USFS 7810 is riddled with deep potholes and climbs steeply for seven miles up to the trailhead. Though cars are able to slowly navigate the dirt road, I highly recommend a high-clearance vehicle! Plenty of parking spaces when I arrived at 7am, only a few cars.
Trail is in good shape, hardly any obstacles. There are tree roots overgrown here and there, but nothing too crazy. At the junction to Bearhead Mountain, I noticed the bugs started appearing in higher numbers. I'd recommend some bug spray if you don't like bugs flying around your face!
All along the trail, bear grass is blooming! Breaks in the forest along the way offer sunlit openings with blooming mountain flowers.
At the basin of the Summit Lake, I followed the trail counter-clockwise around. Further along the east side of the lake, the trail gets steeper, but the views are great! A few campers were fortunate enough to have their camps set up right along the ridge.
The view of Mt. Rainier from the southern peak is absolutely stunning! If there is a logical "end" to the trail, it's here. Be sure not to miss it!
There were only about three or four campers set up as I made my way back to the basin. However, hiking back down to the trailhead, I ran into about twenty other hikers. I arrived at the parking lot at around 11am. By this time, it was jam-packed with cars! I'm glad I came early!
Details and photos here: http://urban-trailseeker.blogspot.com/2017/07/hiking-trip-report-summit-lake.html
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