Arrived to the parking area around 8AM on sunny Saturday and was shocked to find myself as the first car there. In fact, I encountered very few folks - this hike is truly a hidden gem. I had been here in the winter and really enjoyed the trip. Today's springtime visit did not disappoint!

Many thanks to the kind soul(s) who placed the arrows on the trail denoting which path to take. The offshoots to the main trail can be deceiving, but generally staying straight ahead should do the trick. 

There are views galore on this hike, especially on a clear day. I took my time to enjoy the scenery - especially with flowers in bloom! Definitely heard and noticed bugs buzzing about, but none were particularly bothersome. 

For the last mile, there is some snow on the ground which isn't difficult to cross, but can throw you off in terms of finding the trail. There are also trees down across a few areas, but can be navigated pretty easily. I didn't have a GPS and was going off memory, but it isn't too challenging to find the trail if you're keeping an eye out. 

This is definitely one of my favorites - will be back! Including the walk to/from the car, I clocked 8.3 miles, 2,654ft elevation gain.

Parked at the entrance to the forest road. For the first mile and a half or so you're hiking along the forest road to the trailhead. Then when you get to the trailhead, the ascent is pretty relentless in the beginning. Thigh burner, for sure! But the views are lovely and the wildflowers are starting to bloom. Make sure to bring good sun protection because this hike is pretty exposed. There's not a lot of shade from trees. In the last mile there are some patches of snow still, but given the heat I assume this will melt off very soon. No microspikes needed. And once you get to the summit, the views are stunning! Make sure you go on a clear day so you can see Rainier. 

Trail is great until the last mile or so there is patchy snow, downed trees and it gets a bit ambiguous. It's pretty obvious where you're headed, just keep going up and you'll find the trail again.

Snow starts at around 4300-4500' and is only patchy, I didn't need spikes or snowshoes.

We hiked up Hex Mountain for sunset. Trail was clear except for the last half a mile, where there are patches of snow. We carried our microspikes, but did not need them. The snow was easy to walk around. If you do walk on snow, be careful of the sections near the fallen logs, where your feet may sink in. 

The sunset was gorgeous, with clear views of Rainier and the north Cascades. We hiked down with headlamps. Thanks again to the Gaia app, we found ourselves taking a wrong fork in the trail on the way down. Not too bad, we had to retrace our steps for about 5 minutes. Other than that, the hike back was quite uneventful (in a good way).