I have only been on this hike once before with our daughter 6 years ago and only remembered parts of the hike. It was like re-discovering an amazing place with my better half. We started off early and met one gentleman coming down who told us that there was no one else at the top. It was wonderful having the summit to ourselves for the entire hour we spent there. I don't know who was hungrier, us or the bugs, but with a layer of bug spray on, we survived. This mountain-top was once the sight of a fire look-out tower where you can see over 100 miles to the horizon. Even tho there was a haze, the views were awe-inspiring on this beautiful day. The first photo is of Mt. Stuart, 9,415 ft elevation and 57 miles away (NE) as the crow flies. 2nd shot is of Mt. Baker, 10,775 ft. elevation, (N) and 123 miles away as the crow flies. We wondered outloud what it would have looked like a hundred years ago, without the pollutants in the air. Then I turned the zoom lens south to Mt. Rainier... :-)