We got lucky and scored a permit, woohoo!
We arrived to the parking lot around 0830 this morning. It was about half full already. There are rangers at the start of the trailhead checking for permits and IDs before you can start. We saw them turning away folks without permits and encouraging them to take the shuttle instead. Make sure to have your parking pass as well.
This was our second time doing this trail. The weather was absolutely beautiful today! As always though, once you get to the meadows, nearing the top, the wind gets really, really strong. Winds were probably a steady 30-40 MPH with even stronger gusts.
We decided to take the "difficult" trail this time, since we did the "more difficult" trail last time. It is a fairly steep hike - bring poles! The first Meadow was stunning, views of the gorge and lots of Balsam root and some lupine popping as well.
Once nearing the old lookout area, the wind really started whipping. The balsam root was popping up there! Even better than the lower meadow. It started to sprinkle and we were socked in a cloud, but decided to go the last 0.5 miles to summit. No views at the summit, but the cloud start to break as we came back down. We decided to take the same trail down as we did coming up.
It took us a little less than 3.5 hours RT, with lots of time for wildflower pictures. My watch tracked 6.5 miles. Lots of hikers and dogs today, but it never felt too crowded.
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