Reached the trailhead at 8:45 on a beautiful Friday and found 3 other cars there. The trail was in great shape all the way to Valhalla Peak. It appeared that it had recently been logged out. I encountered a handful of other hikers.
At the shelter, I found an illegal fire ring. Fires aren't permitted here because it's above the 3500-ft campfire boundary. Plus there's a forest-wide fire ban in effect, as there is every summer. I cleaned up the fire ring. Folks, if you camp here, please don't build a fire! Note that the shelter is pretty bare-bones. It has no bunks, benches or tables, and the dirt floor isn't level.
As I climbed toward Harrison Lake, mosquitoes began to appear, and they were pretty bad at the lake. As I approached 5050 Pass, blooming beargrass started to appear, and there was a nice display of it on the steep meadow below Valhalla Peak. The view from the peak was excellent: Mt Constance, The Brothers, Mt Rainier, Mt Baker, Hood Canal, the Dosewallips valley. I could even see the skyscrapers of downtown Seattle.
I was back at the trailhead at 3 p.m.
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