This is a very nice hike, it's more on the isolated side compared to others. I followed the WTA path, starting at the homestead valley trailehead, hiking into the gravel, going into the tiny hole-in-the-wall enterace of the trail, hiking to the connector and transferring to the Mount Washington trail, and then reaching the peak.
As said before, this is a very isolated hike, so don't expect to see many people. I saw a total of maybe 9 on the entire hike. The condition of the trail is good, the beginning is rocky so poles may not be super useful but later it becomes more dirt-y, and then rock and dirt and so on until the peak. It's mostly completely surrounded by tree or rock so don't expect any views until the Owl Hike Spot. There are also a few more places, one that was sort of like a valley and then of course the peak. There is also one strange place, where it's SUPER dense with foilage. However it is very, very short.
There are no bugs for almost all the trail, but do be warned that near the peak there is a LOT of mosquitos. Like, if you stop moving for 3 seconds you get bit. It's genuinely just a swarm everywhere, so either bring bug spray for the top of keep moving. I got bit 4 times even barely stopping still. The view at the top is very good, you can look towards Rainier (Picture 1) and also to Mount Si and that area (Picture 2).
Statistics:
-Time: 2:54-6:14 (3:20:17, 3.0 mi/h)
-Total distance: 9:87 miles (Although the trail says it's 8.6 miles, I somehow tracked nearly 10. It may be the inaccuracy of my tracker, however.)
-Elevation gain: 3,124 ft
-Steps: 17,802
-Personal rating: 8.3/10
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