The hike seemed a lot harder in the hot weather. I recommend to pack light. Bring water park. Small snack. Wear shorts. Bring sunscreen on hot days. Hat/sunglasses. Pack hiking sticks and wear hiking shoes. 

Clear day that started at 8:30. Using the CAT Dog Mountain Bus was a LIFE SAVER. And saved some $. Free parking at the Fairgrounds AND entry to the trail. Love to see it.

Wildflowers are really starting to go wild. The summit isn’t covered in blooms yet, but when you first leave the canopy you are met with a TON of color. I’d think it’ll really get going next week.

Took the ‘more difficult’ route up and the ‘difficult’ route back. The disparity between the two makes that distinction laughable. ‘Difficult’ was far easier and had more wildflower spots, including an area that was akin to a mini-summit with tons of flowers blooming. I would not change my route since the descent was far easier on my knees going back. Done in 5 hours. Would have taken less time but the views were stunning.

Pack trekking poles, snacks, tons of water and be prepared to sweat. The bugs were juuuust starting to be annoying - mainly flys. Apply sunscreen and bug spray to avoid bugs AND burns.

Lucked out and got 1 of 40 permits released on 5/10/23 to hike on Saturday 5/13/23. Arrived at the trailhead around 7:40 am with plenty of parking, but had to remind some folks that permits were required to park in the lot this time of year. Planned an early start because the daytime high temperature was supposed to be 91 degrees F. Took the more difficult trail option up and the less difficult trail option down. The less difficult trail was very nicely maintained, but we enjoyed a little more solitude on the more difficult trail. Either way, after the two trail options converge, the going gets tough for a bit as you climb higher through the forest and closer to the wildflower bonanza. The balsamroot and other flowers towards the top were beautiful and I suspect they will continue to get better over the next 2 weeks. The flowers in the forest understory were great too and were a good excuse for us to stop and take breaks. We reached the summit around 9:30 am and enjoyed partial views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Saint Helens.

Got to the trailhead by 7:30 am with plenty parking spaces. It was a nice and cool morning. Got hot very quick since the trail was rather steep. I chose the "difficult" path on the way up. Some wildflowers along the trail. Got to Puppy Dog Viewpoint with great view of the Gorge. Plenty arrowleaf balsamroot blooming with some Indian paintbrush just started to bloom. Higher up the arrowleaf balsamroot were not blooming yet. May take another 1-2 weeks. The last half mile was steep and no shape. Be sure to bring enough water and sunscreen. I went to the summit which was ~100 feet from the view area. The summit was brushes and no view. So, I went back to the view area and mingled with three Aussies! I came down the "more difficult" trail. The trail was nice with trees and good for jogging. Less people up this way as well. Met over 10 well behaved dogs on trail! Got back to the parking by 11:30 am. More cars but still several parking spaces.

From AllTrails: 6.4 miles 2838 feet elevation gain.

Showed up to the parking lot around 730 am with the lot about 10% full and shuttles starting to come in. Rangers at the trailhead checking all permits. The toilet is a small jaunt up the hill and was well stocked. Took a nap, made food, then started hiking around 930. Partial sun for the first half then it started clouding over above the first lookout; we were IN the actual cloud above that level. Extremely windy and socked in at the top, no balsamroot blooms, super chilly. I was very happy to have a jacket and face covering. Spent no time at the top due to the cold and made it back down in 3 hours round trip.
Overall the trail is in good condition and pretty through the trees. Just a bit early in this looong Spring to see the flowers.