A beautiful summer day for this easy-access hidden gem, one of my favorites along the I-90 corridor. Only a few cars were parked in the lot by the time we arrived at 9:30a on a holiday weekend Saturday, and other parties on the trail were few and friendly. Gorgeous wildflowers, bugs were light (but bug spray useful), and the Mountain emerged through the clouds just as we summited. Moving at an easy conversational pace, it took us six hours roundtrip including a short lunch break at the top.

Watch carefully for the trail as it branches off the logging road, as the rock cairn is overgrown. Signage along the trail is also missing or washed out, so recommend downloading the trail description and/or map before heading out.

We were originally headed for Annette Lake but the traffic was badly backed up on I-90 so we headed for Mt. Washington instead. Neither of us had ever been on this, and we knew we didn't have time or desire to summit. Instead we did a "lollipop loop" using the Great Wall trail from 2.5 miles up the Mt. Washington trail. Following that (nice smooth trail by the way) and making a right turn where the Great Wall trail hit the Ollalie bike trail (also our high point at 3670 feet), eventually brought us back to the main Mt. Washington trail about a mile or so further up that trail.  

Our whole hike was about 8 miles with 2400 feet of gain.  And for the curious, Owl Hike Spot is 2 miles and 1500 feet from the car. 

Great Wall trail was pleasant, gradual ascent, and not rocky, with a view point along the way with nice sitting rocks and a view towards Mailbox Peak etc. The Ollalie bike trail is a bit rocky, with a couple of switchbacks as it descends back towards the Mt. Washington trail. The rocky tread on Mt. Washington trail was a bit wearing on the descent back to the car. 

My first time on this trail.  The parking lot was easily accessible with only a short drive on gravel.  Only 2 other cars in the lot on a sunny Wednesday.  The restroom was in good shape.  Based on the distance/elevation gain I was expecting a non-stop climb but there were several flat sections which provided welcome breaks.  There were also some filtered views along the way which brightened the trail and provided some nice glimpses of Rattlesnake Mountain and Mailbox Peak.  I would not classify this as a wildflower hike but I still managed to find some wild ginger, red columbine, bluebells, coralroot, goatsbeard, arnica, queen's cup, lupine, bunch berry, penstemon and tiger lily.  The bugs were hanging around most of the hike but did not really attack until I reached the viewpoint.  I scrambled to apply the bug spray so I could spend some time admiring Mount Rainier and the Chester Morse reservoir below.  The summit itself - which is only a short climb further - is underwhelming but the lower viewpoint (apart from the bugs) was spectacular.  On the descent, the loose rocks on the lower two-thirds of the trail certainly slowed my progress and my poles saved me from slipping on a couple of occasions.  Bring bug spray and your trekking poles on this hike!

9.3 miles, 3,200 feet elevation gain, 5 hours (including a short break at the viewpoint)

This is a very nice hike, it's more on the isolated side compared to others. I followed the WTA path, starting at the homestead valley trailehead, hiking into the gravel, going into the tiny hole-in-the-wall enterace of the trail, hiking to the connector and transferring to the Mount Washington trail, and then reaching the peak.

As said before, this is a very isolated hike, so don't expect to see many people. I saw a total of maybe 9 on the entire hike. The condition of the trail is good, the beginning is rocky so poles may not be super useful but later it becomes more dirt-y, and then rock and dirt and so on until the peak. It's mostly completely surrounded by tree or rock so don't expect any views until the Owl Hike Spot. There are also a few more places, one that was sort of like a valley and then of course the peak. There is also one strange place, where it's SUPER dense with foilage. However it is very, very short.

There are no bugs for almost all the trail, but do be warned that near the peak there is a LOT of mosquitos. Like, if you stop moving for 3 seconds you get bit. It's genuinely just a swarm everywhere, so either bring bug spray for the top of keep moving. I got bit 4 times even barely stopping still. The view at the top is very good, you can look towards Rainier (Picture 1) and also to Mount Si and that area (Picture 2). 

Statistics:
-Time: 2:54-6:14 (3:20:17, 3.0 mi/h)
-Total distance: 9:87 miles (Although the trail says it's 8.6 miles, I somehow tracked nearly 10. It may be the inaccuracy of my tracker, however.)
-Elevation gain: 3,124 ft
-Steps: 17,802
-Personal rating: 8.3/10

Loop trip.  This is a really nice loop trip to Mt. WA that is really not that much more difficult than a regular out & back to Mt. WA.  First, I took the standard route to Mt. WA summit.  Mt. WA is a great trail but, let's be honest, not that scenic until near the very top.  The descent via the Great Wall (which was formerly the standard route to Mt. WA before the current trail was built) and Change Creek Trails is WAY more scenic!

The Change Creek Trail, especially where it traverses the valley bottom, is quite brushy.  Bring a pruning saw or clippers and help!  The going isn't bad, but if everyone helps, it will be better.  The amount of bear scat along this section of trail was rather unnerving. I didn't see any bears, though.

The final mile of descent from Hall Point to the Palouse to Cascades Trail, is steep and gnarly.  I don't like coming down this trail, but it's only a mile.  Take care of those knees!

I saw nobody all day except on the final short jaunt along the Palouse to Cascades Trail back to the trailhead.