Last year’s snowmelt really eroded some of this trail. I remember navigating roots and rocks several years ago when I did it last, but almost the entire trail is just that and much worse than before. The recent rain/hail also made it muddy and slick most of the way up. About half a mile from the saddle, the ice started. A hail storm the night before hit the mountain and all of it pooled and froze together. Below the tree line it was still warm enough to melt to a navigable slush, but once you moved past the tree line it became slick ice. It took just as much time to get from TH to saddle as saddle to peak, since I ascended early before it could melt at all/break up from the crowds.