8 miles of hiking • 3250' elevation gain •
Hiked East (Heartbreak Ridge) trail up, then West trail down (some people call it Windbreak Ridge). East trail has little views and LOTS of small biting flies (gnats?). West trail was in the open most of the time and almost bug-free; I'll use it up and down from now on. Only a few snow patches under the trees on the summit. Many flowers, especially glacier lilies. I only met 2 groups on the way there and 2 groups on the way to the trailhead, but nobody on the mountain itself. No bugs on the top (and for that matter no bugs anywhere except Heartbreak trail and the very bottom of Windbreak trail). Best views were at north tip of summit plateau, where I saw Rainier, Adams, and St. Helens, and a good view of the river. Gorge Overlook (east point) has a good view of Hood and Bonneville Dam but the view East from there is getting obscured with trees.
