"Perfect weather day hike with AK. We had some good clean fun getting off-trail and doing some light scrambling to get back on. Also had a rockfall scare (near Bandera split walking on trail), as we heard some shouts of "ROCK! ROCK!" from above and saw a microwave-sized boulder sweep by us just a few feet away. Snow was present 70% up from Mason Lake, but melting away rapidly for some added uncertainty to your steps. Ira Springs parking lot was full, but we parked at the less busy Tinkham TH for some extra mileage. Great day!" — zachmitch • Jun 3, 2023

"We weren’t sure if the road to the upper trailhead was open (it was), so we parked just off of I-90 and took the trail from the lower lot, then followed the winter route to Mason Lake. Snow was fairly constant as soon as we started following Mason Creek. The boulder field below Mason Lake had good snow coverage and was easy to traverse. This was the first hot day of the year and the snow was getting very soft by the time we reached the summit area. We avoided the slide-prone south-facing meadows and went directly up the southeast ridgeline, through the trees, without incident. The hike back was pleasant plunge stepping until we got back to the Mason Creek drainage, at which point there was a lot of surprise post-holing. 8 hours car-to-car, followed by pizza and beer back in Tacoma." — TynanRammGranberg • Apr 29, 2023

"Ideal hike with AK. Elevation and class 2 make this a fun one. Very rocky throughout, not much walking that isn't @ significant incline, and great views (even a peek at Rainier). Similar to Kamikaze but much less rooty. Def got the cardio going. It's still a little hazy here from the Bolt Creek fire, but we must take advantage of the nice weather while we have it. Alpental had maybe 20 cars when we arrived, absolutely packed when we left - people going to the overflow lot" — zachmitch • Oct 8, 2022

"Solo hike today and to the TH @ 7:30AM, 3 cars in the lot on a Friday. Kamikaze up is as fun as everyone says, lots of gain. My calves and achilles were feeling it. On the descent (down Teneriffe trail) I found talus on only about 30% of the hike -- a majority of the trail was quite clean. No sweeping landscape photos were possible today, as the smoke finally found it's way here. " — zachmitch • Sep 9, 2022

"Solo hike on Labor Day weekend. Was at the TH @ 7:00AM and found the parking lot with about 10 cars, when I returned @ 10:30AM it was overflowing. No clouds the entire hike, high 60's Fahrenheit. Lovely little hike." — zachmitch • Sep 4, 2022