Two old men and a dog hiked this trail from the west the other day. We left Portland and took Hwy 30 (Wind River Road) north to Stabler, then west to Szydlo Rd to FR-54 then northerly to junction of NF-54 and NF-307 (note 307 not marked nor is TH). We found the TH with no problem since I had been there last year and searched for it for an hour.
The trail is pretty brushy, rocky and rooty most of the way and has a few slide areas. It's also pretty narrow at spots but that's not a big issue. As others have written it's a steep trail for the first mile or so and seems much steeper than it is due to the trail conditions. The flowers are blooming but not plentiful. We were surprised to find some ripe huckleberries but I'd guess it'll be another week before this area has many.
We had lunch shortly after the trail summit while enjoying views of Mt Hood, Mt Adams and Mt St Helens. My friend had to get home by 6PM so we decided to turn back before getting to the lake since it's a steep ascent.
There were no vehicles at the TH and saw no one on the trail. This is the 4th time I've been up there and have never seen another person so it is a legitimate wilderness - note that no forest pass is required but there is a wilderness permit to complete in a container at the TH (which is a hundred feet or so from parking area through the brush).
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