Wanted to get up to Sunrise before the road closed for the winter. Choose this hike since I have never done it and I expected the Fremont Lookout/Burroughs area to be very crowded. Managed to get up to the trail head just before sunrise. There were about 15 cars in the lot with people lining up to catch the morning sun. Once the sun peaked above the mountains I headed off down the trail. The trail is in great shape with the usual tree roots that you need to keep an eye out for but mostly clear and rock free. A couple of previous reports mentioned a hornet/wasp nest and while I definitely heard the loud buzzing, I didn't encounter any stinging creatures. It was even louder on my way out, so I ran through the area to avoid being stung.
Overall, it was a nice hike, some late fall colors and multiple small lakes to stop and enjoy. The trail has some up and down to it, more down on the way out so you get to go more up on the way back. Since one of goals was to avoid the crowds, this was absolutely the way to go. I only saw two groups on the whole way out and only two more on the way back. I sat at Palisades Lake for lunch and didn't see or hear another soul. The fall colors make me think this might be a good berry picking trail at the right time of year.
After the hike I drove up to the visitor center area and was surprised to see a fair amount of open spots in the parking lot. It was around 1pm. I walked around a little and enjoyed the views of the mountain.
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