[Trail running]
Arrived at Olallie State Park at 7:30am, first car in the small parking lot. Bathroom in the lot was in good condition and obviously open. After crossing the Palouse to Cascades trail, we headed up the Mt Washington Trail. Running up was a bit slow at first, as the elevation increase is intense, and you are running up a dried stream bed with very very loose rock (some parts have a bit of running water but did not get my shoes wet at all).
At the sign, we continued on Mt. Washington trail. Around 5km, we hit the ridge line, which was a pretty fun challenge with amazing views, and a nice break from the stones of the creek bed. As you come to the summit, there are breathtaking views of Mt. Rainer and the valley. Could not find the summit marker.
Previous trip reports reported bugs and that is very true. The closer we got to the top, the more mosquitoes we ran into. As we were the first climbers of the day, we hit all the spiderwebs going up and coming down (we took a separate trail down). The mosquitoes at the top were almost unbearable, we could only spend a few minutes taking pictures, as we were both swarmed very quickly. As it was a very nice day, we were hoping to spend more time at the top, as there were no other hikers in site, but the mosquitoes had other plans, so we headed back down, this time taking the Great Wall trail back. We considered heading up Change Peak, but decided to try that another time (the trail to it is on your left once you cross to the other side). This part of the trek on the Great Wall trail was the best and most enjoyable for running. Basically an old road with few rocks and a gentle grade. If you want an easier hike up, definitely consider taking Great Wall trail and not Mt. Washington trail to the summit. Also, fewer trees on this section with amazing views, definitely worth checking out. Was hard to not stop every few feet for pictures.
Took us 2:55 hrs (1.25 hrs up), with walking the last 3km (I tripped and fell on the loose rock and cut my knee and decided to walk the rest) and very cautious downhill running once we left the Great Wall trail. Taking the Great Wall trail added 3 km for a total of 15.5km. Dealing with the rocky conditions got very tiring after a while. We were the first ones up and saw 6 people on our way back heading up. Parking lot had a handful of cars when we returned.
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