Another hot day in the lowlands, but there wasn't much relief to be found on this trail. We reached the upper trailhead around 9am, when the temperature was already 75F. Quite a few cars in the parking lot. The start of the hike was through lovely, relatively cool forest, although the rhododendron show looks to be over for the year (we did seen plenty blooming on the side of the road up, however). As we climbed higher and the vegetation opened up, the heat started to bite. But the trail is in excellent shape, with only a couple of inconsequential patches of snow near Camp Windy. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, but a haze over the lowlands meant views of the Cascades were not very clear. There was quite a crowd around noon at the top, but with lots of room up there, there was plenty of space for everyone to enjoy the 360 degree views. The cool breeze at the top was about the only relief from the heat all day - by the time we returned to the parking lot, the temperature had reached 89F in the shade.
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