Hiking time 338 minutes and 47.4 seconds, or 5 hours and 39 minutes. Got on the trail at 11:45 AM. Took 174 photos of which 101 made the cut, which will undoubtedly discourage almost everyone from taking a look in spite of how spectacular the scenery is on this hike.

All images hand-held. Did not bring the tripod because on this treacherous hike, I had to use trekking poles to preserve what years I have left in this life.

Brought both the 12-40mm and the 75-300mm, but the latter was just dead weight. I took it with me to get close-ups of flowers, crags, and cliffs at the summit but everything below 200 feet from both summits was socked in clouds. Clouds were stretched in all directions as far as the eye could see. At the same time, I understand Portland was perfectly clear. When I stepped into the top of the the clouds on the way down, the temperature immediately plunged from the upper 60's to the low 50's and I had to put my thick black pullover shirt on and gloves to keep from freezing to death. I also periodically experienced raindrops!

It's probably been 20 years since I went on this hike. It was the most strenuous hike I've been on since I resumed noteworthy hikes a few months ago, even more strenuous than my recent Hamilton Mountain hike. It doesn't sound like much when you see the specs: 5.6 miles round trip, elevation gain: 1,700 feet to 3,283 feet above sea level. But most of the elevation gain is in the last mile and a half.

The trail is so steep in parts that the park service has surfaced the trail in the hairy stretches in wire mesh that lug soles can thankfully get a perfectly reliable grip on. Would that all insanely steep trails had this technological advantage! It's like walking on ice with crampons: perfectly secure traction on really scary grades. Without that wire mesh on the trail, I would have just turned around at my first encounter with such a grade, especially since the wire mesh covers loose gravel, which becomes immaterial with the wire mesh overlaying it. The wire mesh is nailed down on its sides with spikes pounded into the ground, so (for the most part) the mesh doesn't move around (but it is loose in a few places; you just have to be careful then).

The scenic values of this hike are wonderful and provide a magnificent payoff, ample payment for the effort involved in doing the hike. This time of the year the way is decorated with superb flower shows and the many open views reveal spectacular cliffs and rock outcroppings. I saw a good sample of the scenic value, except, as already mentioned, there was cloud cover as far as the eye could see in all directions everywhere below 90% of the mountain! This was a disappointment but the best of the scenery is near the top which for the most part was above the clouds, at least most of the time.