Completed on Sunday 08/21. Reached trailhead around 11:30AM and still found a few parking spots. The road to trailhead is terrible with a lot of huge potholes in last 6 miles. We rented a pickup truck and that did the job for us.

Hike itself is pretty rocky. There were large boulders in last 0.2 miles. Some people brought their dogs, who were having a miserable time going over the boulders. It was a sunny day post 12PM and we were exposed to direct sun for most of the hike. Views from top were fantastic. Fire lookout at Mt Pilchuck also offers FCFS basis night stay allowance (people need to bring their own sleeping bag, food/water etc). Morning views from lookout are unparalleled!