After a week of smoke, I woke up early Sunday morning to clear skies. Driving south of of Bend I hit some patches of fog and smoke, but it was gloriously clear around Maiden Peak! It was supposed to be a hot day so we (me and the pup, Thor) started relatively early. I really, really enjoyed this hike. The trail is graded perfectly, starting off with a very gradual ascent that slowly gets steeper as you get warmed up. It is entirely shaded until close to the summit, so it was a good choice for a hot day. And the views are incredible! A note that despite the topo maps showing some small lakes around the 6100 ft level, they were dry and there was no water available on the hike.