The drive into the trailhead is part of the adventure for this short hike. USFS 37 starts off well enough but soon degenerates. The old pavement is eroding away and large patches are missing, especially along the sides of the road. Things actually improve somewhat once the pavement ends because the gravel is in pretty good shape. However, as noted in the trail description, after the turnoff to USFS 39, the road condition deteriorates and driving was a bit tricky. The road surface is sandy with loose rocks and well-developed washboard, and the road goes quite steeply uphill as it winds along an open hillside. There is scarcely room for vehicles to pass, so we were glad not to meet any. Fortunately, this section of the drive is fairly short. You come on the trailhead quite suddenly as the road crests a rise, crosses a cattle guard and turns sharply left. There is room for several cars beside the road just past the trailhead.
The trail itself is in good shape. Five or six logs are across the trail in the lower section, but none pose significant difficulties. We ducked under one, detoured around another and climbed over the rest. A few small patches of snow still persist along the trail, but only one is on the trail itself and that one is crossed in a few steps. At the top, there are still big ridges of old snow along the north face of the mountain, but the top is entirely snow free.
The flower display was modest along the lower, more sheltered section of the trail. We noted some arnica, a few penstemons and lupins, several flowering currents, and a few patches of glacier lilies, as well as other, smaller flowers. The grassy open areas higher up were largely without blooms. Much more impressive displays of flowers, especially lupins and scarlet gilia, lined the roadside on the drive to and from the trailhead.
The trail was definitely not crowded on this Thursday morning. We met one couple hiking out as we hiked in, and another hiking in as we hiked out. While at the top, we had the mountain to ourselves as we enjoyed the extraordinary 360-degree views.
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