What can I say, but the trail is not any easy one. Steep, rooty, rocky, and muddy. The first third is not too bad, up to 3 O'clock Rock climbing wall, then it degrades. As noted by others, there is a large tree that came down across the trail, it is passable with some difficulty. If I were going up there again, I would take a hand saw, since a little bit of effort on the root ball and an easy detour could be made.
The views at the pass make the trail worth it! Beautiful! And, as Mr. Nieminen said (July 28th) in his review, the views get even better if you hike/scramble to the ridge just west of Higher Squire Peak.
The blueberries are ripe and plentiful, above 3500 feet, and are less tart at the pass. We did not see Mr/Mrs Bear, but did see scat that was loaded with berry remains. Obviously, the bears are loving them, too. The recent rains have made some mushrooms flourish. In the fauna department, we saw some unusual critters for this area: toads, frogs, and a large lizard. A family of grouse took flight in front of us. There were some mosquitos, but not bad, and pretty much just at the trailhead.
The road (6+ miles) is in good shape (and I don't say that often about the crappy Cascades roads), good enough that most cars/trucks with decent tires will make it.
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