I started this hike from the Dalles Ridge trail head. TLDR: Very nice hike but getting to the trail head is not something I will do again. Perhaps the effort would be worth it for back packing.
This trail is very nice. It is mostly in the forest and not very steep for the first roughly 1.75 miles. Plenty of ups and downs through a forest that has obviously suffered from fire fairly recently. A few intermittent views of Rainier along the way and a few blow downs. None are deal-killers but a couple need a bit of care.
The Dalles Ridge Trail intersects the Noble Knob Trail and from there it does get a little steep but nothing too difficult. There was one patch of snow near the summit of Noble Knob, perhaps 15 yards wide that had me treading carefully, using my hiking stick on the downhill side.
The views on the top are tremendous (see the first photo). But as nice as this hike is there are hikes as good and even better that do not require long treks on washboardy/pothole-ridden service roads.
By the way, if you are driving 410 from Enumclaw the 23.7 mile measurement may be accurate (where do you start measuring) but another tip is to look for milepost 48. The turn to FS72 is marked and is on the left, not far after the 48 mile marker.
All in all it was a good day but, as I say, I think I will pass on the Dalles Ridge Trail head in the future.
I clocked this about 6 miles round trip.
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