We read you got to choose your poison with Old vs New Trail. Old Trail = straight up, New Trail = twice the distance but more manageable. We opted for straight up. The diamonds on the trees helped at times where the trail wasn’t super visible. We hiked under a beautiful canopy, through misty fog at times before it opened up to the incredible Boulder stairs. Mt. Rainier greeted us above the clouds and we gave her a big hello, nice to see you again. Wildflowers bloomed in the meadows and we spotted many butterflies. This was definitely a favorite hike! We opted for the Old Trail back down – trekking poles were helpful as the ground was fairly soft.