Only about a 45-minute drive from Seattle, the mountain is a favorite outdoor destination among the locals of the Puget Sound areas. On most summer days one can count hundreds of hikers on the trail to the summit. It is rumored to be the most-climbed peak in the United States.

The trail climbs 3,500 ft in about 3.5 miles, making it an ideal conditioning trip, and it is open during the winter and spring when most of the Cascades are snowed in. Hikers wanting extra exercise will carry up jugs of water in backpacks, then empty them at the top so as to reduce knee stress on the walk down.

The trail only goes as far as the summit ridge at the base of the "Haystack". The ascent of the Haystack to the actual summit is a short but somewhat exposed scramble, not recommended in wet or snowy conditions.

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