Dege Peak — Friday, Jul. 25, 2025

We hiked to Dege Peak from Sunrise parking lot rather than Sunrise Point. It was our first time actually using a timed entry permit for 7am instead of trying to arrive before 7, and it went smoothly with only a very short line of cars. It probably helped that we went on a Friday instead of a weekend day. We reached the Sunrise parking lot just before 7:30am, and while there were already plenty of cars, there were also plenty of available parking spots. The trail to Dege Peak is in good condition, and a fairly easy hike with the steepest elevation gain occurring right before the summit. Mt Adams was visible along the way, and at the summit. To our surprise, we only noticed 2 mosquitoes the entire hike. We also saw chipmunks, ground squirrels, a pika, and a flock of Clark's nutcrackers. There are still tons of wildflowers blooming. On our way up we only saw 2 other groups of people. On our way back down we saw several more, but far fewer than we have previously encountered on other trails out of that parking lot. Overall, it was a nice hike with minimal effort.