Road to trailhead: Large potholes on Mountain Loop Highway and Forest Road 49, but passable in a low-clearance vehicle going slow with lots of swerving.

Trail to switchbacks: As mentioned in previous reports, there's stinging nettle just as you turn onto the trail from the road.

Switchbacks: Very large tree down around 2 miles in, fortunately someone had cut a notch underneath for easier access. A few other smaller downed trees, but were passable either over or under. About half a mile after Bingley Gap, there's a brushy tree that required some creative branch-stepping to get over, and could be difficult if you have a larger overnight pack. Guessing it's a recent fall since I didn't see it mentioned in previous trip reports, and it had plenty of pollen buds that eagerly coated me in yellow dust.

Lost Creek Ridge: Streams were barely a trickle, but there's plenty of snow to melt if you need it. I'd originally planned for Lake Byrne, but the trail became obscured by snow 1-2 feet deep just before the Round Lake fork, so opted for Round Lake instead.

Round Lake: Frozen but starting to thaw. Trail down to the lake is still covered in 2-3 feet of snow. Didn't have my spikes to attempt that steep of a slope, and I'd already hiked down a few years ago under snow-free conditions, so just savored the views from the ridge. It was a pleasant 70F and sunny, although mosquitos and sweat bees were out in full force, so didn't stay very long.

I will never do this as a day hike again!  My knees were screaming for mercy - and they still haven't forgiven me.

Road: my Honda Fit made it to the trailhead without difficulty.

Light snow at higher elevations, but nothing that was difficult to walk on. Prime blueberry picking! 

What a gem of a hike. Did this with a couple friends I hadn't been able to see for many months, and after some working together about COVID precautions we headed out.

A lot of this trail is in what appears to be second-growth forest, which is a bit boring but at least nicely-graded. The ridgewalk is absolutely gorgeous though -- the views start almost right after your cross into the Glacier Peak wilderness (my personal favorite wilderness in Washington).

I wanted to keep walking along the ridgeline, but we did head down to Round Lake, which was nice and peaceful, though probably worth noting that we did lose the trail once we got into the valley -- there's a section where you have to cross a stream and the most obvious trail on the other side leads into a campsite. 

For the most direct route to the lake (and the one that keeps you mostly off the meadow), head towards the lake at an angle once the trail dumps you into the low spot with the creek. You should come to a steep but obvious section of trail (don't worry, it's short) on the other side of the meadow. Take that, and you'll arrive at the lakeshore after crossing the outlet.

There was one other person camped when we got there. We watched fish jump, frogs in the lake and birds overhead while having lunch, then headed back out.

Saw a fair number of people heading in on our way out, which makes sense since it was the first day of a long weekend.

This day hike was awesome. Only ran into a few other people the entire day. The trail is pretty straight forward- follow the main part and you won't get lost. There are a few down trees that were annoying to get around on the trail. From the trailhead you climb up and up. At around 4 miles you get to a ridge and overlook the lake. From there it's a steep climb down- and from atop it looks deceptively short. Spend some time down at the lake- it's wonderful. There are lots of great overnight camping spots too.