This trail melts out early with its south facing-slopes, making it a good choice for a long walk with a climb in the spring. And the trail is well-built and in excellent shape: it is mainly earth (as opposed to rocks and roots) and climbs quite gradually over long switchbacks. In fact, I saw two bikers riding up it over the course of the day. But the beauty of the trail is quite damaged by the significantly scarred, burned forest, which starts about 3 1/2 miles up and continues all the way to Dalles Ridge. You can see the burned trees lining the top of the ridge as you climb.
The views from the viewpoint near Little Ranger Peak at 2.6 miles are of the White River Valley, and you don't get a clear view of Rainier. In order to see Rainier you have to climb past the intersection with the Palisades trail at 4.6 miles and 5200', where the snow became much more solid, and either climb a little higher on the Little Ranger Peak trail (1/4 miles past the Palisades intersection and bushwhack out on an arm to the west) or head out on the Palisades trail. I didn't climb all the way to the ridge as the snow was too deep and the trail was buried just after the Palisades intersection.
I encountered about 10 parties on the trail today, including the two solo bikers, some stopping at the Little Ranger Peak viewpoint and some climbing a few more miles to the views of Rainier.
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