The weather was looking to clear so I picked a summit hike this Sunday. I beat the crowds and got to the trailhead at 6AM. On the way up, I turned right at the Olallie trail, then headed straight up. That was brutal. At the junction with the Mount Washington trail, I met a pair of hikers who had started after me but had caught up. I got to the summit around 9AM but I could not find the summit marker. I headed back down to the false summit (?) or view point and had a snack. Great view of the lakes below. There were bugs but a light breeze plus my treated clothing kept them at bay. A couple came up so I packed up and headed down. On the way down, I took the Mount Washington trail which was a much nicer grade. Instead of using the Olallie trail back to the way I came, I kept on the Olallie trail, which actually went up in elevation, then met up with the Great Wall trail to get back to the Mount Washington trail. This did add distance but I was back at the trailhead in 2.5 hours. Lots of wildflower blooming. I tried a few of the salmon berries but they were sour and not ripe yet. 

Somehow we’ve never been here until today! Headed up today on a cloudy Friday morning. Me, my two teen boys, and our two dogs. There were three cars in the parking lot at 8:45 am. Bathroom was open and stocked.
The trail is not well marked, so I was glad to have the trail description saved to my backpack. Navigation would have been helpful as well, but my son forgot his watch. We just headed up hill at each intersection, looking for the the rockier path.
It starts steep and remains that way pretty much throughout. A good hike for training! The thing that makes it feel more challenging is the medium sized rocks that move and roll on a fair amount of the trail. There were some minor trees down, and some areas that are quite brushy, but nothing too major. We got a few pokes by some devils club. The mosquitoes were out, definitely at the top section of the hike. We saw some pikas in the rocks, and lots of bear grass. Overall, we had the trail to ourselves. We saw five people coming down when we were going up, and maybe 8 people coming up when we were going down. We were moving at a slowish pace, and it took us 3 hours up and 2ish hours down. My younger son took a tumble on some loose rocks on the way down, but thankfully we were nearly back to the car by then.
We didn’t get to enjoy the views in the clouds this morning but had a great workout and happy to spend some time on a fairly empty trail!

Unfortunately, I cannot speak to the view as the clouds completely blocked the it. Based on the pictures that other people have posted, I'm sure the view is great, I just can't comment on it. Funny enough, I met someone at the summit who said he'd hiked it 10 times and never seen the view either.

When I arrived at the trailhead at about 6:30am, I was the first car there. However, this is a trail I would not want to be the first one at because you'll spend most all of the hike walking through spiderwebs making for an unpleasant experience. Speaking of bugs, definitely be sure to bring bug spray; the mosquitos were out in force when I was there.

As for the trail itself, it's a consistent rocky incline throughout. I would recommend bringing hiking poles, but they are not a must bring for this hike. The first half of the hike you'll be able to hear the highway. By the time I got back to the trailhead, around 12:15pm, the parking lot was full.

One quick tip: you will get to a junction where to the right there is a pond with some felled logs with a torn sign that says "Mount Washington" on it seemingly pointing you that way. Do not go that way; the trail to summit is to the left. I went right initially and found a bench with a good overlook spot, but again the view was blocked by the clouds. Other than that, the detour did not yield much else.

Wildflowers are starting to bloom, and will be improving over the coming weeks. Trail is in good shape with some minor blowdowns that are easy to navigate. Bugs are staring to come out to dine. Bug spray made a big difference.

Great day for a hike up a thigh-burner of a trail. There are long stretches of cobbles that do make the downhill trek longer than I'd planned, and I personally found hiking poles handy but saw folks with and without them. Still, plenty of opportunities for a slip and fall, so watch your footing on the way back down if your legs are tired.

The parking lot was pretty full when I arrived around 1 p.m., but this was an extremely low-traffic trail compared to some of the others in the area, and all but one person had their dogs on a leash. Lots of shade, but there are some exposed bits near the top where the sun can feel pretty intense—don't underestimate your hydration needs. This is a solid uphill trek, and it wouldn't be fun to finish the last switchbacks without enough water!

The views of Seattle's watersheds at the top are lovely, and the last third of the trail is full of wildflowers right now; trillium are in bloom and looked close to peaking. Several patches of salmonberries are ripening in the last stretch on your return to the parking lot, which make for a nice treat.

To fellow bug magnets: wear that permethrin-treated clothing/bring whatever insect deterrent you prefer. Nothing like trying to outrun the cloud of mozzies that thinks you're the best snack on the mountain...

Also, if you're an idiot like me, make a note in advance to follow the trail the correct way rather than taking the sharp V where a half-mangled sign might convince you to go the other way. If you go the other way, turn around before you decide to stubbornly attempt the unmaintained trail/scramble that forks up a different mountainside. It's a fine sidetrack, but really not worth the effort.