This is a tough hike with a nice payout at the very end of the ascent. The trail work, that has been described in other trip reports, makes the climb for the first ~4.25 miles straightforward as you continually climb through burned sections of mixed severity from the 2022 Suiattle River Fire. The vegetation has grown up through the course of the summer so you need to watch your footwork for wet sections, hidden rocks and holes. There are abundant mushrooms throughout the hike from the late August rains we received. From 4.25 miles to the meadows at south Huckleberry Mountain the trail often is hard to follow as it disappears in a more severely burned section but the density of burned and living brush is low enough to make travel not too difficult. The views from the meadow are fantastic taking in Dome, Glacier, and Sloan Peaks, Mt. Pugh and others. The huckleberry in the meadows is a vibrant red with some patches of berries but not abundant in most places.
I decided to go on to Huckleberry Mountain proper. In this section, the trail has mostly been subsumed back into the brush and can only be followed for short sections. The travel is not too bad for brush but is quite steep in sections. Traversing in parallel across steep slopes without a trail is hard on the feet and ankles. I didn't find the payoff worth the invested effort and wouldn't suggest making the effort, although views north to Baker and beyond are to be had that are nice.
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