I headed out and when I made a wrong turn on some road I saw the trail head and decided to go up it. I got kinda a late start for not knowing where I was going, or to where the trail lead. I was planning on staying the night, so when night fell I would just find a place to set up my hammock at, re hydrate some food and kick back and read a book while enjoying the great outdoors. The trail was in excelent condition. It almsot seemed to be too good. It was steep, and there was quite a few switchbacks, but I guess thats what you get for doing a trail that starts with ""Mt."" It was nothing that I couldn't handle. It was a overcast day, so the view wasn't all that good, but I could see Lake Cushman off and on. I got to the big rock... I think where the trail junction in. I sat down to take a break and while doing so realized that I forgot a few of the items that I have always been taught to check, and double check before you start out. Matches and Toliet Paper. So... I decided to head back down. I can live with out matches but the toliet paper... :) I was able to jog most of the way down make some good time. Using my treking poles to round the steep corners with out having to slow down much. All in all it was a good hike, even though I was unable to make it to the top. I am going to have to go back in about a week and try again.

It was raining hard as we approached the trailhead. This was not the kind of day you would normally choose to climb Mt. Rose. However, this was a scheduled conditioner for the Olympia Mountaineers, so off we went. Left the trailhead at 8:20 a.m. Trail is in good shape all the way to the summit. The last 1000 feet are snow-covered, and it’s deep toward the top. We arrived at the summit by 11:20 a.m., and were met by a blast of cold wind which made our stay brief. We descended several hundred feet to escape the wind, had a brief lunch and continued down, arriving at the parking lot before 1:30 p.m. Pretty good time for a group of ten! Equipment notes: Ski or trekking poles are strongly advised. Snowshoes were helpful over the last 500 feet or so – decide whether it’s worth it to haul them up for that amount of use. In-step crampons also were somewhat useful, but this trail is not iced over nearly as much as the Mt Si trail, which gets much heavier traffic.

Our party of five included the namesake dog Rose, on her first hike. At 10:15 we were the second car at the trailhead. The weather was quite good - mostly cloudy with occasional fog, but no rain and no wind and every now and then a welcome shaft of sunlight. Rosie's big moment came early - crossing the first log bridge right after the trailhead. With a little encouragement from ahead and behind, she made it. We had plenty of time, so we meandered upward through the trees young and old, and wondered whether a pair at about the halfway point are Alaska Cedars - if so they are big ones. The trail was in GREAT shape, which was especially welcome because of the relatively steep grade. Just a bit above the horse camp where the summit loop branches, around 3200' elevation we encountered snow. The lower reaches of snow were a bit icy and slippery, especially for those sporting tennies on the feet! Further up the snow deepened and there was a layer of powder on the surface maybe 5"" thick. Obviously a number of hikers had preceeded us, this day and before, so route finding was trivial. Had lunch at the top, enjoying brief peek-a-boo views to the peaks west and north through ever changing clouds. Descending was tough on the out-of-shape winter knees, but otherwise no problem. Reached the parking lot at 4:00 PM. All in all, a fine way to spend a January day. Probably not many January's when the trail's out from under the snow at 3000 feet! Saw three other parties, one of them with many people and dogs, over the route, and found our car had plenty of company back at the trailhead.

Although we got a relatively late start, Richard and I were first in the Mt Rose parking lot this sunny morning. We started up this well-maintained trail at 9:20 and arrived at the trail junction at 3050 ft by about 10:50. As it had been warm and rainy the past week, we expected the snow level to be high. It was surprising, however, that it was about 3600 ft before we ran into any snow at all. We were able to follow the summit trail all the way to the top, which is unusual in January. Arrived at the summit just before noon and spent a pleasant hour on the sunny summit rocks taking bearings on nearby peaks, eating lunch and fending off the numerous hungry camp robbers. Just as the next party arrived at the summit, we started down, and met about four other parties on our way. Trail is good the entire way; poles and in-step crampons are useful, as the snow is rather icy toward the top. Today there was no more than a foot or two of snow at the top -- next week there could be much more!

Our first time to Mt. Rose, what an ausome sight at the summit. Mt Rainier, Adams, St Helens and Lake Cushman below. We lunched on the top of these great rocks and basked in the splendor of it all. The trip down was a challenge to our legs as it was our first hike of the summer, but the rewards out weighed the pain. Trail was in A+ condition and wildflowers were popping up every where.