Went on Saturday morning at 8am. 2.5mi to the summit, quick pace and it took me about 70 minutes to get there. Coming down was just a bit faster at 50 minutes. Only campers at Mirror Lake in the morning, no one at the top, and tons more people around the lake at 11am.
Trail condition: 3/5 Dusty for the most part with lots of loose dirt. The beginning until Mirror Lake is wet in parts, but this might dry up as the summer heats up. Some minor blowdowns that you can go over/under. Lots of cobwebs in the morning along the entire trail, seems like I was the first one through. At the peak, tons of mosquitoes. They were circling even when I had put on fresh bug spray.
Trail difficulty: 4/5 Easy up until the turnoff to the Tinkham trail, then it's a steady incline to the top. Legs felt it going up as well as going down. I don't use poles but would recommend them if you do.
Navigation: 3/5 For the most part it's easy to find the trail but still recommend a GPS device. However, there were multiple campers pretty much on top of the trail, which made it hard to find if I was going the right way.
Parking: 2/5 At the trailhead is "parking" for about 10 cars, everyone else started parking along the side of the road. If you're brave enough, you can continue past the initial parking for about 0.3 miles on the washed-out road, but this requires a Jeep or other off-road vehicle (NOT an SUV), at which point there is space for some parking there too. Road coming in is freshly graded with gravel and is very enjoyable to drive on, no potholes. There is a three-way split somewhere in the middle coming in, and you just need to keep going straight to get to this trail.
Features: 2/5 The forest walk was peaceful up until the lake, when everyone woke up and were pretty loud with kids screaming. Good elevation gains in a short distance, and the view at the top was magnificent today. Could see Rainier very well and you had 360 views of everything else. The two small lakes directly below the cliff were my favorite. Not much in terms of wildflowers or anything else.
Family friendly: 2/5 Family friendly to an extent. I think the trail itself can be done by grown children with breaks, but there is lots of loose soil and there needs to be proper supervision as there are some sketchy areas. The top also has a sheer cliff on one side.
Overall: 4/5 Bring plenty of water. This is my favorite type of hike with low mileage and high elevation gain, my watch showed a little under 2,000 ft ascent. Good workout for the legs and for mental motivation. Not many people know about this hike, but it is definitely worth a try if you're up for a challenge. Sign the register at the top (bring a piece of paper, the book is full!).
GPX File for this trail which was pretty accurate: https://www.gaiagps.com/map/?loc=15.2/-121.4463/47.3452&pubLink=YpBj6mze28Q4ewlxzduZg4n3&trackId=a28a84aa-05f8-41d2-a50a-30b122d084db
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