This report is only on Silver Peak but I have a video link of the road that it shares with Mount Catherine below.

Beautiful day on a stunning trail! Muddy with a few scrambles but not too hard compared to the payoff, road is quite rough though. The final climb felt like climbing a rock pile where everything moved and required some flexibility for a few very large steps. The video is of the hike and there is a video of the drive in the link below that. 

Road/Parking: Worse than I expected but very doable in a small SUV (~6.8" ground clearance). It threw a bit of everything at us, large potholes, water filled potholes, bumpy rocky sections, and narrow sections with two way traffic. No TH map or facilities. We got there around 9 on a nice Saturday and there was plenty of parking at both Silver and Catherine, but Catherine was a disaster when we left and some people parked leaving barely enough room to sneak by. 

Trail: PCT section was pretty good and easy to follow. There were a few muddy sections, a couple rocky sections to navigate, and one tree to climb over. There were nice views right at the beginning, then you dip into the trees for a bit with views every now and then. Fall colors are popping and so are a few fungi. There is a rock stack marking the turn off for Silver Peak just after an open rocky talus area. 

Right when you turn onto the Silver Peak trail there was a right and left option. I would go left because right takes you into a talus area where the trail isn't as obvious. The trail stays pretty easy to follow but there are a few side trails, splits, and ambiguous sections so a map would be a good idea. There was a bit of sloshing around in the mud (not deep) and rocky areas, with one scramble that was easy but did require my hands. My dog managed it alright. The views and colors in this area are great and just keep getting better. 

Finally you break of of the trees and hit the short but steep summit climb x2. This is the part where our god stopped having fun and it wasn't long before we had to pack him. The first section is almost entirely loose rock, the large kind that usually don't more far but enough. Nothing is exposed, but a tumble on the rocks would hurt. At the top of that section there is a short dirt reprieve, then more climbing on rocks. They were a bit more solid in this sections, but required bigger step ups. Don't forget to looks over your shoulder, there are incredible views everywhere! 

At the top you are greeted with mountain views in ever direction and the distant drone of I90. There is a good amount of space to spread out and find a place to rest and take in the scenery. Usually we make really good time on the way down but on this one we might have actually been slower on the first down section because of the terrain. 

Stats: 5.8 miles, 1880 ft elevation gain/loss, 3.5 hours moving, 4.5 hours total. We are moderate paced hikers who hike weekly. 

Road has really degraded.  I'll skip this trailhead for a while.  

The hike was great; warm, sunny, uncrowded.  We clocked 3mi RT from trailhead, and 1250 gain.  A bit more actual since we had to park lower down to avoid an ugly gully.  Trail as always a bit rocky early than really nice higher up.

First of all— the road has some areas of large potholes and a couple of washouts. I was able to get to the trailhead just fine in my 2001 Miata, but only by driving carefully and slowly and letting some other drivers go by me. The deep winter ruts aren’t an issue yet, so just be mindful to straddle potholes, avoiding high middles that can scrape your undercarriage, and take it slow enough that you don’t whallop your sidewalls on any big rocks.

With that out of the way, this trail remains an amazing afternoon trek for youngsters! My 7yo kiddo can do about 4mi at ~500ft elevation change, and 3mi/1330ft really did challenge them— I ended up carrying them the last quarter mile back to the car after they tripped and bruised a knee, and they were asleep before I got them buckled in. The whole hike took us about 4hrs with plenty of breaks and snacks. But I got to film their first summit ever, and they’re still bragging to their friends and family that they climbed a mountain before starting first grade!

Thousands of giant, ripe wild blueberries; minimal mosquitoes between 1200-1600; some cool looking mushrooms, including a TON of super gross and squishy boletus smithii overrun with snowy hypomyces parasitization, perfect for little hiking boots to kick over the cliffside. 

Silver, Abiel, Tinkham, Catherine

Silver, easier than I remembered. Go when there's some fog/mist so you can't see the endless trail ahead of you. :)

Abiel, worse than I remembered. There are two major climbing spots, plus many others, and near half a dozen rough spots I forgot. Descending was easier since the dirt surface was a bit moist.

Tinkham, initially an easy ascent but rapidly got much much worse. It's not as treacherous as Abiel nor as "technical", but it's more challenging as there are spots without handholds. For the descent I had to get out my poles and stuff them into the ground to create steps.

The weather which dissipated west of the crest remained as clouds almost the entire day. Pictures were not that great, and I was well upon Catherine before the sun appeared. Clouds were aloft, however, and the fog layer thinned below, so the valleys were visible.

For most I would recommend descending the silver trail proper to reach the junction with Abiel. It's only an additional 25m of ascent, not much longer, significantly dryer, and for most will be faster. Today I admit to trying the south silver route and ended up spending a good deal of time reaching the Abiel trail. Normally I proceed west, but half the time end up too far north and 50m down that saddle and wanted to try the direct route; the trail is simply too far south at that point.

Several pikae, but too foggy and they moved off too quickly to get pictures.

Road conditions were worse than remembered, with deeper potholes, the same washboards. The slot around the sharp corner has deepened and widened as well, and the road above it is now more open and getting worse; I had to "crawl" through one spot. That said, a car can get up here if it takes its time.

11.90mi 1800m

Echoing what others have stated: Road to trail head is very rough with lots of pot holes. I would not attempt with a sedan. We did see a Honda Accord that made it up but it must have taken them at least twice as long. Lots of cars parked along the road but it appeared more people were going to do the PCT and not Mt. Catherine.  

Plan accordingly as there is no facility/outhouse. Trail well maintained. There is one large fallen log/tree towards the top but it is easy to walk under. My spouse was carrying our toddler in a hiking backpack so he had to go on hands and knees for clearance but it was fine. 

Started the hike shortly before noon and arrived at the summit an hour later, shortly before 1pm. Saw about 3-4 groups/families coming down while we headed up, and the same amount of people going up when we were heading down. We found a spot closer to the brush that felt like a safe spot to have lunch with our toddler and dog. There isn't a ton of space to sit and chill if there were a lot of people at the top (maybe room for 3-4 groups max depending on size of group and how close you want to be to each other). Luckily while we were there, one couple was just leaving and another family was up there and left soon after, too. Unfortunately there were clouds covering Rainier but it was still a beautiful view of the nearby mountain ranges and lake below. We also saw a few of the endangered Taylor's checkerspot butterflies at the top. 

Careful with your footing on your way down (I guess the part that is called a scramble? But it is manageable without using your hands. We didn't see any cables so not the path with the cables. There are two ways up/down right before you hit the summit.) I was glad I wore my hiking boots. 

Made a few stops on the way down for (unripe) blueberries for the toddler to pick. Some are starting to look blue but they are small and not ripe at all (she claims they were sweet but I sampled and disagree!) She also walked a bit on her own the way down.  

Great hike if you don't have a lot of time but still want nice views! Oh, and it's pretty much covered with trees/shade the entire way, which is a huge plus for hiking with a kid and dog!