We arrived at the parking lot just after sunrise. The road in was in great shape. There were a number of other vehicles already there but still plenty of open parking. The facilities were rustic in appearance, but clean and stocked. The trail log indicated most of the other groups were headed elsewhere on the adjacent trail.
The lower section of the trail was well defined, mostly dry and easily navigable, despite some encroaching vegetation. There were some blueberries, both here and higher on the trail, but they were fairly sparse. There were a handful of easily navigable blown down trees but no other obstacles.
The upper section, after the switchbacks, was exposed to the sun but pleasantly breezy. There were small patches of fireweed and pearly everlasting. The Steller's Jays were noisy and numerous. We also spotted several Clark's Nutcrackers as we climbed higher. A small raptor flew by the summit but the encounter was too brief to identify the species. Cascade golden-mantled ground squirrels were all over the higher altitudes during earlier hours and the pikas noisily greeted us on descent. Watch out for western toads later in the day. They were all over the trail from the switchbacks to the lot. The wind kept the flying insects to a minimum.
While this is a walk up, not a scramble, there were some sections where a misstep would be a serious problem. Much of the last few miles is on a narrow path that traverses steep slopes. Basically a class 1 with consequences. Take particular care in the stretches where the trail surface is loose and unconsolidated, especially in poor weather, and when descending.
The summit was spectacular. It offered a panoramic viewpoint for every nearby peak and many distant ones as well. The drop off to the adjacent valleys presented a unique perspective. The summit register was worked over and barely legible. It would benefit from some waterproof paper sheets from a future hiker and probably a pen. The wind kept the insects at bay and allowed for time to enjoy the scenery before descending.
Our total trip was just under 14 miles and had over 5000 feet of elevation gain. Our time was around 8.5 hours and we encountered 4 other hikers on the trail. There was limited AT&T service at the summit when facing north.
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