring Mt. Rainier and Chester Morse Lake. There were nice wildflowers in this area too.
A big plus of the trail difficulty and poor signage is that there are few hikers compared to other trails in the North Bend area. We saw just one other hiker the whole day.
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