Well, on the plus side I had the trail to myself. Literally did not see a single person unless you count campers at Morrison Creek Campground or climbers going up Piker's Peak (5000' above me...).
So. Road in. FR23 was in great shape. As usual that paved section just before the gravel bit coming from Randle was the worst section. You could absolutely total a car in some of the potholes. Otherwise, the only other rough section is a bit of washboard before the trailhead. If you want to park right at the trailhead be careful-- you can easily high center if you have less than 8" of clearance, and maybe even then I banged up my car with a rock. Honda Passport was fine but you can hear a little scraping.
As for the trail.
The first mile is rough. Nearly constant blowdowns. The good news is that the trees themselves are pretty small and easy to walk over. Those that cannot be easily stepped over can be walked around... just be careful to re-acquire the trail quickly because it can be shockingly hard to find. I don't know how easy it would be to actually get right proper lost (you're bracketed by Morrison Creek and Crofton Creek/ Ridge to the east and west respectively, and trails to the north and south), but I suppose it can happen.
The first mile and a half the trail can be kind of faint even if you disregard the blowdowns, and on that note it's a burn forest until about mile 1.8. But really by that mile 1.2 or so the trail improves DRAMATICALLY. It's just a rough start. On the plus side, you do have a metric ton of beargrass to look at.
Once you reach Shorthorn Camp (mile 2.2) you have your first easy water access, and the trail gets a fair bit rockier. Nothing too hard, just like looking at all the andesite.
Crofton Creek was interesting. Easy crossing and clean water, but the gully it in makes it obvious it's a geohazard zone. On the plus side, TONS of butterflies! But also one hornet. Just one singular one that followed me for a quarter mile and met me at the EXACT same spot on the return, following me back to the creek. That was weird...
I decided to also cross country to Shorthorn Butte. It was, alright. It had the best view of Adams on the trail, but it's too forested to see Mt St Helens or Indian Heaven. For that, continue Westward on the Around the Mountain Trail for another 0.1-0.25 miles.
As far as the usual issues, surprisingly no bugs! One or two large flies on Shorthorn Butte but they didn't bite. And some mosquitos around Shorthorn Camp but again no biting. That seems to be a serious improvement compared to other Adams approaches right now like Stagman Ridge or Killen Creek. No snow either!
Other than trees, there are two somewhat steep sections with sketchy tread: at mile 1.4 leading up to Shorthorn Meadow is a bit eh. And then again immediately after Crofton Creek.
If it's windy, those trees get really creaky. Pay attention. Also virtually no shade.
The creek crossing after Shorthorn Camp isn't impossible without getting feet wet, but it's hard.
Morrison Creek had a shocking number of deer. I know cougar sightings on the south side of Adams aren't unheard of, sooo... there is that. For what it's worth I didn't see any tracks or scat, but the trail can be kind of spooky.
Oh also I was able to watch a Blackhawk helicopter medivac someone over by South Butte.
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