6/14, Sunday, forecast was 50% precipitation (worse on Saturday). 3 of us met at the P&R ~7am, this time I invited a girl I met in a Portland hiking group, and she suggested Mount Washington. So I decided to expand it to include Change Peak. Total (without my wrong turns) ~10.5 miles, 4000'.
Mt Washington TH is in Ollalie State Park. There were ~20 cars in the parking lot when we arrived. A bit too crowded for my taste. Met a guy training for Rainier in August, and a girl training for Adams in July. They carried a pull pack. I actually carried a gallon of water, however, the jar leaked, and I dumped the water only about 1 mile in. On one stretch, we were alone, by going on a steeper, more rugged route, which I rather enjoyed. (top 2 junctions.) The final few hundred feet is a nice meadow-y slope. Too many people here.
Continued down this slope without turning. It hits a road. Follow that for Change Peak. No one else was on this leg. The view is more obstructed. We had lunch here all by ourselves. The weather also cleared up a bit.
Heading down, more logging road. We visited this little pond (with a flag by the overgrown logging road, which I missed.) It seems to be the head water of Change Creek. Coming out of the pond, rejoined the road (overgrown), we met a group of 3. No one later until at Hall Point. 
Two people came over, when we were taking photos. On the way down, met another guy training for Rainier in July. He was surprised to see us. Over all, the trail to Change Peak is softer, a bit muddy and not maintained, compared to the trail to Mt. Washington which has more rocks on trail, and well marked and well treaded.
By the time we reached the road, we met crowds again. This old trestle over Change Creek looks quite impressive. The trail goes under it, right by the creek and on to another road, with a big parking lot. We walked the road back to the lot where we park, eating some salmonberry along the road.The girl who joined us is quite a bit slower. So this hike felt like a breezy. We were able to dodge the crowd half of the time, and it's good to catch up with the news of my former hiking friends in Portland. So quite an enjoyable outing. I'm also motivated for more training, after meeting these kids lugging heavy weight on the trail. Only downside: I didn't wear enough clothes, got a bit chilled.
