After deciding against Noble Knob, we drove up to Suntop. We had to park along with the 6 other cars 0.6 miles from the parking lot as the snow was impassable. It was deep and soft so most vehicles would've gotten high-centered and/or lost traction.

2 cars left as we started and we passed one couple and a group of 6. The trek up the road was more effort then the trail itself. There were a few bare spots on the road as well as some compacted snow. The trail had minor snow, most of which allowed travel over with only a few inches of sinking. We had the top to ourselves and stayed long enough to take photos. The wind was strong and felt good on this warm day. The bathroom was open, but not stocked.

We headed back down and continued on 1183 across the road. It didn't look like anyone had been here in awhile. We cleared a lot of debris off the trail. The snow on the road ended about 100 feet up, which made the climb easier. Snow started again around 0.6 from the road. At first it was similar to the climb to Suntop, but then became much more firm and crunchy. No postholing for us, but clearly the elk traveling through did. There were some 2 foot deep tracks along the way. I wonder if elk sound their surprise like humans do. It felt like we were moving really slowly.

As we got about 1.0 mile from the road, there was compact snow/ice on the trail and we had a couple minor slips. Headed up to the ridge above the trail for the peek-a-boo view of Rainier and headed back. The texture of the snow reminded me of meringue - very stiff peaks. It made running a bit precarious as there was no give to the snow and my  ankles would roll slightly one way or the other. The run back down the road was much more fun as it was smoother and had a lot more give and cushion.

Gate to the top is still closed but we had to park over .5 mile down from it anyway due to snow. Lots of snow on the road still. Closer to the top, the trail is much more cleared of snow than the road.

New accessibility path to the lookout is almost complete!

Started hiking around 8:30 pm our car couldn’t make it past the first rutted snow field so we parked it there and hiked from there to the top only added maybe half a mile or so. Trail is in good shape some snow but still good and so is the lookout.

No snow shoes needed but lots of ice and snow to cross so keep an eye on your footing.

I will start by saying I didn’t make it to the top. My friend I hiked with did. We parked at the SnoPark at 7:15am. There was a bunch of garbage by the gate that was gone when we returned. Thank you to whoever picked that up. The road is long and uneventful. There are about 4 trees down you can easily climb over. There isn’t snow til about 2.5 miles but it’s intermittent. At 3 miles up the snow is with you til the top. I left my pants and long gaiters at home. This was a mistake and even bigger mistake I didn’t want to carry my snowshoes up the hill. At about 3.5 miles we said the snow walking was for the birds and went straight up into the trees. It was pretty much snow free in there until just below the road. We cut a big horseshoe out of the road section. We just followed some game trails and took the path of least resistance. Once we got back to the road it was hard. I kept post holing up to my knees and the snow was crunchy and scraping my legs and they started to bleed close to the top. I tried it best but I was just too heavy for the conditions and no snowshoes. My friend is about 60lbs less so he was able to stay on top of the snow better and got to the lookout.

Distance - 9 miles

Time 7:15am-2:55pm 7:40h

Beautiful day for a snow acclimation hike. I'm not ready to wear pants yet so I'm glad the conditions afforded me another shorts hike. It was foggy and chilly at home, but the Crystal Mt cams showed partially clear skies so we headed up that way. Last min decided to head to Suntop to scout the conditions there. FS 73 was OK - at least better than beyond the 7315 turnoff. 7315 was about the same.  There's a tree leaning over the road which requires you to squeeze underneath. A full size Chevy truck got under so sedans and mid-SUVs should be fine. Snow starts on the road maybe 2 miles from the small lot below the closed gate. We were concerned about losing traction as there was packed snow, but we had absolutely no issues. Heading down was actually worse since we were stuck in the ruts and gave up a bit of control.

Parked in the small lot and headed up the trail which had some minor snow, but traction wasn't needed. Spent some time at the top in the sun and took in some views. Rainier was partly in clouds. The toilet is open, but without TP. Went back down the road and I think that would've been more effort coming up than the trail.

We continued on 1183 over toward Ranger Creek and went a little over a mile to the viewpoint (really the only other one facing Rainier on this trail) There were spots of snow, just above ankle height and ice in spots, but no traction needed yet. The snow looked to be more continuous beyond the viewpoint. There's only a partial view of Rainier on a good day, so no pictures today.