1 of 4 
Great hike on a warm day. The trees and breeze made conditions almost perfect. A bit overcast when I reached Little Hamilton but when I was coming down the Lower Hardy Creek Trail from The Saddle, the sun was out! I saw a pair of turkey vultures at Little Beacon.

Route: Hamilton Mtn trail to the top, ridgeline to The Saddle, down to Upper Hardy Creek Trail via Don's Cutoff, back to Hamilton Trail via Lower Hardy Creek Trail, detour through Hadley Grove to Little Beacon, back to trailhead via the campground.

I did encounter a number of trees (14) across the trail or partially (since I can only submit 4 photos per report, I'll split into 4 reports):

1. 45.64271, -122.01479 - 8-10” log, partially over trail, user detour to get   around, causing tread creep
2. 45.64271, -122.01479 - same GPS coordinates at previous tree, this is just a few feet from the other log. It’s virtually off the trail but should be bucked back a few feet
3. 45.64961,-122.00645 - 8-10” log, over the trail. Users can climb over easily
4. 45.64962,-122.00628 - the crown of the previous tree is mostly cut back from the switchback, it’s mostly off the trail but causing tread creep uphill side.

4 of 4 
Great hike on a warm day. The trees and breeze made conditions almost perfect. A bit overcast when I reached Little Hamilton but when I was coming down the Lower Hardy Creek Trail from The Saddle, the sun was out! I saw a pair of turkey vultures at Little Beacon.

Route: Hamilton Mtn trail to the top, ridgeline to The Saddle, down to Upper Hardy Creek Trail via Don's Cutoff, back to Hamilton Trail via Lower Hardy Creek Trail, detour through Hadley Grove to Little Beacon, back to trailhead via the campground.

I did encounter a number of trees (14) across the trail or partially (since I can only submit 4 photos per report, I'll split into 4 reports):

13. 45.65079, -122.01317 - 8” log over the trail at chest high, trail erosion where people a stepping over the log on the downside the trail
14. 45.64758, -122.01027 - a pair of 8” logs right next to each other (a bit challenging to step over); a 10” log a few feet from the aforementioned pair

3 of 4 
Great hike on a warm day. The trees and breeze made conditions almost perfect. A bit overcast when I reached Little Hamilton but when I was coming down the Lower Hardy Creek Trail from The Saddle, the sun was out! I saw a pair of turkey vultures at Little Beacon.

Route: Hamilton Mtn trail to the top, ridgeline to The Saddle, down to Upper Hardy Creek Trail via Don's Cutoff, back to Hamilton Trail via Lower Hardy Creek Trail, detour through Hadley Grove to Little Beacon, back to trailhead via the campground.

I did encounter a number of trees (14) across the trail or partially (since I can only submit 4 photos per report, I'll split into 4 reports):

9. 45.66377,-122.01780 - 6-8” tree over the trail. Easy to step over
10. 45.65571,-122.01600 - 12-14” tree over the trail. Easy to step over
11. 45.65335,-122.01517 - 4-6” branch parallel to the trail, just needs to be moved off the tread
12. 45.65221,-122.01370 - two issues: group of limbs at head/chest height (have to duck under); 12-14” log over the trail w/ user detour around it

2 of 4 
Great hike on a warm day. The trees and breeze made conditions almost perfect. A bit overcast when I reached Little Hamilton but when I was coming down the Lower Hardy Creek Trail from The Saddle, the sun was out! I saw a pair of turkey vultures at Little Beacon.

Route: Hamilton Mtn trail to the top, ridgeline to The Saddle, down to Upper Hardy Creek Trail via Don's Cutoff, back to Hamilton Trail via Lower Hardy Creek Trail, detour through Hadley Grove to Little Beacon, back to trailhead via the campground.

I did encounter a number of trees (14) across the trail or partially (since I can only submit 4 photos per report, I'll split into 4 reports):

5. 45.64991,-122.00603 - 8-10” log - log is partially on the trail, causing tread creep on the uphill side
6. 45.65528,-122.01011 - 12-14” tree with attached root ball is over the trail. This has been here over a year. User detour is causing trail erosion
7. 45.66386,-122.01679 - 6” tree over the trail. Easy to step over
8. 45.66391,-122.01767 - 6” tree over the trail. Easy to step over

Fun trail, great workout, with views that rival Dog Mountain without the crowds. You don't get the flowery meadow you get on Dog, but still saw some flowers along the way, plus waterfalls, and generally a nice trail with a route down that is more forgiving on the knees. I'm glad I also did Dog on my trip, but Hamilton may sneakily be my favorite of the two. At the very least if I was forced to come do the hike on a weekend during permit season, I would probably skip that noise and just hit Hamilton instead.