Starting with the Road--it's the Alpental parking lot. Bring your low-rider truck if you want. Easy.
Snow has arrived in the region and while it hasn't made trail navigation difficult at all (apart from occasionally being a bit slippery), it has brought out the cold. Advantage: no bugs at all and the change of scenery is very pretty. Disadvantage: uh, it's cold. I brought gloves and a warm headband and I was very glad I did. I didn't need a coat or thermal underwear though. I just hiked in long pants and a long sleeve synthetic shirt and was perfectly warm. I doubt that will be the case in a couple of weeks though.
Like so many of the Snoqualmie Corridor hikes, this one is really rocky and because of the current snow/melt cycle it's also pretty wet and muddy. Having high-top waterproof hiking boots saved my butt a few times. The trail from Snow to Gem is about as rocky, but a good bit muddier.
The high point of the hike for me was being at Gem Lake. I only saw one person on his way down while I was hiking up, and for a good ten minutes at the side of the lake it was absolutely silent--no bugs, birds, planes, people, dogs, wind, waves...nothing but an eerie void, and it was beautiful.
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