The views and the flowers are outstanding. We arrived Saturday afternoon under grey skies. By the time we reached Windy Camp it was dark, foggy and downright depressing. The next morning was glorious. I got up well before sunrise and when I saw what a beautiful clear day was in store I got so excited that I skipped breakfast grabbed my dog Umbo and flew up the mountain to greet the rising sun. I was the only soul on the mountain and the scene was truly splendid. You can see almost all of western Washington from Mt St. Helens to Baker and way up into Canada. You also get a great up close view of the western Olympic peaks. Port Angeles, Victoria, Seattle, and Tacoma are all clearly displayed. The flowers are also making a tremendous showing. I went back to camp, ate breakfast, grabbed my wife and went right back up for an encore performance. Only one guy up there at 9:30 am. As we were coming back down we were greeted by throngs of day hikers who probably reached the trailhead between 10:00am and 1:00pm. By then it was pretty hot and the hikers looked uncomfortable. I didn't realize that there is an upper and a lower trailhead. The upper trailhead shaves off 1.2 mi each way. The unmarked turnoff for the upper trailhead is about another 2 mi down rd 27 from the marked lower trailhead. It has a sign indicating it's an unmaintained service road but nothing about Mt Townsend. Regular passenger cars can apparently make it.

I was surprised at the number of cars at the upper trailhead on a Tuesday morning. I counted 13, and more and more people kept arriving as the day progressed. It was a particularly beautiful day for hiking: clear and sunny and with a light breeze from time to time. The trail is in great condition with no snow (except for a few patches off the trail at Windy Camp)and no fallen trees or other obstructions. The wildflowers were spectacular in the upper meadows. I've hiked this trail many times and I have never seen it as beautiful: the flowers, the snowy peaks against the deep green, and the expansive (and clear) views of Puget Sound and the Cascades. At one point along the trail you could see from Mt Baker all the way to Mt. ST. Helen's! Unfortunately, the warm day and flowers brought out all the bugs. They were truly horrible at the top--great swarms of biting flies. Nonetheless, the hike was well worth the bites. A glorious day!

Mount Townsend (#839) - from Little Quilcene (#835). Roads 28 (from Palo Alto, with detour via 2810) and 2820 to the trailhead were clear and in good condition. Only one small tree was down on trail. Only a few small patches of snow remained on trail and those were easy to negotiate and the trail easy to follow across them. Great day; great hike!

Wildflowers marvellous - probably the best we've ever seen on this trail (which is among the best flower trails in Washington). Rhodies pretty much in full bloom in the woods. The rock gardens farther up were in full color, and the alpine flowers on the summit were great. However the mist blowing up the east side of the summit plateau turned into a full-fledged cloud, interfering with the superb view panorama. Snow conditions are about what you would normally expect around the first week of June. Trail quite passable, with patchy snow on the trail limited to the fairly flat area in the neighborhood of Camp Windy. The Camp is mostly snow covered. People unfamiliar with the trail should have no trouble following it, except possibly at the junction with the short spur to Windy Lake. This junction is under the largest remaining snow patch. Just hang a sharp right here (rather than going straight ahead), and the trail will soon reappear.

The trail is in excellent condition with the exception of portions that are snow covered. Patches of snow start at about 4700 ft, most notably on the switchbacks. Patches give way to solid snow on the trail just below & above Camp Windy, where there are several misleading trails. Then there are only a few snow patches from the Silver Lake trail junction to the Mt Townsend ridge crest. The Silver Lake basin appears to be solid snow. Note - dog poop (insideously camouflaged, very tacky & oderiferous)