A short hike with a few tough sections, with amazing views at the top. The road after you take the Hyak exit is paved where it runs parallel to the highway (but occasionally narrow), then for the last 1.5 miles it is bumpy gravel--no big potholes and you don't need all-wheel drive or high clearance, but it is badly washboarded in some sections.
You start the hiking by briefly continuing up the road you drove on (a sign on the board by the lot shows the way, if it isn't clear), then you go left up the abandoned logging road. You then go left again to leave the abandoned road and start on the true trail (see photo)--it's the first chance to go left, and there is a small sign. The route so far has been somewhat steep and this continues for the first little bit of the trail, but then mellows out. Continue on up the trail, at one point crossing another abandoned logging road where the path is clearly bordered with rocks. At about 1.25 miles you will have a nice view of Rainier--you are about halfway up in elevation, but not distance.
Eventually, around 2 miles in, you reach the small clearing (see photo) where the trail to Margaret Lake branches off to the right while you go straight head to continue on to Mount Margaret (or Lake Lillian). We met some people who were worried about missing the turnoff for the spur to the top of Mount Margaret, but it is right after the one small talus slope you cross (see photo), and it is also marked with branches on either side (see photo). Gaia GPS shows the trail clearly also.
Once you reach here the real fun begins. Yes that steep slope is really what you hike up. There are basically three very steep parts--one right off the trail to Lake Lillian, one about halfway up, and one right near the top. It is not rocky, just very steep dirt, often with roots exposed (which helps with traction) and some handy trees to grab onto. Eventually you reach the top and are rewarded with amazing views in almost every direction. There are a few convenient rocks to sit on and admire the scenery.
I usually hike with one hiking pole for steep sections but I forgot it in my car, so I grabbed a sturdy looking branch on the last section before the spur to the top. It was helpful going up and extremely useful to brace myself coming back down, although my hiking companion (who is 30+ years younger than I am) had no problems. Once you get back to the Lake Lillian trail the rest of the descent is an easy stroll with just a few steps that didn't require my improvised pole (which I had left at the bottom of the spur trail anyway, in case the next hiker needs it). I wore a t-shirt on the way up but added a long-sleeve shirt on the way down since it was a bit cool in the shade. I stopped at 2 geocaches on the way down, including the famous GCD one, but skipped the one at the very top (due to muggles present) and at the parking lot (due to impatient younger companion).
We took about 1h45 going up and a similar time on the way down. Parking lot had maybe 15 cars in it at noon on a Thursday, which made it mostly full. There is no toilet at the trailhead but plenty of woods around. All in all this hike gets you the same great views you get on the ~3500 foot verticals to the west of the pass, but on a shorter hike that isn't much more of a drive.
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