Me and a friend decided to get some conditioning and take in some great views at the same time. This trail didn't disappoint in that regard. The climb is steep, steady, and relentless; and is in forest about 90 percent of the way. With that said, it is virgin forest and very beautiful.
We hit the trail at about 9:45am, and took several short breaks. There are probably about a dozen trees down across the trail. Most were pretty easy to step or climb over. A couple required us to walk around them, but very doable. The trail is in great shape and easy to follow. Just be careful at a couple of the switchbacks, as you could go the wrong direction, but it's still easy to follow the route.
At about 5,000 feet, the forest began to get thinner and the views started to open up at about 5,500 feet. Being a humid day, much sweating was involved, but it was well worth it! We attained the ridge at about 1:20pm. The views on the ridge/knoll are spectacular; particularly of Glacier Peak and the Suiattle River Valley. Views over toward Green Mountain and North Cascades peaks are also awesome. Several types of flowers were also in bloom.
Other than one person heading up while we were on the descent, we had the trail all to ourselves. It took us about 3 hours to descend.
I'd highly recommend this hike if you want a really good workout, enjoy solitude, beautiful forest, and awesome summit views!
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