This is the perfect hike for when I don’t wake up early to go hiking but still want a good workout, view etc. I’m always surprised by how few people are on this hike given the bang for your buck workout and proximity to Seattle. Today I saw only one other couple in the entire 8 miles. A nice hiker has written instructions on the aforementioned torn up sign indicating that you should turn left at that point. 
beautiful day beautiful views. Oh, the shards of rock on long sections of the hike are less than desirable. It’s rolled ankle city on that stuff. 

We hiked to the top of Mt Washington for the first time- my companion has hiked New Hampshire’s notorious Mt Washington which is much more difficult than this hike! That being said, this hike is quite a workout! Rocky - especially at first— but there are also pleasantly smooth stretches. Interesting to pass by some bolted climbing routes. Also we spotted  some rusting bits of logging (?) machinery and cables. We did get confused at a junction with the Olallie trail (after the signed Great Wall trail junction.) There was a sign partially destroyed that obviously had once said Mt Washington- but which way? My Gaia gps app showed more than 1 trail ascending Mt Washington. So we took a hard right at this junction then soon afterwards another left upwards into the trees (a smaller trail peeling off). This became a  climbers boot path that cut about .3 miles off the route, skipped the switchbacks and went brutally steeply uphill. Narrow! Some scrambling with hands and feet required. We enjoy this sort of thing but you may not! We regained the main route at one of the upper switchbacks from this boot path and the way up the summit from there was clear, easy to follow. Rather than descend the way we came we followed the obvious trail and then came to a junction where we turned left (legible sign for Mt Washington trail) walked a very little ways and found that illegible sign! Here we took a right and soon found ourselves on the path (approaching the Great Wall trail junction again) that we had ascended initially before our more direct steep detour!

I counted 39 people and 7 dogs (6 off leash). Spread out though so the trail never felt crowded. Hungry bugs were annoying whenever we stopped. Some water sources along the way but nothing I recall seeing in the final mile /1.5 miles to summit. Lots of bear grass blooming!

[Trail running]
Arrived at Olallie State Park at 7:30am, first car in the small parking lot. Bathroom in the lot was in good condition and obviously open. After crossing the Palouse to Cascades trail, we headed up the Mt Washington Trail. Running up was a bit slow at first, as the elevation increase is intense, and you are running up a dried stream bed with very very loose rock (some parts have a bit of running water but did not get my shoes wet at all).

At the sign, we continued on Mt. Washington trail. Around 5km, we hit the ridge line, which was a pretty fun challenge with amazing views, and a nice break from the stones of the creek bed. As you come to the summit, there are breathtaking views of Mt. Rainer and the valley. Could not find the summit marker.

Previous trip reports reported bugs and that is very true. The closer we got to the top, the more mosquitoes we ran into. As we were the first climbers of the day, we hit all the spiderwebs going up and coming down (we took a separate trail down). The mosquitoes at the top were almost unbearable, we could only spend a few minutes taking pictures, as we were both swarmed very quickly. As it was a very nice day, we were hoping to spend more time at the top, as there were no other hikers in site, but the mosquitoes had other plans, so we headed back down, this time taking the Great Wall trail back. We considered heading up Change Peak, but decided to try that another time (the trail to it is on your left once you cross to the other side). This part of the trek on the Great Wall trail was the best and most enjoyable for running. Basically an old road with few rocks and a gentle grade. If you want an easier hike up, definitely consider taking Great Wall trail and not Mt. Washington trail to the summit. Also, fewer trees on this section with amazing views, definitely worth checking out. Was hard to not stop every few feet for pictures.

Took us 2:55 hrs (1.25 hrs up), with walking the last 3km (I tripped and fell on the loose rock and cut my knee and decided to walk the rest) and very cautious downhill running once we left the Great Wall trail. Taking the Great Wall trail added 3 km for a total of 15.5km. Dealing with the rocky conditions got very tiring after a while. We were the first ones up and saw 6 people on our way back heading up. Parking lot had a handful of cars when we returned. 

Arrived at 7:30am. One other car in the lot.

This trail is steep and lots of loose rocks. Overgrown mostly, one person can pass easily.  The closer you got to the top where the trail opens up for views, the more annnoying the mosquitoes are. 

The bear grass was in full bloom. Lilies at the top. 3 other different flowers at the top. Tiny white flowers on the sides of the trail near the top

The trip back down was slow due to the loose rocks. 

Arrived at our car by 1:30. One entire side of the lot was full. 

Trail is very rocky and entirely a dry stream bed in places. No snow, bugs were starting to get troublesome. Trail signage had been torn up.