Started at 9:00 on a sunny Wednesday morning, 4 other cars at the trailhead, with room for one more ( space for 4-7 cars depending on how well people park). The trail starts off rocky, but smooths out soon. A steady incline, the trail was in good condition. There was one blowdown posing a minor obstacle. On the way up, I crawled under ( I'm 5'3 " and was on my knees, coming down I climbed over, which was a little tricky but worked fine. When you get to a flat section with a viewpoint, you're a bit over half way. If it's a clear day keep going! Cables at the end were not in, but taking the trail to the right was no problem. Great views at the top of Mt. Rainier and many surrounding peaks. Saw 5 others at the summit, and there was enough room to be separate. Hiking down in the afternoon, the sun was hitting the switchbacks; I was glad to not be climbing at that hour. 

The drive to get to the TH was fine, would recommend 4WD or high clearance vehicle due to bumpy road and pot holes, but we saw a Toyota Prius that made it parked near TH. Didn’t see the trail sign #1348 on right side of road, but we had our odometer set so that we could track when we got close to 4 miles. Parking in front of TH could fit about 3-5 cars. TH was in good condition. There’s one downed tree that you will need to climb over or under which is about 0.5 miles in from the start.  There were about 16 switchbacks. At the top of the trail, there’s a metal cable that will help you to get to the top, but you can also go a bit to the right of the trail, and climb a small incline without use of cables. The views were great- Mt Rainier, Lake Keechelus, Tinkham Peak to name a few in the distance, and butterflies flying all around us at the top. No other hikers at top for about 10 min. Took us about 1 hr each way, out and back, and I’d consider this a moderate hike. No bugs

Rating:  4 of 5 stars
My opinions:  This hike is a nice, short moderate hike.  It has a few mountain views on the way up, and some beautiful views on top.  We could not see Mt Rainier today.   A good after work hike!
Parking & Road Conditions: Long trip on a bumpy road with lots of wash boarding and pot holes.  I don’t think all cars can make it—there are about four really rough places.  Our Toyota Highlander made it just fine—we just had to ride slowly.  Park alongside the road.  There were a few spots to park at 5 pm on a Thursday afternoon.
Snow:  None.
Smokey:  No smoke.
Trail & trail conditions:  Good.   We did not see the small trail sign #1348 on the right side of the road, but when you hike 150 feet or so, you’ll see a “Mt Catherine” sign on a tree.
There is one downed tree that you can climb over pretty easily.
At the top of the trail, there is a metal cable to help you to the top. 
Berries:  None.
Bugs:  None.  It was pretty cool and windy. 
Time: This trail took us ( one 65 year old and one 45 year old) about 1 hour 20 minutes up and one hour down.  We spent about 20 minutes at the top.
Views:  Very nice mountain views on top.
Flowers::   None.

Hike is straightforward if a bit steep relative to most hikes of its length. Great view for the time and effort required to summit, particularly in clear weather. This is a good hike to try if you are looking to start exploring beyond north bend and nearby foothills, although you should note that the signage is more or less nonexistent compared to more popular/more maintained trails.

The main reason I am writing this report is that in my opinion the other reports are significantly exaggerating the road conditions. This is certainly an unpaved forest road (probably even one of below average quality), but if you hike regularly outside North Bend, then you have probably seen roads of similar or worse quality before. I would feel comfortable driving a sedan to this trailhead, with the understanding that after the first hairpin, you will have to drive slow, dodge some potholes, and ideally be done before dark. FR 9030 to Ira spring/Talapus trailhead (exit 45) is a good comparable.

TLDR: The road was in terrible shape but the view at the summit was great.

I chose to hike Mount Catherine because it is not likely to be very crowded even on a sunny Saturday and the view is good on a sunny day. My wife and I arrived at the trailhead around 10 am in our trusty Subaru Forester. There is room for about dozen cars at the trailhead and it was half full. The last 1.5 miles from the hairpin curve to the trailhead was in the worst condition as I can remember. High clearance + 4WD and slow careful driving recommended. But I saw an old Honda Civic compact sedan at the trailhead. Go figure.

We started hiking around 10:20 am. There used to be a sign at the start of the trail but it is gone now and the trail is unmarked until a wooden sign on a tree about 80 yards in. The first 0.2 mile is an old logging road with various sizes of rocks and gravels. There is a large downed tree at the fourth switchback about 0.3 mile from the trailhead. It can be climbed over by normal adult hikers. Dogs and small children can go under it.

The weather was sunny and the temperature in the morning was in the high 60s. The trail is mostly in the shade and I didn’t feel very hot. At the final ascent to the summit, there are two ways. One on the left is steeper but there is a cable to assist. One on the right is less steep and you can climb without a cable. The view at the summit was great. Unfortunately Mount Rainier was covered with clouds. There were a lot of butterflies to entertain us. We were at the summit from noon to 1 pm and no other person was there.  

We descended in about 1 hour. The temperature in the afternoon rose to the low 70s. The bugs were not too bad but I had two mosquito bites in my arm despite using bug spray. Our GPS track is in the link below.