The road to the trailhead is OK but cars with little clearance underneath need to steer clear of many rocks and high spots. The first 3.5 miles of the trail are in great shape. Rhodies blooming everywhere, together with fawn lillies, pioneer violets and trillium. Many of the latter looking long in the tooth with purply petals. Vegetation going strong, but not blooming, includes blue+huckleberry, twisted stalk, twin flower, other lillies. Snow patches begin to appear on the north side of the ridge around 3.5 miles, increasing above. Blowdowns together with deeper snow and longer snow patches beyond 5.5 miles slowed the pace, and forced a turn just before 6 miles at about 4300' +/-. With the fog closing in we couldn't see what it looked like further on, but footprints showed others had gone ahead recently, don't know how far. Right now an ice axe is recommended for hiking beyond the four mile mark, even though there are long stretches of open trail between the snow patches. Many of the blowdowns appear to be snowdowns. The trip was great for the solitude, saw one party of two humans and a dog, and one fine fellow eliminating blowdown with a small saw. Views to peaks and valleys were denied by the clouds, but the dripping forest corrider, dotted with rhodies and the great green floor provided plenty for the eye and the mind. Up to our turnaround the snow was in good shape - plenty of support but easy to kick a step and no postholes. It won't last long there. But I wonder how much there is on that last mile'

Snow free fthe first four miles to the brothers wilderness boundary and clear encept for a few blow downs.( I lost a pant leg of an REI Saraha Pants on this portion somewhere- I you find please contact drpilger@aol.com) The next three miles have snow and avalanch debris,also some interesting moats and short gullies to negotiate, the final .2 miles trail is on rock snow free

This was one of the neetest hikes I've done in some time. The trail climbs slowly to the summit with great views of the Olympics and Puget Sound. It is 14 miles round trip, with uphill both ways, but don't let that scare you. Most of the hiking is easy. The trail is in excellent shape and it passes threw some great forests. For a peakbager like me to say that, it must be nice. My friend and I did encounter a few snow patches before the summit. They should be gone my mid-June. Our entire trip to the summit was in blue sky. Minutes before we reached the top, a storm came from the West and treated us to a white out. Hiking back was slow during the uphills but they went quick. It took 6 or 7 hours round trip. Plan on 10 hours if in ok shape and lots of water if it's a sunny day. Eric Willhite

First of all, the forest service says there is a locked gate which adds 2-1/2 miles to the hike, but in reality it's 3-1/2 miles, this according to local signage and to which our feet agreed. Second, USFS warns that the road is rough and in bad shape, but lots of recent logging activity on the ridge has left the road in quite good shape. Too bad the gate is locked. They call it a wildlife gate. If major logging activity didn't disturb the wildlife, I can't see how a few hikers driving through the clearcuts would disturb anything. But there I go again... The Trail is in superb shape. Completely snow free until the last 2 miles or so. I was surprised because I was seeing weather reports of snow levels down to 2000' all the previous week. The switchback sections of trail on the peaks had some packed snow left on them. The North side of the ridge had lots of snow in the last mile to the peak, and that's where we camped, just before the summit. About a foot and a half of old snow, very solid underneath and powdery on top, plus another 3-4"" while we slept. After dinner, we cramponed to the summit on the hard windpack on the south side of the ridge. Very Nice. Enough moonlight through the clouds to see Mt. Anderson and the Brothers quite clearly, as well as all the city lights of Puget Sound, from Olympia to Victoria. Quite pretty. And then the long slogback to the car the next day. It's a long way to carry camp, but better than doing it as a day hike.

It was a beautiful day (above the clouds) so I decided to get out one last time for the season. A 14 mile hike up (and back) Mt Jupiter was just the ticket. The road going to the trailhead is still open and in good shape. The trail had not been traveled on for days due to the lack of tracks after the last rain. The trail offers excellent views once you get out of the trees after five miles. The last two miles offer expansive vistas as you trudge up the last 1500 feet or so. It had snowed on top the previous week. The trail skirts the south side of the ridge leading to the top so most of the snow had melted off. The north side was a different story. After 3 hrs 15 minutes I arrived at the top. I stayed 45 minutes enjoying the excellent view. The Olympics stood out against a fall blue sky, and the Hood canal was covered with a blanket of fog. The fog was creeping up the Duckabush and the Dose river basins. It was hard to leave the top because of the beauty (and the knowledge it was 7 miles back to the car). I would like to think I was the last one to the top this year, mabey so...