Hiked South Sister with my son Dan — visiting from Tampa. We didn't know what to expect as far as snow or conditions, and there was a lot more of the white stuff than we expected. Fortunately, it was pretty firm so hiking over it wasn't much of a problem.

Just a few patches of snow on the initial climb to the plateau, then big sections. Following the trail was sometimes a challenge, with footprints heading off in many directions, but we mainly stayed on track. Once the real climbing started, there were some stretches of snow that required care to traverse. We both had trekking poles, but only one of us had micro spikes — though they weren't really needed.

The section from the glacier up to the cauldron was sandy scree that made travel slow and tedious, but once you reach the top, it's a breeze to make your way around to the summit.

There were LOTS of people on the trail, at the summit, and all over the mountain. We were really surprised to see so many people still heading up as we were coming down. Fortunately there were no clouds or threat of lightning strikes that afternoon, but in other circumstances, it would be unwise.

Definitely get an early start for this trek.