We did the through hike (starting at eight mile trailhead) to Squire Creek trail; 8.9miles. Hike was challenging (steep, slippery in sections) and required navigation and bushwhacking. Weather was perfect, and I wouldn’t recommend this hike with rain in the forecast bc of many (slippery) rock slide crossings.
The portion of our hike that was on the eight mile trail was easy to follow and steep. At the turnaround point of the eight mile trail (pass) is when navigation is required. Cairns were helpful but not always evident. The portion of our hike that was on the Squire creek trail was not well maintained nor easy to follow.
Squire creek trailhead is about 2miles to where you can park.

What can I say, but the trail is not any easy one.  Steep, rooty, rocky, and muddy.  The first third is not too bad, up to 3 O'clock Rock climbing wall, then it degrades.  As noted by others, there is a large tree that came down across the trail, it is passable with some difficulty.  If I were going up there again, I would take a hand saw, since a little bit of effort on the root ball and an easy detour could be made.

The views at the pass make the trail worth it!  Beautiful!  And, as Mr. Nieminen said (July 28th) in his review, the views get even better if you hike/scramble to the ridge just west of Higher Squire Peak.

The blueberries are ripe and plentiful, above 3500 feet, and are less tart at the pass.  We did not see Mr/Mrs Bear, but did see scat that was loaded with berry remains.  Obviously, the bears are loving them, too.  The recent rains have made some mushrooms flourish.  In the fauna department, we saw some unusual critters for this area:  toads, frogs, and a large lizard.  A family of grouse took flight in front of us.  There were some mosquitos, but not bad, and pretty much just at the trailhead.

The road (6+ miles) is in good shape (and I don't say that often about the crappy Cascades roads), good enough that most cars/trucks with decent tires will make it.

My second time hitting this gem near Darrington!  On a perfect summer Sunday, we didn't see any other hikers until we were back at the trailhead.

The road is in pretty good shape.  We drove a 4x4 pickup and followed a ford focus most of the way, including through the 3 or so old washouts.  Do-able but much safer with some ground clearance and beefier tires.  Some of the rocks are very sharp.

Trail is same as a few years ago.  Rough, steep, with lots of rooty steps.  There is one blowdown that's a bit annoying.  You have to climb under it, taking off your pack most likely.

Lots of frogs / toads in the remaining ponds.  Berries are sort of ripe....they look ripe but a bit tart still.  Great resting spots at the pass; in particular a Flintstones-style chair with a back.  But I really urge you to keep going up to Squire Ridge.  Aim for the low spot in the ridge and head up; lots of bootpaths so you're not trampling the heather.  The last bit is all on huge granite boulders with excellent traction.  From the ridge the views of 3 Fingers and Whitehorse are great, as is the view down into the remote valleys near the Copper Creek drainage.  It has a perfect little cirque.

This hike had been on my list for awhile, mainly because it's not popular and has a view of Three Fingers. The road is rough but passable for any vehicle. When you get to the fork in the road make sure you stay right and in no time you'll be at the trailhead.

We saw one other car there, a couple from California who were going up to climb in the area. We also saw a father daughter later on, but that was it.

The trail is "maintained" which I will use loosely. It could be horrible, but people clearly go up there and make it usable. You will hike up on many rocks, roots and a few little stream crossings. It is muddy in sections as well. The bugs were barely noticeable. 

After some confusion with my caltopo map thinking we had passed the pass, we turned around after soaking in some sweet little creek flowing down granite slabs. It was probably the best part of the hike. After I figured out my compass on the map was messed up, we turned around and went up another 1/4 mile or so and got a sweet view of Three Fingers Mountain. There are definite areas to camp up there and it would probably be worth it to do sometime. This hike comes at a price though, 2350' elevation gain and a very rough trail.

I did this with my 7 year old and it was what I would call her first "real" hike high up in the mountains. She loved it and already wants to come back. 

Enjoy the pain if you go!

Headed out Sunday at 5:30ish, got to the trail head at 7:30. The road up is pretty decent, there are definitely a few spots that I'd highly recommend having AWD and a semi high clearance vehicle.

Also just keep going straight up there are a couple forks and different service roads. You won't miss the parking lot and trail entrance, it has a pretty good sign. Also, maybe 10 cars can fit there, by the time I was done at about 1ish the lot was basically full.

When the guide says this is steep, that's an understatement. There are numerous times it's a straight up bear crawl. Enjoy the cool views and the little pond, which I would say marks you about halfway.

I didn't bring snow shoes or gaiters, as the earlier report made it seem it was all passable, id highly recommend once you clear the tree line to be very careful, I fell into snow up to my waist a few times. The payoff is complete isolation and silence, the view of Three Fingers is amazing.

Was also my dogs first ever hike and she had am absolute blast. 

Difficulty, id say to get to the plateau and have a nice lunch spot with a view is 8/10 without snow shoes, prolly significantly easier with. I definitely felt I shoulda turned around a couple times, but I was too close to quit.

Great, not so popular hike and was a beautiful day for it!